Abigail Trafford, My Time columnist for the Washington Post, writes about a long, lovely and challenging good-bye to her step-mother and includes advice from author Gail Sheehy, who has a new book out on this subject.

The Washington Post

…”Denial keeps us unprepared. Initiation into the caregiver club usually comes with The Call: Mom fell, Dad’s in the E.R. Or a diagnosis: cancer . . . Parkinson’s disease . . . now what? The challenges — physical, emotional, financial and logistical — are overwhelming. And you have to act fast.”

Source: Washington Post, April 6, 2010