The Reluctant Caregiver: Reclaiming My Life After Caring for a Stroke Survivor - A Memoir

A different kind of love story

This raw and often heartbreaking memoir gives voice to the emotional struggles of caregivers and provides an alternative way of looking at options for survivors and those who care for them. It walks the reader through a harrowing journey as author finds her way back to finding her own life.

Devon Ervin shares a collection of stories and poems about the days, months, and years following her husband's brain injuries and how those moments impacted her, their marriage, and their family. It tells the somewhat universal (and often unspoken) story of the life of a caregiver, walking the reader through a harrowing journey as she finds her way back to being the author of her own life.

This raw and often heartbreaking memoir gives voice to the emotional struggles of caregivers and provides an alternative way of looking at options for survivors and those who care for them. It centers the well-being of both parties so they can create lives that are mutually fulfilling, even if done in non-traditional ways.

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"A gripping memoir about the advantages of choosing self-care, even when it rocks our closest relationships." -Grace Kerina, author of Personal Boundaries for Highly Sensitive People

"The Reluctant Caregiver is an honest and intimate look into the caregiver's perspective of brain injury and it should be a must read for every rehab professional." - Ashlea Walter, BCom, MScOT, Occupational Therapist

"Devon Ervin's tender, poignant and accessible memoir, The Reluctant Caregiver, was written for us.​" - Marilyn Finch Williams, LCSW, Psychotherapist and Coach, primarily serving professional caretakers

"Reading this book feels like having a heart-to-heart with a close friend who's come through the fire stronger than ever. Honest, vulnerable, and relatable, it's a must-read for anyone feeling the weight of caregiving." - Maya Bairey, author of Painting Celia

​"Devon Ervin writes with an honest and intimate voice that allows us to experience her young husband's baffling stroke, the labyrinth of medical intervention, and loving transformation of their marriage. This book is an affirmation to unexpected caregivers, to people living with aphasia, and to the ones who love them." - Chrissa Kruger, daughter-in-law of stroke survivor