With disarming honesty and warmth, Brenda reveals how her "sweet, timid Christian mother" underwent dramatic personality changes, and the strategies that helped her navigate this challenging terrain. Rather than constantly correcting her mother (which often led to agitation), Brenda learned to enter her mother's reality, discovering five specific approaches that brought comfort: scenic drives, ice cream treats, story reading, classic TV shows, and receiving mail

A Life Devoted to Love at the End of Life

For more than twenty years, people have trusted me with their final moments. I have sat at bedsides where words run out, where fear and grace coexist, and where love speaks louder than anything else.

I did not set out to become an expert in grief. Grief found me.

Through thousands of quiet conversations with the dying—and through my own losses—I learned something the world rarely teaches us: love does not end when life does.

This knowledge shapes everything I do.

https://www.rememberingalife.com/

https://www.fordfh.com/

https://nfda.org/

The room changes the moment a calm dog trots in. We sat down with Dan Ford—second-generation funeral director and incoming president of the National Funeral Directors Association—to unpack how trained therapy dogs help families breathe easier, speak freely, and find a little relief on the hardest days. Meet Joey, the lap-loving “little gentleman,” and Annie, a gentle golden doodle who leans into a mourner’s leg to say, I’m here. Their presence isn’t a novelty; it’s practical neuroscience in action, turning overwhelming services into spaces where people can actually feel and talk.

I’m an emergency medicine physician and startup founder who has spent years working in environments where the stakes are high, pressure is constant, and outcomes often don't match the plan. In the ER, I watched teams manage life-and-death stakes shift after shift. In startups, I saw similar dynamics play out around missed goals, failed launches, intense uncertainty, and  rapid change — just with different consequences.

That observation led me to develop The Healing Protocol — a practical way of understanding how teams function when they can acknowledge what didn’t work while still recognizing the people who keep showing up. This isn’t a wellness or motivational lens; it comes from real operational environments where decisions matter and there’s little room for abstraction.

We talk with Harmony Home Medical’s Erica Sell about practical tools that make caregiving safer and calmer, from dementia‑friendly bathing to safer transfers and mobility that preserves independence. We share ways to pay for the right gear, find reliable help, and protect caregiver health.

Ingrid Hanson-Popp is delighted to announce the Morgan James Publishing version of her book, Becoming an Orphan! You can I.D. this by the updated subtitle: A Caregiver's Guide to Lovingingly Letting our Parents Go and a cover that includes some yellow an grey colors along with the original blue. Find practical and soulful tips to make caring for aging parents (and eventually letting them go) a time of more connection and less stress. Ingrid loves to encourage people and help them find real hope within her books.

We invited gerontologist Janice Goldman to help us turn that worry into a plan you can actually use, from decoding what “dementia” really means to knowing when to call the doctor, how to prepare legal documents, and what to do when the family can’t agree on next steps.

My Story

Lisa Rites is a Certified Grief Educator with a compassionate heart and a wealth of experience. With over 40 years as a Registered Respiratory Therapist, Lisa brings a deep understanding of emotional and physical healing to her work. Her personal grief journey through loss, including the passing of loved ones and her own experience with divorce, has shaped her dedication to helping others navigate the complexities of grief.

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Lisa's professional certifications, combined with her empathetic approach, enable her to provide personalized support to individuals dealing with various types of grief, from the loss of a loved one to life transitions like separation or divorce. She believes in meeting people where they are and guiding them forward toward healing and peace.

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Surviving: Finding Hope After Suicide Loss

A memoir about grief, healing, and finding your way forward.

In Surviving: Finding Hope After Suicide Loss, HelpHUB™ Founder Lisa Sugarman shares her deeply personal story of losing her father to suicide as a child and the decades-long journey of grief, healing, and resilience that followed.

Blending lived experience with compassion and insight, Surviving offers hope and understanding for anyone navigating suicide loss or supporting someone who is.

This book is for survivors, families, and anyone searching for a path forward after loss.

Miles shares the personal spark behind Reflecta and why he calls it soul tech. We talk about designing for the emotional load of grief, bringing in experts from hospice, suicide support, the military, and spiritual care to build humane guardrails. You’ll hear how a 10-second voicemail can seed a father’s voice, how a same-sex sibling can stand in when no recordings exist, and why a reflection’s perfect memory makes scattered photos and letters feel whole again. For caregivers facing dementia, this approach can be a gentle bridge—meeting loved ones in the stories and timelines where they feel most at home.

We unpack how long-term care insurance funds care for daily living needs, why Medicare stops short, and how early planning protects dignity and choice. Real numbers, tax perks, employer options, and alternatives help you map a plan that fits your health, age, and budget.

• definition of long-term care and what it covers
• why home care often delivers better attention
• Medicare and health insurance limits on long-term care
• the emotional and financial cost of late planning
• tax-free benefits and business deductibility
• when to buy and how age and health affect premiums
• hybrid, short-term, and subscription-based alternatives
• employer plans for younger staff and retention
• steps to start, state differences, and who to contac