"These true stories speak with power and passion…We love the book"--Dr. William Thomas, author of "The Eden Alternative"

"Although I have read other books about nursing home placement and nursing home quality, this book stands out for its focus on the feelings of the families at this stressful time. I was very impressed with the insertion of narratives from family members between the chapters. Hearing directly of the experiences of family caregivers reinforces the material and makes the chapter's information more immediate and less didactic. The content of the chapters is excellent."--Doody’s Health Sciences Journal: ***** (Five/five stars)

"Geriatric social worker Peter Silin has written [an] invaluable book.. Nursing Homes and Assisted Living: The Family's guide to Making Decisions and Getting Good Care helps prepare family members in two important ways: it offers wise counsel on what happens during a typical nursing home stay and it provides compassionate emotional support to families struggling with their choices in this difficult area. In fulfilling this second role, Silin comes across as such an extraordinarily sensitive commentator that you often feel he is right there chatting with you." ElderLawAnswers.com

"...Silin has approached this subject with a strong commitment to providing a comprehensive and practical guide for families...The author's detailed information is easy to understand, flows well, and is immediately useful for anyone in need. his approach is also very compassionate and has feelings, and I recommend this book without reservations." American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias

"This book is a complete guide to the family's complex journey of placing someone in a nursing home. This book is incredibly helpful to families considering nursing home placement. ...It is also a valuable tool for nursing home administrators, care staff, social workers, and family therapists, to help them understand and by sympathetic to the experiences of their residents and family members..." Journal of Gerontological Nursing

"[This] book is great…A really good job in explaining and leading people through this most horrible nightmare of bad nursing homes as well as alternatives etc. Thank you Peter."--Ila Swan, Association for Protection of the Elderly

"The information in Nursing Homes is of excellent quality. The vignettes are a powerful supplement to each section. Silin's style is informal and easy to read but based on sound theoretical principles, research, and 'best practices' in gerontology."--Dr. Lillian Wells, University of Toronto School of Social Work

"This is a terrific book that will be of immense comfort and benefit to those who read it…. I enthusiastically recommend this work to clients and fellow care management professionals."--Peter Belson, past president National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers

"Silin, a geriatric social worker with his own management company, has worked with all those involved in the daily routines of nursing homes--the residents, their families and friends, and the professional and nonprofessional members of the staffs. His advice in this definitely nonacademic book is broadly based. He counsels realistically on what to look for in choosing a home, how to deal with the family member who will become a resident, and how to handle the various relationships that will be involved. He doesn't just discuss those matters; he also suggests what to say in various situations and how to say it. Moreover, he considers feelings of guilt and shame as well as such things as selection, costs, and handling complaints. …[The] book's valuable appendixes contain information helpful…."--William Beatty, "Booklist", American Library Association 

"This book…examines not only the various stages of aging and loss of control, but the psychological issues and deep emotions affecting friends, family members, primary caregivers, out-of-town caregivers and nursing home residents themselves. There are scores of legal, medical and financial considerations to work out when someone can no longer live at home. And then there are the day-to-day considerations such as doing laundry, building new relationships, dealing with roommates, asking for help and finding privacy in a semi-public setting. Among the most valuable chapters in this book is one titled "Making a Home Better," which includes wonderful advice on how a loved one can influence what goes on inside a nursing home, beginning with involving the affected resident in changes. Silin is practical, recognizing that loved ones who donate time or money to a nursing home can affect what happens when they're not there. He encourages working with other families, emphasizes finding ways to build on the good things the facility may be doing and reminds readers that when it comes to people and organizations, "change doesn't happen overnight." His inclusion of real-life stories from the families he's encountered over 20 years anchors the book compassionately."--Los Angeles Times

"Reading [Silin’s] book, you’re hearing the voice of experience…Although there is a vast literature on choosing a nursing home, this book seems to do something more. Joyce Crawford, co-chair of the Caregivers Association of B.C., calls it ‘truly a masterpiece at telling it like it is.’ "--Vancouver Sun

"[This book] will do a power of good for a lot of people."--G. Litwin, Victoria Times-Colonist 

"…another resource in the family arsenal…I particularly like Part Three's 'Settling In' chapter, which covers resident adjustment, changes in behavior, dementia and the caregiver's emotional adjustment"-- Contra Costa Times

"This is both a very humanistic book and a very practical one (my favorite combination!). …written with the insight of a sociologist and geriatric care manager, someone who sees the human side of the equation first."--Eldercare Online www.ec-online.net

"The book focuses on the need to be aware of all the resources available to those searching for care.  Silin takes the reader through every aspect that must be considered before and after admission to a care facility.  This publication would be an excellent resource for facilities to give families to teach them about their roles and their rights.  This would reflect that the facility is willing to treat them with respect and openness, which is essential in building relationships." --Recommended Reading, The Scribe

"In an informal and easy to read style, the author guides caregivers through the whole process, discussing how to make decisions as a family, how to find care, what good care is, how nursing homes function, how to prepare yourself and your loved one, admission day, adjustment, grief, loss, care issues, how to obtain the best possible care, communicating with the system, problem solving, visiting, and death and dying.  The book includes seventeen personal stories written by caregivers on what they went through and how they handled their process.  They are a powerful supplement to each section."--Australasian Journal on Aging, Vol 20 No 4 December 2001

"Silin walks and talks the reader through every aspect that must be considered before and after admission to a care facility.  His sensitivity in chapters such as 'Family Decision-Making', 'The Nursing Home System' and 'About Nursing Homes' help simplify our understanding of the system.  Case vignettes cited in each of the seventeen chapters present actual situations with which most of us can identify.
      There is an excellent listing of Canadian and USA resources, web sites and literature.  These resources are comprehensive and current.
      This easy to read book is aimed at friends and relatives of persons who may be in need of services from the long term care system and has a very simple message: the more knowledge we have, the more we can make the system more accessible to our loved ones' needs.
      Finally, this is the type of book that should be read by professionals providing care for the elderly: administrators, physicians, directors of care, social works, nurses, physiotherapists, etc.  As we better understand the clientele we serve, the better we can serve our clientele!"--Ken Levitt, Administrator Louis Brier Home & Hospital, KLL Book Review