Letters to a Friend
Letters from people who have already been here.
People who cared for a parent, a husband, a wife, wrote short letters to whoever needed them next. Read one, or write the one you wish someone had handed you.
Find something closer to home
What are you carrying right now?
Pick whichever one fits. If none of them do, the last one is for anyone.
- Alzheimer's & dementiaFor the long goodbye, and the days that repeat.
- Caring for a spouse or partnerWhen the person you married became the person you look after.
- When the caregiver is exhaustedFor anyone running on nothing and still showing up.
- Caring from far awayManaging it by phone, by plane, from three states over.
- A fall, a stroke, a sudden injuryWhen everything changed in an afternoon.
- Parkinson'sFrom people who have watched it progress.
- Moving a parent into careFor the decision, and for how you feel afterward.
- Hospice & the last monthsWritten by people who have sat through it.
- After they're goneFor when the caring is over and you are still here.
- Anyone who needs itLetters that fit whatever you are carrying.
If you want to write one
Write to the person reading it.
Not a summary of what you went through. A letter to someone who is somewhere you have already been. Say the thing you wish someone had said to you.
Every letter is read by a person before it goes up. Your first name and your relationship to the person you cared for are published. Nothing else is.