Reflections & Insights
Your Parent’s Death: Facing Fear and Finding Meaning
In my next life, I want to come back as Dr. Kathy Selvaggi, the palliative care doctor who appears in this Frontline documentary series about how our health-care system handles end-of-life care. I think we should all idolize clinicians who escort people to and from...
The Three Pillars of Parental Care: Add Up to One Impossible Job
My best friend from college and I use a term “the hard professor,” as shorthand for situations where our heroic efforts haven’t felt good enough. It comes from an analogy I created to make a point. It worked like this: If you were in a class with a professor who, in...
The Reason Behind Daughterhood
I was trying to explain to a male colleague why I was naming my new (at the time) website “Daughterhood.org.” He’s an expert on aging and shares responsibility with his sister for their mother’s care. So, I wanted his advice on creating a resource that helps families...
Daughterhood in a Time of COVID: Our History and Our Future
As the first nursing home and assisted living facility residents get their COVID-19 vaccines, I feel like I’m seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been quiet on the blog this year because I’ve felt speechless – empty of any information, advice or even...
Caring for Aging Parents Under the Reality of COVID-19
I travel on airplanes a lot. Or at least I did before two weeks ago! Usually, my primary focus is on whether I can get a coffee refill and how much longer I can procrastinate doing work. So, basically, exactly the same as when I’m home minus the barking dog. A big...