Prolific author and lover of “old ladies” Melinda Blau hosts an unprecedented mother/daughter conversation with “America’s gerontologist” Kerry Burnight, her 96-year-old mother Betty, and Melinda’s daughter Jennifer Martin, a hospice nurse. The four discuss complexities of the mother-daughter duo as both age – role shifts, stumbling blocks and challenges, the need to simultaneously stay connected and draw boundaries.
The episode is dotted with clips of Betty sharing her strategies for living exuberantly into her nineties. Kerry’s videos of her everyday moments and thoughts have made Betty a burgeoning Instagram star – and that’s okay with her. “I'm just thrilled with the fact that she is so popular. She's my baby!”
Jennifer admits that as a young mother, being the daughter of a parenting expert was “challenging…similar to Betty having a daughter who's gerontologist!” But because of her own aging, her father’s recent death, and her professional role helping patients and their families face end-of-life realities, Jen has a new appreciation of Melinda's life and choices.
One hopeful takeaway from this lively discussion is that it’s never too late to see the other as a person, not merely “mother” or “daughter.”
Show Notes
Kerry’s website: https://drkerryburnight.com/
On Instagram: @the_gerontologist
Kerry’s book, Joy Span, is now available for preorder online and wherever books are sold.
Enjoy this poem about mothers and daughters written by a member of the Crows Feet podcast team: https://jeanfeldeisen.com/blog/
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