Karlee Hayes is nineteen when her boyfriend's organs fail-and overnight, she becomes his full-time carer. No training. No warning. Just dialysis, hospitals, and the silent expectation of hospital staff that she'll hold it all together. As the relationship unravels, Karlee doesn't leave the caring behind-instead, she steps deeper into the world of professional disability support, while quietly unravelling herself.
Told with gritty honesty, cheeky humour, and the straight-talking voice of a Regional Victorian country girl who's seen too much too young, The Art of Giving pulls back the curtain on the personal journey of a carer - the often invisible lifeblood of the healthcare system. This isn't just a story about disability or devotion. It's about what happens when giving becomes a survival strategy and the not-so-silent cost when we give too much for too long.
Bold, funny and deeply human, this is a book every overgiver needs to read. It might just change how you care for the most important person in the world: yourself.
Buy The art of giving: An overgiver's story on learning to receive by Karlee Hayes from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, BooksDirect.