Because WE Care: Live with Adrian Chung, Julia Yarbough & Kirsten Mau

The Substack caregiver community has become a powerful source of ideas, honesty, and shared experience. Across essays, notes, and conversations, writers have been giving voice to what it really means to care for aging family members — and how heavy, meaningful, and complicated that work can be.

It’s a vibrant, deeply engaged space, and I’ve felt incredibly lucky to discover writers with different backgrounds and perspectives who are all grappling with the same fundamental questions around care.

Just a few months ago, Kirsten, Julia, and I found one another organically — through reading, liking, and commenting on each other’s posts. Not long after, we realized we were all attending the same AARP webinar, discussing the challenges caregivers face during the holidays. That shared moment sparked a bigger question:

💬 What if we came together to talk openly about caregiving — not as experts, but as people living it, each from a different angle?

That curiosity became Because WE Care — with emphasis on the WE. Three caregivers. Three perspectives. One shared commitment to talking honestly about care. 💙

This first Live conversation was an opportunity to introduce ourselves and share why caregiving matters so deeply to each of us:

• 🩵 Julia spoke about caring for her mother before she passed, and the emotional weight of that journey.
• 🌿 Kirsten shared the challenges of guiding her parents through life transitions — while recognizing the limits adult children often face.
• 🪴 I reflected on caring for my mother largely from a distance, and the coordination that caregiving demands.

✳️ Some themes that emerged

• 💭 We don’t always realize we’re caregivers.
  
  Making appointments, managing insurance, adapting the home — these invisible tasks quietly add up. Naming them matters.
• 🗂️ Have a healthcare binder — physical or digital.
  
  Emergencies and appointments go more smoothly when key information is already organized and accessible.
• 📱 Technology can be an ally — if you practice it.
  
  Digital tools are powerful, but they’re most helpful when they’re familiar before a crisis hits.
• 💙 You are enough as a caregiver.
  
  We are often our own harshest critics. Simply showing up — imperfectly, consistently — already matters more than we think.

This conversation felt like the beginning of something meaningful, and we hope it resonates with you wherever you are in your caregiving journey. 🌱

🎥 Watch the full Because WE Care Live conversation.

And if it sparks reflection or questions, we’d love to hear from you.

💙 Caregiving is hard — but it’s lighter when we carry it together.

Stay tuned for our next event later this month! And thank you to everyone who tuned into the live video!