Deb Hallisey and Cathy Sikorski join Denise to talk about writing, their writing process and their caregiving experiences.

Deb Hallisey is a past and present caregiver. Currently caregiver to her mother, she saw her father through Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) until his death in 2015. Upon her father’s death she became responsible for her disabled mother. As she took on the roles of financial adviser, caregiver, social director—as well as her continuing role as daughter—she found herself asking “what do I do?” and “where do I start?” She brought her 25 years of experience as a consultant building and enhancing corporate training programs for Fortune 500 companies in the United States and Canada to the problem, and in the process, learned how many other people are in a similar situation, caring for a parent, a sibling, a spouse or significant other.

Deb used the knowledge she had gained to develop www.AdvocateforMomandDad.com. The site offers practical advice for caregivers and learn from others how they handled challenges on issues such as legal, financial, insurance, and caregiving. Deb's blog was named as one of the Top 50 Caregiver blogs and featured in Aging Insider. She has been published in Kaiser Health News and AARP.

Author of Your Caregiver Relationship Contract, the book is based on personal experience as her mother’s caregiver and through personal stories illustrate how her relationship with her mom changed in a positive way. The book is a practical, step-by-step guide for discussing relationship issues that arise between caregivers, their care partners, along with everyone else in relationship with a caregiver.

A caregiving knowledge expert, and an advocate for older adults and their families, Debra is a Certified Caregiving Consultant™ and Certified Dementia Practitioner®. She holds an MA in Leadership and Supervision and is currently taking additional training to become certified as a CCE – Certified Caregiving Educator and CCF – Certified Caregiving Facilitator.

Cathy Sikorski, Esq.is a practicing and consulting Elder Law attorney for over 30 years. She speaks to promote financial and legal preparation in the aging crisis. The author of two books, Showering with Nana: Confessions of a Serial (killer) Caregiver and Who Moved My Teeth? Preparing for Self, Loved Ones and Caregiving, Cathy’s second book premiered as #1 on Amazon. Cathy is currently working on her third book about Conversations We Must Have! With many television, radio and podcast appearances, she has also been featured on the Huffington Post, AARP and is a SheSource expert for the Women’s Media Center (WMC) in Washington, D.C. Cathy serves on the Board of Directors of Nancy’s House, a nonprofit dedicated to respite for caregivers. She can also be seen on the West Chester Story Slam YouTube channel. Her website is at www.cathysikorski.com/Speaker. Cathy has a blog, “You Just have to Laugh…..where Caregiving is Comedy at www.cathysikorski.com