In Black America Podcast: Why Wait?
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On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Carolyn A. Brent, author of Why Wait? The Baby Boomers’ Guide to Preparing Emotionally, Financially and Legally for a Parent’s Death. There are currently over 79 million Baby Boomers in this country. An estimated 13 million of them are caring for their elderly parents, with 25 percent of those parents living in the home of an adult offspring. When sudden, unexpected changes in a parent’s health occur without a clear plan for the quagmire of legal, financial, and medical decisions needed, it can tear families apart, often leaving siblings estranged and resentful for years to come.
Brent’s passion for caregiving started when she was caring for her own father, Dr. William L. Brent, who was diagnosed with dementia in 1997. From that experience, she found that neither she nor her family truly understood not only the medical challenges related to aging and chronic illness, but also the financial and emotional weight that these bring to bear on a family. In 2009, she founded her business Grandpa’s Dream and the non-profit organization Caregiver Story for the dissemination of information through books, speaking engagements and a web-based info portal, with the hopes of them becoming instruments of positive change for other families who were experiencing the same pain and heartache that she experienced, and who were being challenged by the need to plan for their aging parents’ medical, financial, and legal well-being.
Podcast: Download (26.5MB)
