Fern Pessin

"I'll be right there," Fern shouted In 2016 as she left her business and life in New York/Connecticut to move to Florida on a mission to support her parent’s well-being in their journey of aging. Dad's Alzheimer's was getting a little worse each month and mom was panicking.

After being overwhelmed at first, Fern realized there was scattered information out there to help guide her in this new role of caring and advocating for her parents. She did research, got certified as a Home Health Aide, attended conferences and classes, interviewed experts, attended weekly support groups (aka sharing all her problems and stress with people that wouldn't judge her) and more -- to ensure an understanding of what to look for and do for her parents both physically and emotionally. She sought out a team of experts to help her and her siblings navigate through the financial, legal and medical requirements.

When people kept asking for the "magic list" because Fern seemed to be able to answer all their questions, with this arsenal of knowledge, Fern decided to share. She wrote I’ll Be Right There: A Guidebook for Adults Caring for Their Aging Parents to pull all the info into one place knowing that not everyone has the time to go searching.

Loaded with tools, life became less stressful and more manageable. "When Can We Talk? A Guidebook for Caregivers Having Tough Discussions" came as Fern learned what works and what doesn't when trying to steer her parents toward options that would keep them healthy and safe. Communication is key to everything!

After losing her father in 2021, Fern experienced a full range of grief experiences. Feeling guilty about not grieving enough or in the "right" way, Fern searched for support. She found a group of people with a full range of experiences and realized that grief is unique to each person. She contributed to the anthology book called "After: Journeys through Grief" along with twelve authors who shared their intimate stories along with lessons on what they learned on how to process grief.

By providing information in everyday language (like talking to a friend) and including humorous stories that show everyone there are others going through same, plus providing handy worksheets, assessment forms, questionnaires and checklists, Fern's goal was to remove the feeling of being overwhelmed that she had when she first assumed the caregiving role. These books are there to support other families in their caregiving journey; to help people know what they didn’t know they needed to know when they found themselves in the role of helping a parent or any loved one.