Widowhood is more than grief—it’s disorientation, invisibility, and loss of identity. Widow’s advocate Carol McGehe shares insights on “widows fog,” rebuilding purpose, and how community care transforms lives.

Carol’s ministry, Living Forward, offers a compelling example of how structured compassion, social connection, and practical support can restore dignity, identity, and purpose.

This episode is essential listening for caregivers, families, faith communities, and anyone seeking to better understand the emotional and practical realities of widowhood.

Bio:

CAROL McGEHE lives with her husband Larry in Daytona Beach, FL. Carol is the founder of The Vine Church’s Living Forward Ministry for Widows and consults to help others begin widows’ ministries in their local communities. She and Larry are co-authors of the award-winning Christian historical novel, In Search of My Heart, the first book in the In Search series. In addition to writing and serving as a Widows’ Advocate, Carol enjoys traveling, Bible Study, playing pickleball, boogie boarding, and spending time with friends.

Website links and other social media:

McGehe Books (Carol McGehe)_ “Becoming A Widows’ Advocate”:

Website/ordering: McGeheBooks.com/Widows_Advocate/

Email: McGeheBooks@gmail.com

McGehe Books (Larry & Carol McGehe)_ “In Search of My Heart”:

Website/ordering: https://McGeheBooks.com

Email: McGeheBooks@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insearchseries

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@McGeheBooks

Instagram: https://instagram.com/mcgehebooks

#caregiving

#thesharegivingsecret

#widowsadvocate

#DeborahSGreenhut

#widows

#postcaring

In this episode of The Sharegiving Secret™, Dr. Deborah S. Greenhut speaks with Ryan Riggins, a senior transition advisor, real estate professional, and creator of a caregiver-focused planning blueprint.

Together, they explore one of the most overlooked truths in caregiving:

👉 Love does not create systems.

Ryan shares practical, hard-won insights from working with families navigating housing transitions, financial decisions, and emotional resistance. From the first difficult conversation to protecting a family’s largest asset, this episode offers both clarity and caution.

📚 Guest Resources Section Website: rigginsstrategicsolutions.com Book: The Unheard Conversation Blueprint + calculators: https://www.rigginsstrategicsolutions.com/the-blueprint Senior Safe App (daily check-in + caregiver tools) https://www.rigginsstrategicsolutions.com/seniorsafe-app

About Dr. Deborah Greenhut

Author of The Rational Caregiver and host of The Sharegiving Secret, Dr. Greenhut helps individuals “learn to speak their life” through narrative. Deborah's guide for caregivers, "The Rational Caregiver" is available in print on Amazon and in e-format on Kindle. www.deborahgreenhut.com and www.memoirmomentum.com

#Caregiving

#Sharegiving

#AgingParents

#CaregiverSupport

#NarrativeCompetence

#TheSharegivingSecret-TM

Why does caregiving so often become a one-person job?

In this episode of The Sharegiving Secret, Dr. Deborah S. Greenhut speaks with Nancy LeClair, founder of The Other Daughter, about the hidden dynamics that push caregiving onto a single family member—and the devastating emotional, financial, and relational consequences that follow.

Drawing on Nancy’s background in market research, hospital and home care, and family mediation, this conversation explores:

1. Why families default to a “primary caregiver” model
2. How unshared care leads to burnout, resentment, and long-term family rifts
3. The ethical and financial realities of unpaid caregiving labor
4. Why neutral third parties can save families from turning on one another
5. The urgency of planning before crisis strikes

This episode is a candid, compassionate look at why caregiving must be shared—and how families can begin having those conversations now.

Nancy LeClair is the founder of The Other Daughter, a caregiving consulting practice that helps families navigate elder care without sacrificing relationships. With experience in hospital care, home care, and family mediation, Nancy advocates for proactive planning, fair distribution of caregiving labor, and the use of neutral third parties to prevent burnout and family fracture.

Social Media:

Website: www.theotherdaughter.ca

LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/theotherdaughter

Instagram: nleclairtheotherdaughter

Deborah S. Greenhut, PhD is a speaker, author, educator, and three-time family caregiver devoted to helping caregivers create fairer, healthier ways of caring—without losing themselves in the process. Through storytelling and practical frameworks, she helps caregivers rethink boundaries, rebalance responsibilities, and reclaim wellbeing. She is the author of the Amazon bestselling book The Rational Caregiver and the host of the podcast The Sharegiving Secret, where honest conversations illuminate how care can be shared, sustainable, and humane.

