The Transformation from Loved one to Caregiver Donna Thomson / Zachary White

Donna Thomson is a caregiver, author and activist.  She is the co-author (with Dr. Zachary White) of The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation of Loved One to Caregiver (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) and author of The Four Walls of My Freedom: Lessons I’ve Learned From a Life of Caregiving (McArthur and Co., 2010 and The House of Anansi Press, 2014). Donna’s son Nicholas has severe cerebral palsy and is medically complex. Donna also cared for her mother who died in August of 2018 at the age of 96. She is a board director of Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) and is a co-instructor of an online course in family engagement in research at McMaster University. She also teaches families how to advocate for care at The Advocacy School and at Huddol.com.

Dr. Zachary White is an Associate Professor in the James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte. He is the co-author (with Donna Thomson) of The Unexpected Journey of Caring: The Transformation from Loved One to Caregiver (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).  He began living and exploring the caregiver experience in 2001 during his mother's diagnosis with brain cancer. 

Throughout, he has researched and published about the caregiving experience, including birth (parental NICU experiences), chronic caregiver experiences, and end-of-life caregiving (hospice care).  Zachary is the founder of the award-winning blog and resource for caregivers called “The Unprepared Caregiver.”