EPISODE 690 - Cindy Eastman - True Confessions of An Ambivalent Caregiver, Grief, Loss and The Next Chapter

About the author
Cindy Eastman is a writer and an educator.

Her career has taken a wide and diverse route from introducing computer skills to elementary schoolchildren, teaching freshman English as an adjunct at a community college to facilitating a writing course for seniors for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. In her weekly essay on Substack called Silver Linings, she discusses getting older with a sense of humor--a must!

Eastman makes her home in Connecticut with her husband, Angelo. Her second collection of essays, "True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver" will be published by She Writes Press in Sept. 2024 and she is submitting an anthology on grief to publishers. She can be found writing or teaching unless she gets to spend time with her grandkids. Then all bets are off.

Book: True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver: A Memoir in Essays

Written for caregivers of parents and spouses, this funny but brutally honest collection of essays from award-winning author Eastman challenges the romanticized notion of caregiving, portraying it as an elegant conflict that reshapes family dynamics.

At first grateful to be able remodel the dining room of her family's modest home in Connecticut to accommodate her eighty-six-year-old father for what everyone felt would be a short duration of care, Cindy Eastman ultimately experienced a whole gamut of feelings over the course of what turned out to be four years of caring for her dying dad. Caregiving impacts everyone, and this account—told in essays recorded before, during, and after the time Eastman's father was with her—details that impact, not just on the primary caregiver but also the rest of the family.

One of the reasons Eastman committed to writing down her experiences was because she predicted that once her dad died, there would be a tendency to soften or even deny any of the negative and challenging times—and there were many. As of 2020, more than 53 million adults provide homecare in this country, and the reality of that arrangement is different for every family. It is not, as some might suggest, a "noble gesture" but rather an elegant conflict—an intricate reassembling of the family dynamic that many people don't ever see coming. In these candid, often poignant essays, Cindy Eastman brings all the emotions of taking on the challenging responsibility of caregiving a parent at the end of their life to the surface.

With lots of humorous insight, Cindy Eastman validates the struggles and sacrifices and describes what you want to say - even if you never utter a word. Eastman isn't afraid to reveal genuine thoughts and feelings about caregiving, even if these aren't always flattering.

True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver shows that, sometimes, just getting through the day is an accomplishment, and it's enough.
~ Courtnee Turner Hoyle
for Readers' Favorite

https://cindyeastman.com/

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podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/

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EPISODE 689 - Matthew Neal Boedy - The Seven Mountains Mandate - Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy

A movement driven by prosperity preachers, extremist politicians, and right-wing power brokers laid the groundwork for Trump’s presidency and is now advancing its agenda under his second administration. This multipronged effort against our national institutions is being led by millennial “kingmaker” Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and the new face of Christian Nationalism.

"A sobering assessment of the evolution of Christian nationalism." - Publishers Weekly

Matthew Boedy has written for many publications and authored three books. He's appeared on CNN and MSNBC and in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other media outlets.

He has been a leader in faculty organizing since 2020 as president of the Georgia conference of the American Association of University Professors, a national higher education advocacy group.

He completed his Ph.D. in English in 2015 at the University of South Carolina where he also received in 2010 a master's in creative writing. He most prizes his bachelor's degree in journalism in 2001 from the University of Florida and his work at the campus newspaper, the Independent Florida Alligator.

He is a full professor of rhetoric at the University of North Georgia. He researches and writes about religious rhetoric, particularly in the last few years about the rise of Christian Nationalism.

He was once a crime reporter and high school teacher. He resides with his wife and two daughters in Gainesville, Georgia.

https://www.matthewboedy.com/

Support the show

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https://livingthenextchapter.com/
podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/

Coffee Refills are always appreciated, refill Dave's cup here, and thanks!
https://buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca

EPISODE 688 - Ruth A Milligan - The Juniper Ridge Trilogy - A Dystopian Science Fiction Thriller Series

Ruth A. Milligan writes Science Fiction and Horror stories. She found her love of writing in grade school where she pounded out her stories on an old typewriter heavier than her and spent almost every day reading at the public library. When she's not writing, Ruth enjoys dance, hockey, airplanes, really strong coffee, and meeting new people. She published her first book in December 2023.

https://www.ruthamilligan.com/

Support the show

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https://livingthenextchapter.com/
podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/

Coffee Refills are always appreciated, refill Dave's cup here, and thanks!
https://buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca