A review by michaela_k
An Extra Pair of Hands: A story of caring, ageing and everyday acts of love by Kate Mosse

emotional hopeful reflective sad

3.0

There are some beautiful meditations on aging and caring in this, but overall the book is simply too far removed from the grim reality of caring that most people face to be really interesting for me. Whether due to selective narration or due to extraordinary luck (combined with huge upper class privilege and wealth), the three experiences of caring described in here are far far far removed from the difficult, often immensely frustrating, upsetting and even infuriating experiences that caring for an elderly person often involves.    In this account, all three of the people being cared for take it gracefully and continue being their pleasant agreeable selves until the very end, and they all receive outstanding care from the wonderful and not at all failing NHS. If this idyll really reflects the author’s reality then good for her, but from a book about caring I expected more unflinching reflection on the challenges it brings, both personally and politically.