Hugh Marriott – Caregiving Articles

Author: Hugh Marriott

The author, Hugh Marriott, used to be a journalist and is now a full-time caregiver for his wife Cathie. Around the time symptoms of Huntington’s Disease began to appear in their lives, Hugh and Cathie sold their house, bought a sailboat in Maine, and embarked on what was to become a nine-year voyage of discovery. When Cathie could no longer get in or out of their small dinghy or safely clamber on board their boat, they had visited 40 countries and sailed almost the whole way round the world.

After moving ashore again, Hugh settled down to write about the most significant aspect of the voyage: coming to terms with caregiving for someone in the grip of a debilitating disease. In The Selfish Pig’s Guide to Caring, he tries to put his finger on the advice he would like to have been given while he was struggling to learn new skills and find his way in an unfamiliar role. The Selfish Pig’s Guide hasn’t been out long. But it seems to have made a difference already. Alison Ryan, Chief Executive of the UK’s national support group, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, said: “We have needed this book for 20 years. I wish I had been able to read it when I first became a carer.”

Glenys Thomas, a care-giver, said: “This book has had a profound effect on me. It has clarified so many areas, and has given me numerous ‘Ah-ha’ insights. It also made me laugh so much, and released me from the guilt that hangs around me.”

The Selfish Pig’s Guide to Caring is published by Polperro Heritage Press in the UK, and is shortly to be published in the U.S.A. under the title The Selfish Pig’s Guide to Caregiving. ISBN 0544233-1-3.

1 Universal Problem 1 Wrong Answer

By Hugh Marriott

Care for the Caregiver - Nurturing

The author begins to support caregivers in thinking more about themselves if they are entrenched as a carer..