Wisdom-Based Caregiving - Finding Strength in the Broken Places

When the clinical checklists and "evidence-based" advice fall short, we must turn toward wisdom-based caregiving to navigate the profound silence that follows a long goodbye. If you are struggling with finding strength in the broken places of your life after a loss, this conversation offers a new way to inhabit your grief without being consumed by it.

In this episode, Jen Fink sits down with philosopher and author Thomas Attig to explore how we transition from a world that felt like a "solo game" of caregiving into a new reality. Thomas, known for his works The Heart of Grief and Seeking Wisdom in Death’s Shadows, reframes bereavement as an active, courageous process of "relearning how to live in the world."

In this episode, we dive into:

• The "Solo Game": Acknowledging the profound isolation of dementia caregiving and how families can work better as teams.
• Problems vs. Mysteries: Why an "engineering mindset" won't work with grief. Learn why loss is a mystery to be inhabited, not a problem to be "solved" or "closed."
• From Grief to Gratitude: Practical ways to harvest memories and move from the pain of absence to the comfort of lasting love.
• Fragile Humanity: Thomas shares his signature wisdom on finding peace with being small, imperfect, and uncertain in a complex world.

Whether you are currently in the thick of caregiving or navigating the aftermath, this episode provides a compassionate compass to help you draw upon the parts of your spirit that remain unbroken.

Show Notes & Resources:

• Book: Seeking Wisdom in Death’s Shadows by Thomas Attig
• Book: The Heart of Grief: Death and the Search for Lasting Love
• Special Offer: Use this link for Oxford University Press for 30% off Thomas’s latest book.

Get the book at a discount here https://global.oup.com/academic/product/seeking-wisdom-in-deaths-shadows-9780197776094?promocode=aufly30

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