Behind all the talk we hear today about family values looms a disturbing shadow- the elderly, particularly the ill elderly. And unless we die young, we are the shadow!

This touching story is told by a daughter who gave up much to care for her aged and dying parents and discovered the "More" that life has to offer: illuminating the shadow helps remove the fear and reveals the pure joy that can come from giving to those who need you most.

We needn't admire and treasure our elders -- frequently we have no reason to do so. But the oft-preached value of "respect for elders" (the way they actually are rather than the way we wish they could be) must be preserved in actual practice if our society and way of life is to survive.

"Dying, like living, can be looked on as sacred," says author Lenore Waring, "not feared for its mystery. And those undergoing these transitions are heroes -- quiet or complaining, perhaps scared of the new country, but heroes nonetheless. I believe we can help them make the most of their passage, and in doing so we are all blessed.

"Caregiving," she observes, "is not done by super-humans; it's muddled through by people who jump in and 'just do it.'"

Lenore Waring's story lends enormous weight to her notion that "problems might not build character, but they certainly do reveal character."

Hypnotherapist Lenore Waring dedicated three years of her life to care for her aging and dying parents. Her poignant yet inspiring story converts the ordeals of final separation to the blessing of deep, loving connection. This is a must-read for anyone concerned with the process - and the challenges - of eldercare in America in the 21st Century.

Lenore Waring is a change strategist, working with individuals and groups, and also as a writer and speaker. For ten years she has been a board-certified hypnotherapist, and her happy specialty is teaching HypnoBirthing™ to expectant parents well before their babies' births. While editing this book she also worked for months as a private duty caregiver to a dementia patient in a special facility in Southern California.

Her understanding of hypnosis helped her discover underlying principles of change that she calls the Quantum Living^SM Experience. This system of thought applies those universal principles using sensible and easy-to-understand examples from personal stories, modern science and even mathematics, as well as from the traditions of ancient wisdom.

She believes that the heart, not the head, is the true gateway to highest personal potential and that her job is to help the head turn to, and partner with, the heart. To support this realignment of focus, she also uses Therapeutic Touch, Reiki, and pastoral counseling learned through a program offered at the University of California, Irvine.

Ms. Waring's education also includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goddard College, where she majored in self-transformation and the psychology of change.

She opened her professional offices on 17th Street in Costa Mesa, California, in 1991, but in 1997 she began care-giving to her parents on a full time basis, focusing all of her resources on three clients: her mother, her father, and herself.