Zachary White, Ph.D. Professor of Communications
Queens University of Charlotte, NC
​In “The Dwindling,” Janet Dunnett takes readers on a distinctly personal caregiver journey that embodies the ambivalence, doubt, and love that always co-exist when we care for someone we love.  Caring for her mother and her father, Janet’s care experiences shows us how caregiving impacts each and every relationship in a family system in unpredictable ways.  Grounded in a compelling narrative defined by authenticity, rawness, doses of sarcasm—“I reached for my advocate’s hat, a helmet really”—and love, we come to know Janet’s family as central characters as they each evolve and respond in real time to the exhaustions and rewards of care.  Unlike the clichéd caregiver snapshots we too often get that deceive us into thinking that care is only something you do, Dunnett shows us how care changes everyone it comes into contact with.  Sharply crafted narratives like “The Dwindling” helps caregivers feel less alone because it reveals the systems of contradictions and challenges and cultural beliefs that too often compromise quality and deeply humane care.  “The Dwindling” reminds us that care advocacy is a byproduct of something we experience at home, behind closed doors.  Thank you, Janet, for opening the door and allowing us to accompany you on the journey of the 21st century.  

​GAIL SHEEHY, Author of Passages
"A DARING YET COMPASSIONATE MEMOIR FOR EVERYONE CALLED TO MAKE THE CAREGIVING PASSAGE WITH A SLOW-DYING PARENT. DUNNETT WILL LEAD YOU THROUGH THE ISOLATION TO FIND QUALITY CARE AND TENDER CONNECTIONS. AND KEEP YOU COMPANY!"

​Eric Wasylenko, MD.
 Ethicist,  Calgary, Canada:
This book is a must-read for anyone journeying with a frail parent...sometimes poignant, but always affirming and highly relevent to the dilemmas of our times.

Joanne Lynne, MD. Gerentologist, Washington DC, USA 
We need to tell stories, to get people familiar with the experiences at the end of life and evaluate the merits of our current care pathways. This memoir does that.

John Sloan, MD, Author of A Bitter Pill: How the Medical System is Failing the Elderly:
...captivating and honest.

Stephen Kiernan, Author of Last Rights, and thought leader of the american hospice movement 
Some books are like mirrors, As we read their pages, we see ourselves