Both caregiver and patient may so easily feel alone, alone, all alone; alone on a wide, wide sea.

In these needs and feelings you're not alone: by 2020 almost half the American work force will be caring for an elderly parent, then will later need long-term care themselves. With this resource book in hand, you can sing the beloved old songs, or chant the familiar poems and verses that inspired your loved-one's youth. You can rouse the emotions and uplift the spirit for both of you with the music and rhythms from the oldest, most-lasting memories. You can feel and share the joy!

Sing your way home at the close of the day.
Sing your way home, drive the shadows away.
Smile every mile, for wherever you roam,
It will brighten your road,
It will lighten your load,
If you sing your way home.

All the research shows that “Music offers ways to access and maintain cognitive and affective functioning even when people are severely impaired.” Music and rhythm are “the bottom line” when all other forms of communication cease, because they touch basic human makeup as elemental as the heartbeat and our oldest, longest memories, which have the deepest imprint.
We all have psychological, emotional and spiritual needs right to the end, even if we cannot talk or respond in any way! We all have the need for one-on-one attention , side-by-side, including hugs and hands and family ties – “Blest be the ties that bind.”

This collection of songs and poems, with simple commentary using positive images from childhood and youth, gives you a wide range of choice to suit any stage of disablement, any mood or occasion or personality – you pick and choose what is best for you, for your loved one, for that day or hour. During early stages, the patient needs conversation, recall, and humor; whereas in later stages, you may need to provide just a comforting tone, with lullabies or hymns.