Caregiving as Pilgrimage

In this chapter, we explore the experience of an elder husband who was the primary informal caregiver for his wife of 60 years. We describe their encounters as caregiver and care recipient through the years as a pilgrimage. We do so because we believe this word has a revered connotation. Generally, two or more people travel together to a pilgrimage site for the sake of gaining spiritual insight or meaning. In a pilgrimage, the journey toward the site becomes an important part of the sacred quest. The husband who is the subject of this chapter cared for his wife for over 25 years. Through the years, his wife became increasingly impaired and incurred several serious illnesses at the same time that he, as caregiver, experienced his own illnesses and the declines of age.