Jim Comer: Parenting Your Parents

Jim Comer, Parenting Your Parents

About the program:

It can be a hard subject to talk about, but many middle-aged people will find themselves gradually — or suddenly — facing difficult questions about the care of their aging parents:

• What are the legal steps a family should take for wills, powers of attorney, and so on?
• Which siblings will be there when their parents need them?
• How do you choose a first-rate care facility?
• How can you navigate Medicaid and private insurance?
• How should you deal with hospice care and end-of-life decisions?

Jim Comer had to come up with answers to these questions and many others after his father had a stroke and his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He distilled his insights from a decade-plus of caregiving in his book, When Roles Reverse: A Guide to Parenting Your Parents. He emphasizes approaching these issues lovingly, preparing for difficult conversations, and finding the humor even in tough situations as our parents grow older.

Comer is a speechwriter and presentation coach who helps executives and business owners develop and deliver confident, authentic speeches in front of any audience. A nationally known keynote speaker himself, Comer draws on more than 30 years of experience as a communications consultant for organizations in high tech (AMD, Dell), retail (Office Depot), consumer products (Avon), professional services (KPMG), and government (LCRA, Austin Energy). His work has included keynotes and presentation skills workshops for thousands of business leaders across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and his articles have been published in The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Dallas Morning News, and Reader’s Digest. He was also an honors student — and student body president — at Trinity University in San Antonio, studied acting at the Dallas Theater Center, and worked as a comedy writer in New York and California.

Agenda: