Each chapter includes strategies, stories, and quotes from helpers around the world.
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Resilient and Sustainable Caring Book Reviews
Praise for Sustainable and Resilient Caring
“Karen’s timely work goes beyond the resiliency support we see in health care today. This is a practical guide for truly sustainable self-care translating to the care of others. Health systems would do well to implement such a program. We all stand to learn what is at the core of our doubts and discomfort. Digesting and internalizing this book, especially in the company of others is truly the beginning of mastering joy in our work.” – Lisa Prusak, MD
“This book provides a life changing roadmap for living your best life while caring for others with the power to change the health care landscape.” - Laurel Ash, DNP, CNP, RN, College of St. Scholastica School of Nursing
"This book is a tremendous resource, providing relevant, real-world examples and advice for sustaining caring roles for both individuals and teams. The strategies outlined in each chapter are easy to follow. It is a guide to promote personal growth for creating the balance that we all so desperately crave and deserve." -Shannon Kennelly, DVM and owner of small animal veterinary practice Lakeville Family Pet Clinic
“The unattended emotional toll of caregivers too often results in a stress filled workplace, career ending psychological trauma, or even suicide. This book will help you recognize, understand, and support a healthy, sustainable alternative."- Mark Lavalier, Firefighter
“The world needs caregivers, and caregivers need this book, as did I. Using her own years of experience and research, Rev. Dr. Schuder has written an indispensable book with practical strategies, resources, and inspiration for achieving resilience and sustainability in personal and professional helping roles. Infused with hope and compassion, this book served as a supportive guide for me while caring for others.” – Diane Torvick, Family Caregiver
“This book is a powerful tool that if you read it and put it into practice you will surely live with a better quality of life as an individual, as part of a family and a community. Karen provides a wisdom that helps people live more vibrantly.” - Miriam Sierra, World Vision Honduras
Resilient, sustainable caring requires intentionality. This book provides guidance and practical strategies to thrive while helping others. Grounded in values and purpose, we promote our best, balanced selves. As we make the path of helping others wide enough to include self-care, we see more beauty along the way and recover more quickly from challenges. We also decrease anxiety and increase supportive community. All of this means we journey longer and feel happier in our personal and professional helping roles.
Caregiver resilience and sustainability is not a solo adventure. We influence and are influenced by the people whose journeys intersect with our own. Helping work often involves families and teams, so the book offers ways to increase group resilience and sustainability. Resilient and Sustainable Caring is grounded in research, social theories, and decades of experience to provide sound, practical guidance.
Resilient and Sustainable Caring represents more than thirty years of learning and experience on how to navigate the demanding journey of helping others. Karen’s doctoral research on ethics and professional development neatly align with literature on countering burnout and compassion fatigue. Her work and training in countering compassion fatigue, conflict mediation, grief, leadership development, organizational culture, and cultural differences provide a solid foundation for her program.
Take this journey to promote your best, balanced self and help others do so too. Honest conversations about challenges and strategies are a great way to develop a supportive community with other helpers. Go through the book with colleagues or friends using the discussion questions at the end of each chapter.
More Praise for Sustainable and Resilient Caring
"Karen’s insights and experience make this book a valuable guide for anyone in the helping professions. In the crisis driven world of helping professions, this book will make the task more doable for any who take on the role of helper." - David Spencer, BA, MS, Retired Counselor in international and local schools and family and individual therapy
“Dr. Schuder's work helped me shift my focus from making decisions based on approval to a purpose driven outlook. This freed me to make a major career and life change that dramatically improved my resilience and ability to serve others while caring for my needs. Karen made me feel supported and valued at a time when I was experiencing burnout and exhaustion. She helped me see the value I bring to others because of the person I am, not just because of my role.” - Julie Knuths DNP, RN, PHN, Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Undergraduate Nursing, College of St. Scholastica
“This deeply reflective book has the potential to benefit so many. What comes to mind, based on my experience in Africa and the Americas, are the front-line workers responding to humanitarian emergencies in their home countries: Heroes who often need to process their own loss and grief and help their families through disaster while selflessly providing life-saving assistance to others.” - Judith Anne Thimke, Former UN World Food Programme Manager and Country Director
