The Book
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
Why This Book
For Ann, the call came with a harder question attached: what do you do when the person who now needs you is someone who wasn't there when you needed her? Caring for a parent is hard enough. Caring for one while carrying a complicated past asks more of you than any care plan can measure - and there was no guide for that. So she wrote one. This book walks alongside you through every stage, from the decisions you'll have to make to the feelings you'll have to hold - the old hurts, the family tensions, and the surprising grace that can arrive at the very end.
What's Inside
The book moves through four parts, following the real arc of the caregiving journey - and of a mother and daughter slowly finding a bond neither had ever known:
- Seeing Clearly - starting the conversation nobody wants to have, understanding what's actually happening as your loved one ages, and truly listening to what they want
- Building the Framework - wills, Powers of Attorney, money conversations, and building your support village
- Living in the In-Between - navigating the shift from independence to dependence, the emotional weather, family dynamics, anticipatory grief, caregiver burnout, the medical maze, and completing wills, trusts and Powers of Attorney
- The Final Chapter - when faculties diminish, choosing between home, retirement living or long-term care, faith and meaning, medicine at the end of life, the gift of palliative care before it's too late, and an honest look at MAID
Along the way, you'll find free printable checklists and tools for every stage - a QR code in the book takes you straight to them.
Who This Book Is For
Whether you're caring for Mum, Dad or another loved one. If you're the adult child who just got The Call. If you're already deep in the caregiving role and running on empty. If you can feel it coming and want to be ready - this book was written for you.