我輩中人：寫給中年人的情書
Middle Age: Caring for Aging Parents and Truly Understanding Life
●○ Hobbies delayed for half a lifetime, buried emotional wounds, the burdens of family and work…
●○ As we enter the second half of life, how do we reconcile with ourselves and take stock?
●○ Eslite Bookstore’s 2018 Bestseller | 60,000 copies sold in Taiwan | 29 heartfelt letters to middle-aged readers
●○ A Caregiver’s Story: Zhang Manjuan writes for the first time about the meaning of companionship and responsibility—caring for them is a preview of our own old age.
► This book begins with Manjuan caring for her father, who suffers from dementia…
Nearly three years ago, Manjuan’s 90-year-old father fell seriously ill, and their family’s life was thrown into chaos. She found herself running between different departments—cardiology, psychiatry, urology, orthopedics, dentistry, neurology, and gastroenterology—accompanying her parents to appointments. During the fragmented waiting times, she slowly pieced together the meaning of accompanying and shouldering the responsibility of caring for aging parents. She wrote a series of columns titled “Caring for Aging Parents, and Truly Understanding Life,” sharing her experience with millions of caregivers.
► Middle age—caring for aging parents is when we truly understand life.
As an only child, at this stage of life, one faces the pain and frustration of seeing parents grow old, the dilemma of balancing care for them with work, and the underlying ethical burden of filial piety. Too many unspeakable pains and troubles have to be borne alone. The most agonizing part of caregiving is not the physical pain, but the emotional strain.
As a writer, university professor, host, lyricist, and the “head of the children’s class” at her elementary school, Zhang Manjuan now has another identity: a sole caregiver. Through this caregiving experience, she also gained a new perspective on life and her relationship with her parents.
► The path to adulthood is, in fact, very long.
这本书，始于曼娟照顾失智的父母……将近3年前，曼娟90高龄的老父罹患急症，家里的生活遭到重击，变得四分五裂。她奔波在心脏科、精神科、泌尿科、骨科、牙科、神经内科、消化科，陪伴着父母候诊，在等待的零碎时间里，一点一点的拼凑出陪伴并承担父母老病的意义，写下一系列“照顾着 老去的父母，才真正理解人生”专栏，与数百万名照顾者分享。
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