Dan Shapiro never thought he would have to become his wife’s caretaker and raise three kids on his own, but that’s just what happened. Life can throw us curve balls and navigating them can become extremely difficult. Listen to today’s show to hear Dan’s story and know that if you’re struggling, you’re not alone.

In this episode with Dan Shapiro, we discuss relationship advice topics that include:

  • How to navigate trauma in a relationship
  • The moral dilemmas that can present themselves over keeping your marriage vows
  • How to channel your anger with difficult situations
  • What it’s like to have to be your partner’s caretaker
  • Raising children as a single parent
  • Dealing with despair
  • And much more!

Daniel Shapiro is author of The Thin Ledge: A Husband’s Memoir of Love, Trauma, and Unexpected Circumstances. Daniel was a successful attorney in his early forties when his wife Susan suffered not one, but two massive brain hemorrhages. The bleeds left Susan spiraling into a depression, with a major personality change and barely able to speak, see, or walk.

In this profoundly honest memoir, Daniel Shapiro shares the reality of the fifteen years he spent living and caring for his wife while also single handedly raising their three young children. Often Shapiro found himself looking for guidance as he struggled to figure out what is right, what is okay, what is wrong, what is just human, and how to bear it all. For anyone who has ever had to deal with the anguish and desperation of an illness, this book addresses questions that people living through unspeakable misfortunes may never mention, but almost always ask.

Dan Shapiro is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Brain Research Foundation, a foundation that exists to accelerate discoveries of the human brain by funding pioneering neuroscience research. Dan’s three children co-founded the Young Leadership Board in 2016 and have raised more than $260,000 for BRF. Dan is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School. A lifelong Chicagoan, he has practiced trial law nationally for many years. He enjoys spending his time reading and hanging out with his grown children The Thin Ledge is his debut book. He is currently at work on a second book, a novel about an aging lawyer, late career ambition, and ethnicity in a changing, woke world.

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Episode Links

Dan’s Book: The Thin Ledge

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