Book Review
By: Hugh Marriott
Published by: Polperro Heritage Press
ISBN: 09-544233-1-3
Date: 2003
Six million people in the UK provide unpaid care for disabled or elderly relatives or neighbours, often unnoticed. Their job is long, lonely and hard, yet there is limited support and no formal training. As a result, carers suffer frequent damage to physical and mental health and are liable to feelings of guilt brought on by fatigue and isolation. Hugh Marriott, a carer himself, has written this book for them – and also for the rest of us who hadn’t realized what went on behind those closed doors. The Selfish Pig’s Guide to Caring airs topics such as sex, thoughts of murder, coping with incontinence and dealing with friends and officials who fail to understand. It’s a must-read for anyone involved with caring.
Excerpt from “The Selfish Pig”:
“There are people who cheerfully sacrifice time and freedom to care for another human being. They eagerly embrace the onerous task of caring and are never known to complain about their lot. These people are saints and this book is not for them.
There are others who are paid to care. Their job is hard and the money not always very generous. Even so, it is a job, and therefore something which can be walked away from at the end of every day. Dedicated workers they may be, but this book is not for them either.
There are others of us who have come reluctantly to caring. We think, “it’s not fair”. We feel guilty about our unwillingness, and secretly think of ourselves as selfish pigs. Like pigs in nature, we can be of either sex. Also like pigs, we are not necessarily, or at least always, disagreeable and unpleasant. But we’re certainly obstinate. This book is for us.”