The Journey Behind the Book: Family Stories and a Career in Senior Living

When I think about why I wrote Senior Living Made S.I.M.P.L.E., I always come back to two things: my family and my career.

My first introduction to dementia was in the 1990’s with my grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s disease. Like so many families, we were completely unprepared. We didn’t know what was “normal,” what resources were available, or even how to begin the tough conversations. We stumbled through the process feeling isolated and overwhelmed - like trying to put together a 1,000-piece puzzle without the picture on the box. That early experience stayed with me and shaped how I viewed dementia care for the rest of my life.

Years later, I worked as a pharmaceutical representative and sold Namenda, one of the medications used for Alzheimer’s. I spent my days talking with physicians, nurses, and caregivers. What struck me wasn’t just the need for the medication, but the desperate need for guidance, support, and clarity. Families were clinging to every bit of information they could get, but no one was helping them navigate the larger picture of what came next.

Eventually, I moved into the world of senior living, spending more than a decade as a sales specialist, including time with a community exclusively dedicated to memory care. That role changed everything. I was now face-to-face with adult children walking in with panic in their eyes, exhausted and unsure what to do. Almost every family thought their situation was uniquely complicated. In reality, they were all asking the same questions: Is it time? How do we talk to Mom? What if she refuses? Where do we even start?

And they weren’t wrong to feel overwhelmed. Why would anyone know how to navigate senior living? Most people drive past these communities daily without giving them a second thought. Then suddenly, after a fall or health crisis, they’re expected to become experts overnight.

That’s why I created the S.I.M.P.L.E.™ Method: Support, Information, Matching, Preparation, Letting Go, and Engagement. These were the six stages I saw families experience again and again. By breaking them down into clear steps, I wanted to make the process less frightening and more manageable.

The book blends practical advice, like what questions to ask when touring communities or how to prepare financially and legally, with the emotional realities of guilt, sibling conflict, fear, and grief. I wove in real stories because I wanted readers to know they weren’t alone. Time after time, families would whisper to me, “Is this normal?” And the answer, almost always, was yes.