Sandwiched: Caring Up and Caring Down

Catherine Simpson's memoir, Sandwiched, offers a candid look at the unexpected challenges of midlife caregiving. Believing the most difficult chapters of her life were behind her after raising children, surviving cancer, and family suicide, Simpson found herself in her fifties facing a new set of pressures.

The onset of the global pandemic coincided with her nonagenarian father's declining independence and her adult daughter's escalating mental health crisis. This intergenerational squeeze placed Simpson in a high-pressure situation, forcing her to confront the myth of being a 'superwoman' and the limits of control and responsibility.

Key Themes:

• Navigating the complexities of caring for both aging parents and adult children.
• Letting go of unrealistic expectations and the pressure to be all things to all people.
• Confronting personal limits of control and responsibility in caregiving.
• Balancing the need for speed and independence with providing loving care.

Sandwiched is a powerful and relatable story for anyone experiencing the profound challenges and emotional demands of caring for multiple generations.