The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff,   ISBN:9780785228257

Customer Rating: 

A very well-organized book that helps families start the conversation about a very difficult subject. Gives some very specific statistics, resources and suggestions, as well as acknowledging the personal and emotional side of tackling these issues with your siblings and parents. The "What Do I Do Now?" section at the end of each chapter, and the ways to "Make it a Celebration" in Chapter 8 were particularly helpful. As the daughter of an elderly parent, it got me thinking about my own resistance to dealing with these issues. As a professional organizer and former psychotherapist, I would recommend this book to my clients or to anyone with elderly parents.

Customer Rating: 

I found this book to be full of practical and useful advice. The title is unfortunate in that it is not descriptive of the content of the book, which gives advice on considerably more that how to deal with one's parent's belongings. It gives advice on how to deal sensitively with one's aging parents and how to plan in advance for their eventual demise, which we as children may have a hard time in facing up to.

Much of the advice is "common sensical," yet when our parents are dying or have recently died our common sense may not be as reliable as in ordinary circumstances. Also, the loss of a parent is not something that we have had previous experience with. There is lots of good advice on how to protect aging and infirm parents from people who might take unfair advantage of them, how to deal with difficult relatives (and how to avoid being one yourself), and how to avoid conflicts in disposing of personal property of decedents as well as the nitty-gritty of how to systematically deal with your parents lifetime accumulation of property so that you are neither clinging to trash nor tossing out precious objects.

Customer Rating: 

This is the book that every family should read. I have already started to follow the advise about culling out all the "stuff" that accumulates in closets, attic, drawers, and garage. Nobody "needs" all the stuff that collects for years and years.

Customer Rating: 

Great book. Am teaching a class on "What are we going to do with all our stuff?!". This book will be recommended to the class and many points from the book will be discussed in the class. Most helpful for those assisting older parents with their homes and business affairs.

Customer Rating: 

I'm 81 and I'm cleaning up my act thanks to this book. It was recommended to me by my daughter-in-law who is clearing out her mothers house and has helped me realize what I need to do to help my children when I have to leave my home. It's full of information for all ages.