Caregivers Archives - A Beautiful Voice

Featured Voices Speaking Out
No Longer a Private Family Matter: A conversation which challenges assumptions affecting caregiving

Our interview with Dr. Joan DelFattore is a must-read! From her phenomenal personal recovery to uncovering outdated and discriminatory policies directing the quality of our care, how it is provided, and by whom! This is tremendously important research on inequities in the health care system which are based on stereotypes [...]

Susan Troyer2026-07-28T21:20:20-05:00July 27th, 2026|Categories: Creating Community|Tags: Alzheimer's, Care partner, Caregivers, Dementia, Dr. Joan DelFattore, Improving access to American healthcare, New research impacting people living with dementia and their caregivers, Sick while single: How outdated views of marital status and social support drive healthcare inequity|0 Comments

Bulletin Board Update: July 2026
This is happening now!

Introducing a new feature for readers to stay abreast of what is unfolding. Posted by: Susan Troyer Founder / Author, ABeautifulVoice.org 🌿 Member:

Susan Troyer2026-07-21T20:57:06-05:00July 21st, 2026|Categories: Creating Community|Tags: Alzheimer's, Bulletin Board Update, Caregivers, Dementia|0 Comments

365 Ways to Say I Care
Way #15: Splash Water on Hands and Feet on a Hot Day

Why this helps: On a sweltering summer afternoon, the simple sensation of cool water can be deeply calming and refreshing. This activity is especially helpful if your loved one is restless, agitated, or overheated. The change in temperature is a powerful sensory input that can interrupt a cycle of anxiety [...]

Susan Troyer2026-07-21T14:54:02-05:00July 19th, 2026|Categories: General, Mindful Presence|Tags: 365 Ways to Say I Care, Aging loved ones staying hydrated and healthy, Alzheimer's, Caregivers, Dementia, Mindful Presence, Novelty journaling, The Novelty Explainer|0 Comments

Ms. Digest for Dementia Carers
No Longer a Private Family Matter: The caregiving crisis hiding in plain sight — and what it’s really costing American families

Somewhere tonight, a daughter is learning to insert a feeding tube using YouTube. Her mother, who once taught her how to tie her shoelaces, no longer recognizes her face. The home health aide hasn't shown up in three days. That image stopped me mid-scroll. Not because it was [...]

Susan Troyer2026-07-02T17:33:19-05:00June 28th, 2026|Categories: Creating Community|Tags: Alzheimer's, Caregivers, Dementia, Family caregivers collectively provide $1.01 trillion in unpaid labor, More direct-care workers needed, Policy infrastructure built for earlier time, Society suffers from "cultural dementia", Unpaid care work is not counted in GDP, Women caregivers in their late forties lose an average of $324K over their lifetime, Women provide 61 percent of all unpaid caregiving|0 Comments

Living in a grief illiterate world
We don’t move on… We move forward

David Kessler is an American author, public speaker, and grief expert. He has published many books, including two co-written with psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, MD. Looking to him as a leading grief expert when seeking support, we can be comforted knowing he is well-informed and providing reliable information on the topic. [...]

Susan Troyer2026-06-22T14:42:47-05:00June 20th, 2026|Categories: Mindful Presence|Tags: Alzheimer's, Caregivers, Dementia, Grief illiteracy, Grief. Death, Loss, Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Suffering|0 Comments

365 Ways to Say I Care
Way #13: Read a Short Summer Story Aloud

Why this helps: Reading aloud is different from poetry (Way #2). A short story—just a few pages—offers a narrative arc, characters, and a gentle plot. This can be more engaging for some people while still being low-pressure. Summer-themed stories about beaches, gardens, or family gatherings can spark seasonal memories. [...]

Susan Troyer2026-06-06T23:57:53-05:00June 6th, 2026|Categories: Literary Companionship|Tags: Activities requiring very minimal preparation to engage a person living with dementia, Alzheimer's, Calming and soothing activities to engage a person living with dementia, Caregivers, Dementia, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Reading aloud to each other in dementia care|0 Comments

Featured Caregiver - Neal Shah
63 million caregivers get nothing. This former hedge fund manager is fighting back

Neal K. Shah left a $250 million hedge fund to fix a system that failed his own family. After caring for his grandfather through dementia and his wife through a multi-year cancer battle, he saw firsthand what 63 million family caregivers already know: the care system in America is completely [...]

Susan Troyer2026-05-15T23:55:52-05:00May 15th, 2026|Categories: Creating Community|Tags: 63 million unpaid American caregivers, Alzheimer's, American care system is broken, Caregivers, Dementia|0 Comments

365 Ways to Say I Care
Way #11: The Birthday Song Calendar Tradition

"A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it with me when my memory fails." (Author unknown) Why this helps: For someone living with dementia, family connections can feel distant and abstract. A regular ritual of acknowledging birthdays—through song, a phone call, or simply speaking [...]

Susan Troyer2026-05-18T13:03:20-05:00May 14th, 2026|Categories: Music as Medicine|Tags: Alzheimer's, Caregivers, Dementia, Encouraging family connections following dementia, Happy Birthday messages left on voice mail via speaker phone, Novelty journaling, Way #11 in a series of 365 Ways to Say I Care|0 Comments

Too important to not share!
Foods that prevent disease according to a 30-year Harvard study

Harvard researchers followed 105,000 people for 30 years and only 9% reached age 70 free of chronic disease, cognitive decline, and depression. Their secret wasn't genetics or supplements. It was consistently eating real food: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and unsaturated fats with almost no ultra-processed food or [...]

Susan Troyer2026-06-01T07:47:56-05:00May 14th, 2026|Categories: Food For Life|Tags: 30-year Harvard food study, Alzheimer's, Caregivers, caring for aging parents, Dementia, eating real food, Neal Shah report|0 Comments

The impact of stigma & discrimination
Dementia and Suffering

Author: Kate Swaffer Kaurna Country The discourse of suffering has long been a topic of lived/living experience dementia advocates and activists. Most people who’ve followed me here for a while now will know I have been very vocal about it, and how it is harmful to people living with a dementia [...]