I Lived the Life So Many Caregivers Are Living Now
When I met the man who would become my husband, he told me he had Parkinson’s disease.
That didn’t frighten me.
What I didn’t yet understand was how deeply Parkinson’s would change both of our lives.
For nearly ten years, I cared for my husband as the disease slowly changed the man I loved. And during those years, I discovered something that surprised me:
There was very little support for caregivers.
As a medical provider was leaving the room after one of my husband’s appointments, she turned back toward me and quietly said:
“You are doing a good job.”
I still remember the tears that filled my eyes.
Because someone finally saw me.
After my husband’s gentle passing, I began hearing from caregivers carrying the same exhaustion, grief, and loneliness I had experienced myself.
Again and again, women described feeling invisible inside caregiving.
That realization became the foundation of Dear Caregiver.
Today, my work is devoted to helping Parkinson’s caregivers feel seen, supported, and reminded that they count too.
Why I do this Work
If I wake up in the middle of the night, my first thought is often for the caregivers who are awake too.
The ones listening for movement down the hall.
The ones managing medications, exhaustion, fear, and decisions while the rest of the world sleeps.
Caregivers do not need more information alone.
They need someone who understands.
Someone who can say:
“You are not failing.”
“You are not invisible.”
“You count too.”
That is why this work exists.
Experience Rooted in Both Research and Real Life
Before Parkinson’s caregiving became personal, my professional work focused on trauma, communication, emotional resilience, and human development.
But caregiving taught me lessons no classroom ever could.
Today, my work is shaped by both lived experience and decades of professional training:
But caregiving taught me lessons no classroom ever could.
Today, my work is shaped by both lived experience and decades of professional training:
- Ph.D. in Human Development from Cornell University
- Former professor in Psychology and Counseling
- National trainer and trauma specialist
- Author of Love, Dignity, and Parkinson’s
- Founder of the Dear Caregiver community
- Support and guidance for thousands of Parkinson’s caregivers
A Little About Me
I tend to keep my personal life personal.
But I’ll tell you this much.
I live in a tall wooden house with a front porch built by a ship’s carpenter in the 1860s — the house that eventually gave this work its name.
I have two adult daughters and two grandchildren who help keep me connected to the world beyond caregiving.
And I love sitting in rooms with caregivers who finally feel safe enough to tell the truth about how hard this can be.
I never take that trust lightly.
You Don't Have to Carry This Alone
There is support here for you
There is support here for you
If you are exhausted, overwhelmed, or trying to hold everything together while slowly losing parts of yourself in the process — you are not alone.
And you were never meant to carry all of this by yourself.