Featured memoir
The Second Shift
A lifetime of caregiving. A story about what it means to stay.
A lifetime of caregiving. A story about what it means to stay.
I never set out to write a book. For years, I simply wrote things down: experiences I wanted to remember, lessons I learned, and things I wished someone had told me.
Eventually, I realized those notes told a larger story. They told the story of the second shift, the work that began after the workday ended and continued because someone I loved needed me.
I wrote The Second Shift for the caregivers who wonder if anyone sees what they are carrying, and for the families who may not fully understand what caregiving asks of the person doing it.
This is not a how-to manual. It is a true story about family, caregiving, love, exhaustion, laughter, difficult decisions, grief, and the moments of ordinary life that become extraordinary when you realize how precious they are.
The story does not end when caregiving ends. It continues into loss, the quiet that follows, and the process of discovering who you are when the role that shaped so much of your life is suddenly gone.
The Second Shift is for current caregivers, former caregivers, families walking through illness and aging, people grieving someone they cared for, and anyone who wants to better understand the emotional reality of caring for someone they love.
It is also for the person who has ever wondered whether exhaustion, frustration, grief, and love can exist at the same time.
They can.
“When Cheryl asked me to read The Second Shift, I expected to read a memoir about caregiving. What I discovered was something much deeper.
This is not simply a book about caring for aging parents or navigating the healthcare system. It is a story about love, resilience, family, grief, and ultimately, transformation.”