Book Review: Planes, Canes, and Automobiles: Connecting with Your Aging Parents through Travel by Valerie M. Grubb

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge,from Greenleaf Book Group Press

for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

With the holidays about to be upon us,

 this new book may be JUST the thing you need for holiday travel planning!

Synopsis:

If the thought of vacationing with your parents makes you cringe, fear no more! Help is here!

Planes, Canes, and Automobiles: Connecting with Your Aging Parents through Travel is a gold mine of practical advice, funny anecdotes, and tales of triumphs and travails from Val Grubb, who has traveled more than 300,000 miles (and counting!) with her 84-year old mother over the past twenty years.

When planning a recent trip overseas, however, Grubb realized that her mom’s physical and mental capabilities had suddenly changed. Her mom now needed a wheelchair, for example, and was afraid to travel alone (even on short flights to meet her daughter for a long trip together). Grubb set out to find suggestions for handling these changes and after much research was struck by the lack of resources to help people plan vacations with an aging friend or family member. She couldn’t find any comprehensive information that shed light on the nuances of globetrotting with aging parents.

Planes, Canes, and Automobiles is the go-to guide for adult children: it combines her wisdom from years of traveling with her own aging mother with sensible tips, checklists, and sample itineraries to help readers plan - and enjoy - a vacation with their parents!

Review:

For many 'sandwich' is a term we well understand- having children at an older age means sealing with kids still at home, as we tend to parents who may be living with us well. It may seem daunting to decide which is the better traveling companion, when you layout the special needs of both. Valerie's book offers not only excellent advice, help for elder needs and concerns, but also a breath of fresh air and a reminder to enjoy the company and wisdom of our parents, while we still can! You may find it funny how some of her advice can be cross referenced to bringing a child (bring a blanket for cold planes), while other pieces will surprise you (most decent hotels have wheelchairs to rent). Tough topics like babysitting and finances are also discussed, with some really great advice! I liked the last chapter survey, which really brought home all the ideas in the book, from an elder perspective! If you're thinking about multi-generational travel, be sure to pick up this book!

About the Author:

Valerie Grubb's father was a pilot, so she was born with travel in her blood. She began traveling solo at the tender age of four (when she wandered out of eyesight of her house one day), and since then she has continued to make exploring the world a priority while pursuing careers in both operations management and executive coaching. Val and her mom, Dorothy, took their first overseas vacation together when Dorothy was sixty-four, and in the more than twenty years since then, they have logged over 300,000 miles (and counting!). In response to the lack of available resources on the subject of seniors traveling with their adult children, Val began publishing Travel with Aging Parents (travelwithagingparents.com) in 2013, a blog that chronicles the triumphs (and challenges) of intergenerational travel with Val's signature ''you-can-do-this'' flair.