The Listening Guide, a free printable
You care for everyone. Who cares for you?
The Listening Guide is a free printable of questions worth asking the people you love. It also holds one page that’s only for you, the woman doing the caring.
Free to join. It takes under two minutes, and there’s nothing to keep up with.
Why we’re doing this.
We believe women have an extraordinary amount of experience, creativity and wisdom to share with one another.
SharedLife is being created as a place to find encouragement, share perspective, discover new ideas and connect through all of life’s chapters.
But we don't want to decide what women need from behind a desk.
We want to build SharedLife with women.
And that starts with our Founding Members.
I hear you Now, I’m listening Caring for them, caring for you
What’s inside
Four pages. Two minutes to start.
- 1
Why listening matters
A short note on the National Day of Listening, and the gift of being asked about your life.
- 2
Questions worth asking
Twenty questions in four groups: childhood, love and family, life lessons, and “What do you want us to remember?”
- 3
How to listen
Listen first. Record if they’re comfortable. Don’t correct. Let the silence happen.
- 4
For you, the caregiver
A page of permission: you’re allowed to rest, and you’re allowed to ask for help. With real places to turn when you need support.
A taste of the guide
One question can change a whole afternoon.
Childhood
What did your kitchen smell like when you were little?
Pick one. Ask it over coffee, on a drive, or on the phone.
Friday, November 27
The National Day of Listening
It falls the day after Thanksgiving, and it asks for one small thing: sit down with someone you love and really listen to them. No agenda, no fixing, no correcting the story.
The National Day of Listening is an initiative of StoryCorps. We built this guide so you’ll have a question ready when the day comes.
Learn more about the National Day of Listening
Then come tell us what you heard. Ask someone one question that day, and share what you learned in our Facebook group.
For you, the caregiver
You’re allowed to rest. You’re allowed to ask for help.
Caring for a parent, a partner, a child, a grandchild or a friend is real work, and it’s often unseen. The last page of the guide is yours. Nothing on it asks you to do more.
Practical help for family caregivers
The Family Caregiver Alliance has guides, support and resources for the everyday realities of caregiving.
Visit caregiver.orgIf it feels like too much
You don’t have to carry it by yourself. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is there any time, day or night. Call or text 988.
Call 988Woman encouraging woman
You don’t have to do this part alone.
SharedLife is a community for women 40+ in every chapter: caregiving, career change, grief, divorce, empty nest, starting over. Wherever you are, you’ll be heard here.
- A private Facebook group. This month there’s a Caregiver corner where you can vent, ask and be supported.
- A daily encouragement companion app. Written by real women, chosen by technology.
- Free to join. Come as you are. Read, share or just be here.
Get your free Listening Guide
Join SharedLife and the guide lands in your inbox, ready to print.
Free to join. Already part of SharedLife? Come say hello in the group.
However your holiday looks, you belong here.
Whether your table is full, quiet, complicated or empty this year, there’s a place for you and no one will ask you to explain. Caring for them? We’re caring for you.