Work, raising children, caring for his mother—author Fumiki Takahashi’s nonfiction essay chronicling the five years he spent as a working caregiver will be published on September 8.

Now that the “2025 Problem”—when the entire baby boomer generation will have reached the “late elderly” age bracket—has become a reality, an author who has personally experienced it all—from care certification and choosing a facility to balancing caregiving with work, care costs, and even family trusts— shares her story of caring for her parents.

2026.08.18 09:30

株式会社破滅派

Hameisha Co., Ltd. (Chuo Ward, Tokyo) will release “I Can’t Finish Reading Proust: Or, On the Mindset Required for a Middle-Aged Man to Become a Business Caregiver,” a memoir of caregiving experiences by author Fumiki Takahashi, on September 8, 2026, at bookstores nationwide and online retailers.

『プルーストが読み切れない』書影

Book cover for *I Can’t Finish Reading Proust*

■ The “2025 Problem” and Business Caregivers

By 2025, the entire baby boomer generation will have reached the age of 75 or older, classified as “elderly of advanced age.” As a result, the number of elderly people requiring care has surged, and the “2025 Problem” has become a reality for society as a whole.

For their children—those in their 40s and 50s who are in the prime of their working lives—the issue of “business caregivers,” who must care for their parents while continuing to work, has become a major challenge.

Author Fumiki Takahashi was one of them.

In 2019, his mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and his caregiving journey began. At the time, Takahashi was working as a writer and business owner, while also raising four children as a father.

From applying for long-term care certification to home care, admission to a nursing facility, balancing work and child-rearing, caregiving costs, managing his parents’ assets, family trusts, dementia, and even the ethics of caregiving and “a son’s silence”—this book, *I Can’t Finish Reading Proust*, chronicles his experiences over approximately five years.

This book is not a guide written by a caregiving expert. It is the account of a son who knew almost nothing about caregiving but found himself responsible for his parent’s care one day, and who continued to balance work and life while researching the system, making choices, and sometimes failing along the way.

Aimed at the working-age generation who may soon find themselves caring for their parents, this book conveys, through the experience of a single “business caregiver,” “what actually happens once caregiving begins.”

■ Why *I Couldn’t Finish Proust*?

The author’s mother loved reading, and in her later years, she set a goal to finish Marcel Proust’s epic novel *In Search of Lost Time*. However, as her condition worsened, she was unable to finish it.

The title *I Can’t Finish Proust* stems from this experience with my mother.

Caregiving is not only about institutional systems, finances, and work-related issues; it is also about spending time with a person—someone you had previously viewed only as a “parent”—as they grow old and frail.

In this book, the author not only reflects on his actual experiences with caregiving but also, using photographs from his mother’s youth and her writings as clues, traces the life she led from a son’s perspective.

It serves as both a guide to caregiving and an essay chronicling the final moments shared by a mother and her son.

『プルーストが読みきれない』書影(帯付き)

Cover image of *I Can’t Finish Reading Proust* (with obi)

■ Main Themes Covered in This Book

・How does the long-term care certification process begin?

・How to balance work, child-rearing, and caregiving

・From home care to admission to a care facility

・Parents’ pensions and the costs of care

・Managing Parents’ Assets and Family Trusts

・Caregiving and Career Stagnation

・Relationships with Parents with Advanced Dementia

■ Book Overview

Title: “I Can’t Finish Proust—

　　　　　 Or, On the Mindset Required for a Middle-Aged Man to Become a Business Caregiver"

Author: Fumiki Takahashi

Publisher: Hametsu-ha Co., Ltd.

Release Date: September 8, 2026

List Price: 1,980 yen (tax included / 1,800 yen before tax)

Format: A4-size paperback

Number of Pages: 192 pages

ISBN: 978-4-905197-09-6

■ Author Profile

Fumiki Takahashi

Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1979.Made his literary debut in 2001 with *Chūto Kage* while attending the University of Tokyo. Won the Shincho New Writers’ Award in 2007 for *Aureliano Is Coming*. His works include *Chūto Kage*, *Aureliano Is Coming*, and *It’s a Good Song, But I Don’t Know the Name*. Representative Director of Hametsu-ha Co., Ltd.

著者近影(高橋文樹)