Tears in the Shower: Untold Stories of Caregiving

Elena Prendergast DNP, APRN
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  • MENTAL HEALTH

Tears in the Shower: Untold Stories of Caregiving is a podcast for honest, compassionate conversations about caregiving, quality of life, and the stories we rarely say out loud. Hosted by Elena Prendergast, a nurse practitioner specializing in palliative care, end-of-life doula, and patient advocate, this podcast explores the emotional realities of caregiving—from anticipatory grief and caregiver burnout to love, resilience, and meaning. Before entering healthcare, Elena experienced caregiving and loss personally, shaping her deep understanding of what caregivers carry long before they ever feel prepared. Each episode features real stories from caregivers of all walks of life—family caregivers, professional caregivers, clinicians, advocates, and individuals supporting loved ones through serious illness. Some voices will be well known. Others may be voices you have never heard before—but whose stories you will never forget. Tears in the Shower exists to provide caregiver support, education, validation, and advocacy, while helping listeners understand and protect quality of life—for themselves and for those they love. This is a space for the tears, the love, and everything in between. If you are caring for someone with serious illness, navigating end-of-life decisions, or feeling the emotional weight of caregiving, this podcast is here to remind you: you are not alone.

Episodes

  1. Why We Cry in the Shower: Why This Podcast Had to Exist

    6D AGO

    Why We Cry in the Shower: Why This Podcast Had to Exist

    In this first episode of Tears in the Shower: Untold Stories of Caregiving, Elena Prendergast shares the experiences that led her to create this podcast. Before becoming a nurse practitioner and palliative care specialist, Elena was a daughter who lost her parents—learning about grief and caregiving the way many do, through lived experience rather than training. Early loss shaped her understanding of the emotional weight caregivers carry and later informed her work in palliative care and patient advocacy. This episode provides a brief introduction to the heart of the podcast: honest conversations about caregiving, anticipatory grief, burnout, love, loss, and quality of life. Tears in the Shower is a space for caregivers of all walks of life—family caregivers, professional caregivers, clinicians, and advocates—to feel seen, heard, and supported. This episode is an invitation to breathe, reflect, and begin a journey that honors caregiving as a deeply human experience. Topics Covered Caregiving conversations are often avoidedThe emotional cost of caregivingCaregivers experience anticipatory grief and burnoutClinical knowledge does not compare to lived experienceQuality of life matters for caregiversWho This Podcast Is For Family caregiversProfessional caregiversHealthcare professionalsPatient advocatesAnyone supporting a loved one with serious illnessSubscribe Follow Tears in the Shower wherever you listen to podcasts, so new episodes find you when you need them.

    9 min
  • 1 Episode

About

Tears in the Shower: Untold Stories of Caregiving is a podcast for honest, compassionate conversations about caregiving, quality of life, and the stories we rarely say out loud. Hosted by Elena Prendergast, a nurse practitioner specializing in palliative care, end-of-life doula, and patient advocate, this podcast explores the emotional realities of caregiving—from anticipatory grief and caregiver burnout to love, resilience, and meaning. Before entering healthcare, Elena experienced caregiving and loss personally, shaping her deep understanding of what caregivers carry long before they ever feel prepared. Each episode features real stories from caregivers of all walks of life—family caregivers, professional caregivers, clinicians, advocates, and individuals supporting loved ones through serious illness. Some voices will be well known. Others may be voices you have never heard before—but whose stories you will never forget. Tears in the Shower exists to provide caregiver support, education, validation, and advocacy, while helping listeners understand and protect quality of life—for themselves and for those they love. This is a space for the tears, the love, and everything in between. If you are caring for someone with serious illness, navigating end-of-life decisions, or feeling the emotional weight of caregiving, this podcast is here to remind you: you are not alone.

Information

  • Creator
    Elena Prendergast DNP, APRN
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    1
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Tears in the Shower: Untold Stories of Caregiving