After my mom died, I struggled to work through my experience navigating the systems during her end of life. I’m a writer, but to make sense of this experience, I took out a Sharpie and a piece of paper to create this: After my dad died, I took out my Sharpie again: I found it […]
I read a profile of a comedienne, Hannah Berner, in The New York Times(opens in new tab) this morning. She landed a Netflix special which probably both excited and terrified her. Before she stepped onstage to begin taping, she told herself: “What if you just let your dreams come true?” The question delivered a calming
In May, I decided to build a calculator to better understand your value. I had released other calculators as part of a care economy series to demonstrate the cost of not supporting family caregivers. The missing calculator, I decided, was the one that takes into account the scope of your work and then crunches the
I paused while reading this profile of a family caregiver in People magazine: “We are not a caregiver and a patient. We are still a team,” she affirms. “It’s only been in the last six months that I’ve accepted the term caregiver. I only wanted to be his wife. I used to physically flinch when
“Annie’s cousin helped her find a therapist. She went for about a month. She wasn’t opposed to therapy but left each session frustrated by explaining a world the therapist couldn’t quite see.” Annie, who cares for her daughter, shared this experience in a recent profile of her experiences in The Washington Post(opens in new tab).
Several years ago, I attended a seminar given by Alan Seale, who taught us his take on how to manifest our goals and dreams. One tip he suggested was to “Remember the future.” Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? How can we have a memory of an event that has yet to occur? The more
During one update to my dad about home health and palliative care visits for him and my mom, my dad looked at me and said: “Isn’t there someone who should be organizing this for us? Like someone with the insurance?” “Nope,” I said. “That’s why I’m doing it.” Family caregivers do the work of the
Our days can feel so full of drudgery. We begin the day with the grind of To Do’s and close the day with thoughts of tomorrow’s toil. Let’s break up the grind. Let’s explore. We can explore right where we are. We can explore: ideas with a colleague or friend places by taking a detour
After my dad’s bladder cancer diagnosis in March 2004, I regularly attended doctor’s appointments with my parents and provided emotional support to them. My dad received ongoing treatment, which he managed, for his cancer. Because I made attending his appointments a priority, I also advocated on behalf of my dad, especially during one particular appointment
I think about the thoughts in my head, which can become my experience with the world. Recently, I got trapped by these thoughts: I’m never getting anywhere. I’ll live like this forever. Life is just painful. These thoughts made me feel even worse. My circumstances hurt my body and my thoughts about those circumstances made
