If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living.

If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living.

In the case of my husband, we found that facing a life-threatening illness prodded us to make a dramatic change in our lives.

If you're the person living closest to the parent who's going to need help, and you take on the whole role of primary caregiver, you can be pretty sure your sibling who lives farthest away is going to call you and say, 'You don't know what you're doing.' Because they're not on the spot, and they probably feel guilty.

Very few women manage to have it all; certainly not all at once.

In the first phase of shock over, say, your mortgage being called in or your job washed out, it's essential to engage with others and share the fear, release the feelings, do fun things to take your mind off it.