The Soul of Caregiving is about us, and how we, as caregivers, serve, even sacrifice, for those in need. Because Caregivers care, they experience in varying degrees compassion fatigue.
Dr. Edward M. Smink, in his revised edition of The Soul of Caregiving, brings a fresh perspective to caregivers who are experiencing compassion fatigue. He gleans the wisdom he has learned as a healthcare professional of nearly fifty years as a framework for caregivers to begin the process of reflecting on their own unique experiences and stories.
His perspective as a registered nurse, pastoral counselor, and executive leader in mission and values formation, ethics, spirituality, and community health, as well as his own experience of overcoming compassion fatigue and severe burnout, gives credibility to readers validating their own stories. His book is not a “how to,’” but rather he invites the reader to reflect and enter into their own stories. Developing skills of compassion resilience and self-care are what Dr. Smink terms “Soul-Care,” and makes the case that the antidote to compassion fatigue is Soul-Care.
The reader is invited to begin a process of exploring the tension of self-care versus other-care, a unique understanding of Soul, the archetypical underpinnings of Caregiving, the mythos and logos of caregiving, the value of hospitality, the caregiver as a wounded healer, the art of reflection, caregiving as a spiritual practice, and the impact and recovery of compassion fatigue.
Each chapter is interwoven with personal and caregiver stories to illuminate and expand the material presented.
Who are the caregivers? Smink asks and concludes “We all are, for at the heart of being human is the capacity to care, to reach out to others and explore the relationships we build.”