This article in the 7th Annual Eldercare guide in the March issue of Western New York Family Magazine was prompted by my own extended family starting to talk about my parents' future care as they age. It can be a difficult topic for families to discuss, even if your parents have started to make some plans for their later years. In the article I talk about why it's important to start the discussion early, and some ways to take those first steps. There is also a sidebar highlighting some wonderful information in the PBS web site and DVD "Caring For Your Parents," which grew out of the book Caring for Your Parents: The Complete Family Guide (AARP)
by Elinor Ginzler and Hugh Delehanty.
I used a new technique to solicit personal stories for this piece, which was the use of the Polls feature in the professional social networking site LinkedIn. My experience using this tool was picked up by communications blogger Heidi Sullivan and posted along with other writers' experiences in using new networking tools to find sources. I am grateful to everyone who shared their stories with me—I was only able to use a fraction of the material I received, but this topic is so rich that I foresee future articles that will draw from the same material.
Download "Starting the Conversation" (PDF, 244K)