Deborah's book, The Rational Caregiver, is available on Amazon at this link in both Kindle and Print formats.

#TheSharegivingSecret #Caregiving #FamilyCaregiving #CaregiverBurnout

#ElderCare

#SandwichGeneration

#InvisibleLabor

#CaregivingSupport

#ShareTheCare

In Memoriam 3-14-2026. The world lost a sonbird today. This episode is being rebroadcast in memory of our friend, Maritri Garrett. Her story:

Jumping into caregiving transformed her life in ways she never expected! Chatting with Maritri Garrett, a musician turned caregiver, I dove deep into how she balances her creative passions with the demands of caring for her parentless nieces and her own parents during family crises. Maritri shares that self-care isn't just a nice-to-have; it's essential. Her story of adjusting life on the fly, incorporating rigorous self-care routines inspired by choreographer Twyla Tharp’s book, truly resonates with anyone in the throes of caregiving. If you’re finding caregiving to be a juggling act of emotional and physical demands, Maritri’s approach to maintaining her sanity through music, routine, and self-care is a testament to the power of resilience and creativity in the face of life’s unexpected turns.

About Maritri:

Maritri Garrett is a remarkable independent artist whose music reflects the depth of her diverse musical background. As a composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and educator, her songs tell honest stories of life, love, and loss, offering healing and solace to all who listen.

Maritri holds a unique blend of academic achievements, including a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Fisk University, a Bachelor of Science in Composition, and a Master of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies from Howard University.

Her skillful versatility with instruments like the piano, guitar, bass, cello, and percussion sets her apart. Having performed with and opened for musical legends like Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle, Maritri continues to captivate audiences with her emotionally powerful compositions and soulful performances.

https://www.instagram.com/maritrimusic/

https://www.tiktok.com/@maritrimusic

https://www.threads.net/@maritrimusic

https://www.facebook.com/MaritriMusic

https://www.facebook.com/maritri

About Me:

I have cared for many family members across the life span, experiencing the joys and challenges of child-rearing, the poignance of caring for parents, friends, and elder partners. I realized that I could not handle the stress of family caregiving 24/7/365. It was time for a new approach to caring. My health and happiness were slipping away. This is how Think to Thrive for Caregivers evolved. Let your mind meet your heart so you don’t lose track of your life.

Connect with Me:

https://www.deborahgreenhut.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahgreenhut01/

Find my books here

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What happens when caregiving begins before childhood is even finished?

In this deeply human and eye-opening conversation, Dr. Eugene Manley Jr. shares what it was like to become a caregiver as a child—and how those early responsibilities shaped his empathy, career, and lifelong commitment to health equity.

A biomedical scientist and founder of the STEM & Cancer Health Equity Foundation, Dr. Manley bridges lived experience and professional expertise as he reveals:

1. How early caregiving forces children into adult roles
2. What happens when even highly educated patients are failed by the healthcare system
3. Why caregivers need real-time advocates, not just paperwork
4. How burnout, income loss, and systemic bias disproportionately affect underserved families
5. Why storytelling, information-sharing, and community are survival tools for caregivers.

Dr. Manley has actively turned lived caregiving into action through health equity work. Caregivers are not invisible—and their stories are not small. This episode is a reminder that advocacy begins with being seen, heard, and supported.

BIO:

Dr. Eugene Manley Jr. is a biomedical scientist, health equity advocate, and founder of the STEM & Cancer Health Equity Foundation. Raised in inner-city Detroit and shaped by early caregiving experiences, he now works to improve health literacy, diversify the STEM workforce, and reduce disparities in cancer care through education, advocacy, and community-centered programs.

Links:

1. STEM & Cancer Health Equity Foundation: info@secchq.org
2. Social Media: STEMCCHQ (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)
3. LinkedIn: Eugene Manley Jr., PhD

Hashtags:

#TheSharegivingSecret

#CaregivingStories

#HealthEquity

#CaregiverAdvocacy

#PatientRights

#HealthcareJustice

Caregiving quietly asks people to disappear—and then praises them for it.

