JOURNEY BEYOND THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

A Wizard of Oz–themed guide to self-care for caregivers from Green.

The Wizard of Oz and its adaptation, The Wiz, are employed as metaphors for the caregiving experience in this self-help book. The author is a registered nurse and tells us that much like landing in Oz, assuming a caregiving role involves “all sorts of new customs, expectations, relationship dynamics, challenges, and personal insecurities to navigate. And it can feel like everyone knows the landscape but you.” The book is meant to evoke the proverbial yellow brick road, leading readers “home” in a sense. Divided into six sections, the book covers how to map a path forward, cultivate self-love and compassion, embrace acceptance, harness the power of intuition, adapt in the face of change, and find joy amid challenges. Green recommends delegating tasks based on one’s strengths and drafting a personal mission statement to create achievable goals. To foster a positive mindset, the author advises treating yourself like a friend and emphasizes the importance of working through grief, anger, trauma, and anxiety. Green offers strategies for overcoming human and circumstantial roadblocks, such as pausing for reflection or connecting with those facing similar challenges. Asking for what you want, like Dorothy did with the wizard, is among Green’s pithy Oz-referencing communication tips. Green also explores the symptoms of resilience fatigue and strategies to overcome it and concludes with encouragement for finding inner joy. This comprehensive book combines anecdotes, reflection exercises, goal-setting prompts, and practical strategies to help readers create a personalized roadmap toward authentic and healthy caregiving. Readers seeking increased self-awareness will appreciate the ample opportunities for written reflection. The book’s design, including charts, section dividers, and shaded text boxes, makes for an engaging reading experience. The Wizard of Oz metaphor is appropriate for the most part but doesn’t strengthen the author’s often generic advice, like taking up shopworn self-help activities like journaling and mindfulness. High-gloss AI-generated images of glamorous people feel jarringly out of sync with the vintage Hollywood aesthetic and a caregiving audience.

An intermittently helpful interactive workbook for caregivers that overinvests in its Old Hollywood themes.