I love my sister deeply, and I love my mother. For years, I poured everything I had into my family.

I remember living in Atlanta after my divorce and feeling an overwhelming pressure to make everything work. I needed to succeed—not just for myself, but for them. I was buying a house with a handicap accessible entry so they could eventually move there. Looking back, so much of what I did during that season was motivated by one desire: to take care of my family.

I carried that responsibility quietly.

I didn’t tell anyone how responsible I felt for them—not even my mother.

Today, I can see that some of those circumstances might have been different if I had known where to turn, who to trust, or if I had felt safe enough to share what my family was experiencing.

The truth is, I didn’t see a community for family caregivers, and I didn’t even realize I needed one.

Although I attended church faithfully and participated in small groups, very few people knew what was happening in my life at home. I usually made things sound better than they really were.

And when I did open up, most people genuinely cared—but they didn’t know what to say because caregiving was so far outside their own experience. At least I think so. Our conversations often shifted back to their lives instead.

As a natural-born problem solver, I kept carrying the weight.

There was no place where I could honestly talk about how caregiving was affecting me.

That’s one reason I’m so passionate about the caregiver support group we’ve started through our church.

We share resources.

We encourage one another.

We pray together.

We celebrate one another’s victories.

And perhaps most importantly, we understand.

Looking back, a group like that would have made such a difference in my own life. It would have given me real people—people who understood the unique joys and challenges of being part of a family with special needs. People who could walk beside me instead of simply feeling sorry for me or wondering why I was introverted.

That’s why I wrote this book for primary caregivers and for family members who carry their own burdens alongside them.

We who love deeply, give generously, and quietly wonder if anyone else understands. We are the givers who were never meant to carry this journey alone. There is hope, and there is an easy and practical book that will help. 

Sincerely,

Really Leah 💙

See the Video For the Main Reason I wrote Beating the Isolation Trap on the Why Family Caregivers Inspired My Book page.