In this episode of The Sharegiving Secret, host Deborah Greenhut, PhD speaks with Dr. Matthew Campbell, licensed psychologist and co-author of Our Primal Five, about why caregivers are uniquely vulnerable to depletion, isolation, and hopelessness—and what actually helps.

Drawing from clinical work with dementia caregivers, personal family experience, and decades of research, Dr. Campbell introduces the Primal Five: sleep, sunlight, movement, social connection, and consumption. These are not luxuries, he argues, but biological requirements caregivers often abandon without realizing it.

Together, Deborah and Matt explore:

1. Why caregivers struggle to even hear advice meant for themselves
2. How caregiving becomes invisible solo labor over time
3. Why praise and faith language can unintentionally trap caregivers
4. The difference between depression and the far more dangerous state of hopelessness
5. How families can spot early warning signs that a caregiver is in trouble

This is a compassionate, practical, and deeply human conversation about restoring visibility, choice, and kindness—to the caregiver.

Bio Dr. Matthew Campbell is a licensed psychologist, author, and founder of Our Primal 5, a practical self-care framework focused on the five foundations of mental and physical health: sleep, sunlight, movement, social connection, and consumption. With years of clinical experience, Dr. Campbell helps people cut through overwhelm and focus on small, sustainable behaviors that improve mood, energy, and resilience. His work bridges science and real life—offering structure without rigidity and progress without perfection. Dr. Campbell is the co-author of Our Primal 5: The Simple 5-Week Guide to Self-Care, and his mission is simple: help people feel better by doing less—but doing the right things consistently.

Social

Website: https://www.campbellps.com/our-primal-5

Book: https://a.co/d/8w3z5KX

Caregiving is shaped as much by the story we tell ourselves as by the tasks we perform. In this solo episode, Dr. Deborah Greenhut explores how unconscious caregiver narratives—hero, martyr, fixer, invisible one—quietly determine burnout, resentment, and motivation. Listeners are guided to examine the story they are living inside, identify where it no longer serves them, and begin revising it with clarity, self-respect, and choice.

Caregivers rarely choose their role intentionally—but they do live inside a story about what that role means. In this episode, Deborah Greenhut introduces the idea that motivation, exhaustion, and even guilt are often consequences of the narrative a caregiver has inherited or adopted without consent.

Using a coaching lens grounded in the Rational Caregiver framework, this episode helps listeners identify their dominant caregiving story, understand how it shapes behavior, and begin rewriting it in a way that restores agency. This is not about doing more—it’s about seeing differently.

#CaregiverStory

#CaregiverBurnout

#CaregivingSupport

#TheRationalCaregiver

#CaregiverCoaching

#CaregiverIdentity

#CaregiverMotivation

#FamilyCaregiving

How can vision anchor young adults through grief, stress, and uncertainty? Carey Conley shares powerful insights on supporting young adults with compassion, clarity, and hope.

1. Why young adults face a “perfect storm” of mental health stressors
2. Vision as an emotional anchor during adversity
3. Supporting autonomy while staying emotionally present
4. How parents can avoid projecting fear onto adult children
5. Grief, suicide loss, and the power of shared stories
6. Why vulnerability from adults builds trust with younger generations
7. Creating safe spaces for young adults to ask for help

Carey's Bio:

Carey Conley now travels the world and the country to virtual and live events helping men and women professionally and personally build their self-empowering skills by using her vision methodology. She shows them how to shed past pain, fear, and hardship, in order to manifest a beautiful life that’s within reach. Carey Conley’s personal story is full of extraordinary success and devastating tragedy. She lost her husband and son to suicide 3 years apart and was able to be strong for her daughter and to live her purpose that became her driving force. Those are the experiences that bring power to her message and help others achieve what they never thought was possible. Carey found her passion and ability to help men and women create, develop, and execute a rock-solid, bigger-than-life vision that propels them to succeed in all areas of life, including self-love, financial prosperity, a healthy lifestyle, caring relationships, a strong family, supreme confidence, and spiritual connection. She also co-authored a

Bestselling book called ‘Keep Looking Up’ in 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/careyconleyinc/

https://shy-sky-602.myflodesk.com/

Hashtags:

#SharegivingSecret

#CaregiverSupport

#YoungAdultMentalHealth

#VisionAndPurpose

#MentalHealthMatters

#GriefSupport

#ResilientFamilies

#CaregiverVoices

#ParentingAdultChildren

#HopeAndHealing