Below are a few questions I asked Sheila Warnock, author of Share the Care recently for my monthly newsletter…(sign up for monthly newsletter here)

JH: When an adult child first realizes they need outside help in assisting a newly widowed parent, what is the first thing they need to do to assemble support team or “caregiver group”? How soon after loss do you think this should take place?

 SW: GET EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. A family discussion with your siblings and newly widowed parent will enable your family to honestly determine what kind of assistance is needed, who in the community might help and how fast you need to get organized. It’s crucial to recognize if your parent will need a great deal of support, or if they can do well just cushioned with loving practical and emotional backing for a few weeks or months. If a parent needs constant companionship and physical care other options may need to be considered with input from his or her physician. The key is to agree support is needed. A parent might resist allowing others to help fearing loss of independence, being perceived as a burden, or that they could never reciprocate. (more…)

Many people ask me how I wrote, produced and published my own book. After much research, attending writers’ conferences and talking and pitching to agents and editors, and almost signing on with two different NYC agents to represent my book, I decided to start my own publishing company to produce my book so I could retaining all editorial and creative rights to the book. Here is a great article about all the changes happening in the book industry that are affecting writers, publishers and wanna-be self-publishers and book authors in today’s New York Times….

I am very excited to tell you that Mom Minus Dad has recently received two awards from the publishing an writing community. The book won the 2008 Honorable Mention for Non-Fiction in the Writer’s Digest Magazine’s 16th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards (and will be featured in the March/April 2008 issue) and was a Finalist in the Parenting/Family category for the 2008 Indie Book Awards. I am thrilled at others are noticing the importance of the issue of supporting adult children with newly widowed parents. Thank you all for your continued support.