Fragile Resonances: Caring for Older Family Members in Japan and England

**__Fragile Resonance__** **describes the paths carers take as they make meaning of their experiences and find a sense of moral purpose to sustain them and guide their decisions.** When a parent or partner becomes frail or disabled, often a family member assumes responsibility for their care. But family care is a physically and emotionally exhausting undertaking. Carers experience moments of profound connection as well as pain and grief. Carers ask themselves questions about the meaning of family, their entitlement to support, and their capacity to understand and sympathize with another person's pain. Based on his research gathering stories of family carers in Japan and England, Jason Danely traces how care transforms individual sensibilities and the role of cultural narratives and imagination in shaping these transformations, which persist even after the care recipient has died. Throughout __Fragile Resonance__, Danely examines the implications of unpaid carer's experiences for challenging and enhancing social policies and institutions, highlighting innovative alternatives grounded in the practical ethics of care. Fragile Resonance describes the paths carers take as they make meaning of their experiences and find a sense of moral purpose to sustain them and guide their decisions. When a parent or partner becomes frail or disabled, often a family member assumes responsibility for their care. But family care is a physically and emotionally exhausting undertaking. Carers experience moments of profound connection as well as pain and grief. Carers ask themselves questions about the meaning of family, their entitlement to support, and their capacity to understand and sympathize with another person's pain. Based on his research gathering stories of family carers in Japan and England, Jason Danely traces how care transforms individual sensibilities and the roles of cultural narratives and imagination in shaping these transformations, which persist even after the care recipient has died. Throughout Fragile Resonance , Danely examines the implications of unpaid carer's experiences for challenging and enhancing social policies and institutions, highlighting innovative alternatives grounded in the practical ethics of care. "This ethnography compares the experiences of unpaid family carers of older adults in Japan and England. Their personal stories of caring-including thoughts on responsibility, fatigue, compassion, grief, and love-provide insight into the everyday lived experiences of care in two culturally distinct aging societies, as well as broader social and political implications."-- Provided by publisher Contents Preface Acknowledgments Note on Terminology and Transliteration INTRODUCTION 1 CULTURAL ECOLOGIES OF CARE 2 BECOMING A CARER 3 FATIGUE AND ENDURANCE 4 DANGEROUS COMPASSION 5 COUNTER-WORLDS OF CARE 6 LIVING ON It 7 THE POLITICS OF CARE CONCLUSION Notes References Index