A New Book by Ann Gerrard
What Are We Going To Do About Mum (Or Dad)?
A Practical Roadmap For Families Caring For Aging Parents From The First Conversation To The Final Goodbye
Most families don't plan for the caregiving journey. They wait until the crisis arrives - and then navigate one of the most demanding experiences of their lives without warning, without a map, and often without knowing what they don't know. That's how it happened for me. One phone call, and I was caring for a mother I'd spent years having to keep at a distance. This book shares what I learned along the way - the practical, the painful, and the unexpected gift she gave me in the end.
Inside, you'll find:
- •Real stories from a daughter who lived every page
- •Practical tools and checklists you can use now
- •Honest guidance for every stage of the journey
A companion for the road you didn't plan to travel.
Ann walked this road with her own mother - daughter, caregiver, and healthcare professional - and she wrote the book she wished someone had given her. Honest, practical, and deeply human, it's the resource every family needs, before they need it.
This isn't theory. This is my life.
I didn't set out to write this book. I set out to survive my mother's last years - and somewhere in the exhaustion, the decisions, and the moments I got right and some I got wrong, I realized I was learning things I wished someone had told me before I needed them.
I spent over 30 years working in healthcare leadership, rooted in occupational therapy, before I became my mother's primary caregiver. I thought that would prepare me. It didn't - not for the parts that had nothing to do with medicine, and everything to do with love, guilt, family, money, and the quiet grief of watching a parent need you in ways they never wanted to. I learned - slowly, imperfectly - that the role wasn't to become her parent. It was to walk beside her.
If you're here, something has already shifted. Whatever brought you here - you are in the right place. This book was written for you. Not for the version of you that has everything figured out - but for the one standing exactly where you are right now, trying to do right by someone who needs you now.
It's full of the things nobody tells you until you are already in the middle of needing them. Not a manual. A hand to hold.
Four things this book gives you.
- •Real stories - not clinical advice, but what actually happens inside a family when caregiving begins
- •A practical roadmap - the conversations, decisions, and steps most families don't know to plan for until they're in crisis
- •Reflective questions - space at the end of each chapter to sit with where you are, not just what to do
- •Tools you can use now - checklists and planning tools built from real caregiving, not theory.
When Is It Time For Long-Term Care?
Most families wait about 18 months too late. Leave your email and I'll send you this free guide - plus first look when the book launches.
10 Conversations to Start - Before You Need Them
The first steps before the crisis arrives. Leave your email and I'll send you this free guide - plus first look when the book launches.
Ann Gerrard
Life Coach & Catalyst - Author, What Are We Going To Do About Mum (Or Dad)?
Ann didn't set out to write a book. She set out to show up for her mum. A former Canadian National Skating Champion, she brings that same discipline, heart, and resilience to caregiving as she once brought to competition. She lives in Mississauga, Ontario.