82. "Drop it. And try to be understanding and forgiving."

"At some point, however, you need to stop wasting your breath. If a sibling absolutely will not help no matter how you plead, this is his or her decision. Your sister might not be able to accept that your parent is sic or dying. Or your brother might have such a complex and painful relationship with your father that he can’t begin to deal with any of this. Or maybe your sibling is terribly busy with other things, or simply self-involved. Drop it. And try to be understanding and forgiving. Your sibling has his reasons—one that you may never understand—and, in the end, he will have to live with this decision. Let go of it; move on to more productive tasks."

From "How to Care for Aging Parents" by Virginia Morris, Workman Publishing, New York