Giving Grief Grace, a Grief Podcast for the Sandwich Generation
Loss changes everything. But it doesn't have to have the last word. Giving Grief Grace is a podcast dedicated to those in the throes of caregiving and loss with honest, compassionate conversations about grief, healing, and what it means to keep living after loss. Hosted by Lisa Hartung, a speaker, HR professional, and fellow griever, each episode creates space for the stories we don't always know how to tell.
From disenfranchised and hidden grief, to grieving while parenting, to the ways men experience loss differently, to the unexpected power of creativity and legacy, this show covers grief in all its forms. Featuring expert guests, real stories, and practical tools you can use right now.
If you've lost someone you love or are in the throes of caregiving, you belong here.
New episodes drop every Sunday. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Giving Grief Grace, a Grief Podcast for the Sandwich Generation
Episode 62 - Alzheimer's, Caregiving, & the Anticipatory Grief No One Prepares You For with Caroline Shelby
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There's a particular kind of heartbreak in loving someone whose mind is fading while their body stays. Caroline Shelby, founder of Grief Clarity Labs, lived inside that heartbreak for over a decade as her mother's Alzheimer's progressed. It started with small slips that got explained away until one night at dinner, her mother looked at Caroline's college T-shirt and said, "My daughter Caroline goes to Goucher. Do you know her?"
In this conversation, Caroline and Lisa talk through what it actually felt like to become her mother's caregiver: the "Mom Calendar" her family built to share the load, the arguments she now wishes she hadn't had, the guilt of wanting the suffering to end, and the moment after three years of silence when her mother said "I love you" and then went back to eating dinner. Caroline is honest about the parts of caregiving no one prepares you for: the 24/7 mental load that never fully shuts off, the anger and relief that come tangled up with guilt, and the strange grief of losing a role that once felt like a burden. We close with her hard-won take on anticipatory grief, including why she believes you truly cannot "pre-grieve" a loss.
In this episode:
- Anticipatory grief often starts years before anyone names it
- The shift from daughter to caregiver rarely happens in one moment, it builds slowly, through rearranged roles and daily logistics
- Caregiving carries an invisible, around-the-clock mental load that follows you home
- Anger, guilt, and even wishing the suffering would end are normal, not signs of being a bad daughter or son
- You can't prepare for a loss you haven't experienced yet; presence matters more than bracing for what's ahead
Book a FREE 30-minute call with Caroline here. https://www.griefclaritylabs.com/call
Connect with Caroline: griefclaritylabs.com | Book: Living Beside the Leaving: A Daughter's Story of Caregiving, Alzheimer's and Loss (available on Amazon) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRGTPWXD] | Instagram: @GriefClarityLabs
Wanting to join in community? Join us on the 3rd Thursday of every month from 9-10pm ET for an hour of PLAY! We'll doodle, dance, and dream. The is a free online Zoom event. Sign up at www.lisahartung.com.
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Special thanks to:
Podcast Editor Jacqueline van Bierk of Pink Star Music
Podcast Music Good_B_Music
