The Journal

Honest writing about memory, family, and time

Notes from the team building Everly. Stories about aging parents, the conversations we wish we'd had, and what it means to preserve the people we love.

Featured · Conversations

50 questions to ask your aging parent before it's too late

A practical guide to the conversations most families never have. From childhood memories to deeply personal regrets, these questions open doors that often stay closed.

Ryan
May 11, 2026
9 min read
More from the journal

What to do when your aging parent lives far away

Caring for an aging parent across a state, a country, or an ocean is one of the hardest situations a family can face. Here's an honest, practical guide to making it work without losing your mind.

Recording your parent's voice: a gift to your future self

You probably have ten thousand photos of your parent. You probably don't have a single good recording of their voice. Here's why that matters more than you think, and how to fix it before you can't.

Signs your parent is becoming isolated (and what you can do about it)

Elderly isolation is hard to see because parents hide it. Here are the specific signs that your aging parent is becoming dangerously lonely, and what you can actually do about it.

The 10 things every family wishes they'd asked

After my grandmother passed, I started asking other people the same question. What did you wish you'd asked your parent while you still could? The answers came back so consistently they started to feel like a pattern.

Setting up an iPad for your elderly parent: a complete guide

A step-by-step guide to setting up an iPad for an aging parent. Which iPad to buy, which apps to install, accessibility settings, and the one thing most families get wrong.

What to say when your parent has dementia (and you're running out of time)

When your parent's memory is fading, the rules change. Here's what helps, what doesn't, and how to find them in there even when the words are slipping away.

How to get your parent to open up about their past (without making it weird)

Most advice for getting your aging parent to share their stories is too formal and doesn't actually work. Here's what does, from someone who learned the hard way.

The quiet crisis: what happens to a family's memory when a parent forgets

Dr. B has spent 30 years in family medicine watching the same thing happen to family after family. Two losses. First the person. Then the silence where their stories used to live.

Why I built Everly: the conversations I wish I'd had

My grandmother always said she was "fine." She wasn't. By the time I understood that, the stories I'd been meaning to ask her about were gone with her. This is the story of what I learned, and what we built with Dr. B so other families don't have to learn it the same way.