When Caregiving Changes Everything: Alzheimer’s, Family, Faith & Finding Moments of Grace

Caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s can bring love, frustration, grief, exhaustion, laughter, and unexpected moments of beauty—sometimes all in the same day.

In this deeply personal episode of the Wise Divine Women Podcast, Dana Irvine continues her conversation with author Sarah Vosburgh about navigating her mother’s Alzheimer’s journey, the difficult decisions surrounding independence and driving, and the emotional realities families face as a loved one’s cognitive abilities change.

Sarah shares a powerful example of meeting her mother where she was rather than forcing a confrontation. Her mother repeatedly insisted, “No one is taking my keys.” Instead of removing the keys and creating distress, Sarah’s family recognized that the keys represented independence and security. They quietly disabled the vehicle while allowing her mother to keep the keys exactly where she expected them to be.

The conversation also explores the importance of community support. Friends, church members, Sarah’s husband, and her children all played meaningful roles during the caregiving journey.

One particularly beautiful connection remained through music. Sarah’s mother continued singing in her church choir until shortly before entering memory care. Even when she could no longer properly follow the sheet music, the songs remained within her. Sarah recalls singing Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus beside her mother—one of those precious moments that became a memory to hold onto.

Sarah also speaks candidly about the complicated relationship she shared with her mother, the expectations often placed on women as caregivers, the exhaustion that can come from caring too long without enough support, and the criticism caregivers sometimes receive from people who only see part of the situation.

Through it all, Sarah reminds us that caregiving is rarely simple. There are often two sides to every decision, and compassion is needed not only for the person receiving care but also for the person providing it.

A Message for Caregivers

You may not always be able to change what is happening, but you can look for opportunities to preserve dignity, connection and love.

Sometimes caregiving means solving a problem differently.

Sometimes it means accepting help.

And sometimes it simply means remembering the song, sharing the coffee, sitting beside someone you love, and recognizing that these seemingly ordinary moments may someday become extraordinary memories.

Connect with Sarah

Learn more about Sarah, her book, upcoming events and book club opportunities at SarahVosburgh.com.

Sarah’s book launches April 22, followed by an eight-city tour. She also shares that an audiobook version includes the voices of both of her daughters, creating an especially personal telling of their family story.

Connect with Dana

For support with hormones, metabolism, breast health, digestion, and whole-body wellness, visit DanaIrvine.com and book a Health Clarity Call.

Subscribe to the Wise Divine Women Podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating Alzheimer’s, dementia, caregiving, aging parents, or the complicated journey of loving someone through change.

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