Interview With Carolyn A Brent Author of Why Wait

Today, November 1, I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 1 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Carolyn A. Brent whose book Why Wait? The Baby Boomers’ Guide to Preparing Emotionally, Financially and Legally for a Parent’s Death launches on Amazon on Tuesday November 15, 2011.

Author Carolyn A. Brent, M.B.A. is a former clinical educational manager in the pharmaceutical industry. She is an avid activist and advocate working with the U.S. Congress for the purpose of creating change to protect seniors and veterans from financial and medical abuse. She has appeared on many local and national TV and radio shows, and is a sought-after keynote speaker.

Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with Carolyn when I got to ask her some questions on her work and other subjects. I hope you enjoy it.

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Glenn M Smith: Can you tell us a bit about your work with members of congress to help change legislation to help protect long-term family caregivers?

Carolyn A. Brent: I’ve been lobbying the United States Congress to pass new laws that will protect longstanding family caregivers from the malice of their siblings.  My goal is to close the gap I identified between the state and federal authorities, by making it harder for long-time caregivers to be displaced by siblings who have not been involved in the care of their elderly parents. Just as recently as October 13, 2011, I met with two State Government Officials regarding this same problem.  My goal with the state is to be appointed as a chair member of the Commission of Aging.  I will continue to knock on doors at State, Congress and The White House until new laws are passed.

Glenn M Smith: In your book, you talk about crucial emotional conversations parents, siblings and other family members must have. Can you tell us a bit about what you mean by that?

Carolyn A. Brent: For the elderly, now is the time for conversations about end-of-life issues to take place with their children, not later. And if your parents don’t bring the subject up, as a concerned child you should.  Why wait to begin talking? Why wait until there is a crisis? It is much better to hold these crucial conversations early when your parents are still healthy and can articulate their wishes, needs, and concerns. When a family has a plan, it is much easier to work together as a team.

In my case, my sibling flat out refused to have any conversation regarding our dad. As a direct result we had a very bad outcome to no one’s benefit. If I would have known about a sibling contract; I would have had a third party to intervene on my behalf to have this type of discussion, at the same time protecting me the longstanding caregiver.

Glenn M Smith: How can you care of yourself when you are a caregiver?

Carolyn A. Brent: To be an effective caregiver, you must take care of yourself as well. Now on the other end of caregiving, I find that exercise and meditation help me to relax as I never did either beforehand. I wish I would have known to nurture myself better while I was on the journey with my father.

Don’t be afraid to ask for Respite Care for the person you are caring for…YOU NEED A BREAK! It’s a fact that caregiving is an extremely demanding and difficult job that no one is equipped to do alone. Reaching out and getting the help you need to preserve your mental health and physical well-being is therefore crucial for both you and the parent you are caring for, especially if you live together.

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I hope you enjoyed this interview with Carolyn A. Brent and that you’ll check out her book Why Wait? The Baby Boomers’ Guide to Preparing Emotionally, Financially and Legally for a Parent’s Death at http://www.babyboomersguide.org/book-launch/pre-launch.html

Here Are Two Reasons Why:

FREE 3-DAY PASS

When you visit the page at the link above and request a “launch reminder”, you will automatically receive a FREE pass to Carolyn’s 3-day “Why Wait? Telesummit”, with a panel leading experts preparing emotionally, financially and legally for the death of a parent. You can listen to the telesummit online in the comfort of your own home, and even ask questions during the broadcast.

This telesummit is a completely free
“no purchase necessary” gift from Carolyn

To register, go to

http://www.babyboomersguide.org/book-launch/telesummit.html

FREE GIFTS

When you buy Carolyn’s book on Tuesday November 15, 2011, you can ALSO receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe including one from me: Blind Spots: 10 Ways You Might be Sabotaging Yourself and Your Performance Without Knowing It.

To claim your 3-Day Pass and read about the free gifts, go to: http://www.babyboomersguide.org/book-launch/pre-launch.html

Thanks for reading! As usual, please feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.

AND… be sure to follow Carolyn tomorrow when the next stop on the Virtual Blog Tour is Gunther’s Grades, who will be interviewing Carolyn on a couple of critical questions talking to parent(s) and one related to caregiving. To visit that “stop” on the tour, go to http://www.gunthersgrades.com/node/9917