From Resistance to Readiness: Talking Assisted Living with Aging Parents with Shari Ross
- E80
- 50:19
- April 9th 2026
Starting the conversation about assisted living isn’t easy, especially when your parent doesn’t want to have it. In this episode, Shari Ross shares her SIMPLE framework, also featured in her book and workbook Senior Living Made Simple, to help guide each step: Support, Information, Matching, Preparation, Letting Go, and Engagement. She also shares how to move from resistance to readiness with compassion, clarity, and respect.
We talk about how to recognize when it’s time to speak up, how to begin the conversation without creating conflict, and how to find the balance between helping and pushing too far. You’ll also learn what to look for in assisted living and how to approach the process in a way that preserves your parent’s independence and dignity.
As she reminds us, “Planning ahead doesn’t mean giving up independence—it means preserving choice.”
Whether you’re just starting to think about next steps or already facing difficult conversations, this episode offers guidance, reassurance, and a path forward.
Rosanne Corcoran hosts Daughterhood the Podcast, conversations for adult children caring for aging parents, from dementia and caregiving to finances, end-of-life planning, and grief. More at https://daughterhood.org
Daughterhood The Podcast: For Caregivers
Daughterhood the Podcast is hosted by Rosanne Corcoran, whose caregiving journey began with the dementia diagnosis of her fiercely independent mother. That diagnosis opened the door to 12 years of sandwich caregiving, caring for aging parents while raising children.
Rosanne brings her authentic voice to each conversation and talks with experts in all fields about the challenges caregivers face when caring for their aging parents. Each episode offers practical guidance and honest conversation on dementia, caregiver support, financial and legal planning, end-of-life decisions, and grief. Whether you're just noticing changes in a parent or deep in the caregiving years, you're not doing this alone.
As Rosanne knows firsthand, caregiving is filled with uphill climbs, stress, and grief, all while trying to do the best you can every day. Join her in Daughterhood.
Rosanne cared for her mother over a 12-year span, from supportive caregiver to in-home, sandwich caregiver for her mother’s final 6 years.
After experiencing first-hand the stress and isolation caregiving brings along with the lack of meaningful resources for caregivers, Rosanne created Daughterhood The Podcast: For Caregivers.
In each monthly podcast, Rosanne carries her experience as a primary in-home caregiver and Daughterhood Circle Leader into each interview. Along with strategies and resources, this podcast also provides listeners with the comfort of knowing they are not facing these challenges alone.
The podcast’s subject matter has ranged from practical advice like dealing with dementia behaviors, to siblings and caregiving, to end of life issues, grief and everything in between. Guests have included physicians, best-selling authors, dementia experts, caregiving advocates and thought leaders.
Rosanne has been featured in CNN Health, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Barron’s, Next Avenue and others. She is also a proud member of AlzAuthors.
Next Avenue named her one of their Influencers on Aging 2024 and Agingcare.com named Daughterhood the Podcast: For Caregivers #1 in their list of Essential Caregiver Podcasts. Rosanne also facilitates multiple Daughterhood Circles monthly.