"If you hope to maintain a life or career of care-giving, understand the hazards along the way and embrace the personal survival skills this book will gift you." – Charles Gallet, Paramedic & CISD Leader
“During my many years of caregiving for multiple family members, I yearned for support and strategies to help me through the many challenges this presented. This book is exactly what I was looking for and needed. I’m grateful Karen saw the need for a book to help people navigate through this challenging journey that many of us face in our lives.” - Jan Arezzo, Family Caregiver and Retired Educator
“I wish I had this workbook when I was a newly ordained woman in ministry. I wanted to do an excellent job helping people and the church. I worked too hard and eventually experienced burnout. If I had studied Sustainable and Resilient Caring, I could have done a much better job managing the stress related to my position and caring for others. I whole heartedly recommend this workbook to all care givers!” - Rev. Sharon Johnson, Retired Minister, Former Executive Presbyter
"This book guides you how to establish limits in caring for other people. This will allow you not only to prevent burnout, but live better professionally and personally, helping you remain resilient at your work in the long run. The concepts and skills have helped me deal with emotional people and find guidance based on my purpose." - Merlyn Enrique Lara, Medical student
"Karen's comprehensive guide is based on research and lived experience. It is a welcome gift for helpers at any stage in their career, from starry-eyed beginners, to exhausted senior staffers." Louise M. Beyea, DVM, On-call private practice veterinarian for over 30 years
“Thoughtful, concise resource for those in the helping professions to help themselves handle the stress of caring. Especially helpful for those beginning or mid-career. Practical tools that should be included in health professions’ curricula. Don’t wait until you’re burned out to read this!” – Kris Wegerson, MD
“This book is a wonderful read! It provides insightful and encouraging advice on how to balance our various needs. I have benefited greatly from Karen's advice and thoughtful sharing of her experience. As an immigrant, full-time employee, daughter, wife, and mom of two young kids, I always strive to balance my work and my family, different cultures, as well as the needs of others and myself. Reading this book helps me find a better way to strike the balance in seeking true meaning in my life.” - Lin Xiu, PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Human Resource Management
Explore The Chapters
Chapter 1: Start the Sustainable Caring Journey
Know You Aren’t Alone
See Common Challenges: From Burnout & Compassion Fatigue to Imposter Syndrome
Create a Resilience and Sustainability Plan
Strengthen Your Best, Balanced Self
Decrease Anxiety & Increase Emotional Regulation
Expand Support
Be Your Best Advocate
Chapter 2: Bring Out Your Strength with Core Values and Purpose
Strengthen Yourself with Purpose
Decrease Pressures with Authenticity
Build Purpose Driven Resilience
Develop Balanced Purpose for Self-care
Help Groups Function with Unified Purpose
Bring Your Best Forward
Chapter 3: Promote Your Best, Balanced Self with Healthy Boundaries
Foster Balance and Resilience
Define and Support Your Best, Balanced Self
Connect Healthy Boundaries with Sustainability
Know Your Emotional Responsibility
Establish Healthy Boundaries
Develop Balance and Boundaries in Teams
Increase Hope with Sustainability
Chapter 4: Foster Self-Compassion
Change the World with Compassion
Experience Compassion’s Mutual Gifts
Counter Misconceptions about Self-Compassion
Increase Vitality with Self-Compassion
Recognize Common Humanity and Shake Off Perfectionism
Notice Personal Suffering
Be Kind to Yourself
Offer Self-Forgiveness
Deal with Mistakes
Foster Compassionate Families and Teams
Journey Towards a More Compassionate, Less Anxious World
Chapter 5: Decrease Anxiety
Return to Calm
Strengthen Self to Decrease Pressures
Recognize and Defuse Emotional Triggers
Choose Your Life Perspective
Increase Outer Calm with Inner Peace
Decrease Group Anxiety
Journey with Peace
Chapter 6: Deal with Conflict
Perceive Conflict’s Possibilities
Grow Capacity for Calm and Resolution
Recognize and Replace Unhelpful Conflict Habits
Use Care-Full Strategies
Navigate the Difficult
Handle High Emotional Reactivity with Calm
Manage Power differences
Help Others Deal with Conflict
Allow New Possibilities to Move Forward
Chapter 7: Recover from Loss
Carry Hope
Move Beyond Unhealthy Cultural Norms
Connect Resilience with Pieces of Grief
Promote Healing
Reconnect with Your Self
Help Others Recover from Loss
Celebrate Life Together
Chapter 8: Lighten the Load with Resources
See Success Differently
Know and Use Resources
Overcome Silencers
Define Success to Include Wellbeing
Promote Safe Support
Practice Sharing the Difficult
Untangle Ethical Dilemmas
Know When to Change a Role
Strategy to Discern a Need for Change
Develop a Plan for Change
Be Your Best Resource
Chapter 9: Grow Supportive Community
Hold Out the Light for Each Other
Build Resilience Together
Choose Sustainable Work Context
Process Difficult Events as a Team
Heal with Others
Expand Understanding of Community
Shine Brighter
Chapter 10: Thrive with Growing Strength and Resilience
See the Resilient and Sustainable Journey
Your Guide to Thrive Strategies
Look at the Journey Ahead