I Don't Have Time for This!: A Compassionate Guide to Caring for Your Parents and Yourself

“An invaluable resource for all of us with aging parents”

“I don’t have time for this!” provides a roadmap for the journey into aging, illness, and dying that we will all travel—ourselves and the people we love. With gentle persuasion and moving stories from her family, her clients, and her years as a hospice volunteer, Dr. Katherine Arnup shows how to overcome the fear of aging and loss so we can show up for the challenges in our lives. You will discover: • the ways to begin essential conversations with your parents—before it’s too late! • the tools you need to survive and thrive as a caregiver • the keys to releasing guilt and regret • the joy that’s possible when you stop running from your life • the secret to asking for and receiving help • the rewards of being present with the people you love during the final chapter of their lives
“Dr. Arnup deftly melds stories from her personal and professional experience to provide practical guidance and sound counsel. I don’t have time for this! is an invaluable resource for all of us with aging parents.” —Ira Byock, MD, author of Dying Well and The Best Care Possible
“An important missing link for those seeking information and support on caring for elderly parents. Far more than a checklist of financial and healthcare issues to cover, it provides the compassionate companionship families need to make this journey together with love, courage, and humanity." —Susan Piver, author of The Wisdom of a Broken Heart and Thee Hard Questions for Adult Children and Their Aging Parents
Katherine Arnup has written extensively on sexuality, marriage, motherhood, and child rearing. Author of the award-winning book Education for Motherhood, a history of advice for mothers, she has pioneered studies on the diversity and complexity of family life. In this beautifully written, deeply personal book, she tackles the last taboo—death itself

Katherine Arnup is a social historian, professor, and life coach. She is a recognized expert on issues related to loss, aging and dying and its impact on families and communities. Her most recent scholarly publication was Death, Dying and Canadian Families, published by the Vanier Institute of the Family. As a certified professional coach, Katherine focuses on helping people through all sorts of transitions Katherine has felt loss and its impact first-hand. Despite a profound fear of death, she became her sister’s caregiver, confidante, and advocate when she was dying of cancer at the age of 51. The experience was life-changing – Katherine recognized the importance of being present and showing up for the more challenging experiences of life. The loss of her sister led to hospice training and volunteering each week for more than a decade at a residential hospice. Katherine has sat with countless families and friends as they experience the sadness and struggle of losing loved ones. She is a passionate advocate for providing dignified and caring support for dying people and their families. Katherine has been a university drop-out, a hippie, a grade one teacher, a graduate student and a university professor. She is a family caregiver, a mother, a grandmother, a Buddhist, a late-in-life wife, a guitar player, and a recent convert to the ukulele. She lives with her partner in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, Ontario.