A review by sammiseah
When Mama Fell: A citizen's guide to navigating the healthcare maze for the elderly by Bertha Henson

informative fast-paced

3.5

Part personal story, part caregiver handbook and part information guide, this book is very different from all of Ms Henson's other books and from the acerbic wit and astute political analysis on her Facebook page.

I managed to get a photo with Ms Henson when I picked up the book, but I was super nervous when she asked me if I follow her Facebook page (“just read, I don’t comment”), which led to a pretty generic message in my copy of the book: “For Samantha, Keep reading!”. And for my parents: “You have a great daughter!” 😆😆😆

I learnt a lot about the Singapore healthcare and elderly support systems. There seem to be a plethora of different grants and schemes and my main takeaway is: consult AIC! And I appreciate caregivers more and more. It’s a tiring and thankless job and one that isn’t properly compensated. I particularly appreciated the photos and personal testimonies of various caregivers scattered through the book. Hopefully, the book will bring caregivers together - even if most of them don’t have time to meet, at least they have a community that empathises and can provide knowledge in certain situations? 🥲