Family caregiving is commonly viewed as an act of love. So much so that the phrase "caring for a...
Category: Caring for a Parent
The Mental Load of Being a Sandwich Generation Caregiver
Writer and musician Tanuja Desai-Hidier lives in a multigenerational home in Maine with her aging...
We need to address society’s unrealistic view of caregivers
Who cares? When picturing a caregiver, the person who comes to mind is almost invariably female....
The philosophy of selfhood became real when my mother got dementia
At first, my mother, the poet Anne Atik, had seemed just ordinarily confused. Then, very...
And So on and So Forth
The woman is my mother, who is 81 and losing her memory, the past dissolving each day like so many...
The #Midwessay: Sarah Cords, You Can’t Go Home Again
Just lately it is even harder to stay in my house, my geographical middle. This is because my...
Can I Sever Ties With My Selfish Sister?
Several years ago, I told my sister that I wouldn’t be upset if we never spoke again. Recently her...
Queen Latifah On Being Her Mom’s Caregiver: ‘I Would Just Want to Fall Apart’
On top of her work in entertainment, she’s also held the role of caregiver. In 2018, Latifah lost...
My dad now makes risky choices and I need to accept the role reversal
I pull up in front of the house, knowing Dad will not be waiting to greet me. Having trouble...
How to Coordinate a Parent’s Care With Siblings
When it becomes clear that an aging parent needs caregiving, it’s uncharted territory for adult...
I feel guilty for checking my mother into long-term care against her will
For close to two hours, my mom had stubbornly resisted our cajoling, pleading and arguing as we...
When siblings become caregivers
All of Marlene’s children live within an hour of her Michigan home, yet Sheila, who lives the...
How My Father Escaped Jail for Christmas
My mother and father never married. This meant, as my mother explained, that I was his legal next...
Things I’ll Do Differently When I’m Old
Soon after my 50th birthday, 10 years ago, I started keeping a list of “Things I will do/things I...
Churn
Nobody just “stops by” this house. My mother won’t let anyone she knows come near the outside,...
Sandwich Generation: How Do You Decide Whose Needs Come First?
Your parents need your help right now, and so do your adult kids. But what about saving for your...
Should I Help My Aging, Ailing Dad Access His Toxic Web Feed?
My father and I have not been especially close for all of my adult life because of his inability...
Queer Millennials Are Becoming Family Caregivers. We Aren’t Ready
The ache of watching a loved one grow smaller was hard enough. But I also wasn’t prepared for the...
Caring and Grieving in the Shadow of COVID
When my mother had brain surgery to remove a tumor in May 2020, I thought that was the most...
Healthy Helping for Family Caregivers of Senior Parents
Gerontologists and psychology of aging experts say that “aging well” in your 60s and 70s is about...
The staggering, exhausting, invisible costs of caring for America’s elderly
Some older adults have diligently prepared for their future. They purchased long-term care...
What I’ve Learned Over a Lifetime of Caring for the Dying
Some of the hardest conversations I have in my work involve telling families managing the...
A moment that changed me: my mother died – and I became my brother’s legal guardian
It was in Stansted airport’s Pink Elephant car park that I realised all the adults were going...
My Mother, Before She Drank
My older sister and I eventually decided to involve our aunt to help figure out a way to save her....