Walking Each Other Home

by Sharon McInnes

278 pages, Paperback

Published February 14, 2026

Reviews

[Anna McCarthy, children’s books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully written book about caring for a parent with dementia is both heart-wrenching and uplifting. It captures something essential about what it means to be human, and to be family.
As Sharon McInnes openly shares her experience of caring for her mother, we’re reminded that while this may be one of the most difficult and heartbreaking journeys many of us will face, it can also hold unexpected meaning. Through necessity, we learn to live more fully in the present and to reconsider what truly matters. As always, the answer is love.
Despite the tears, fears, loss, and grief, caring for a parent can become an opportunity to return the unconditional, enduring love our parents once gave us. The physical and emotional demands are immense, yet they can draw us closer than we might have imagined possible.
Sharon was fortunate to be able to care for her mother full-time; not everyone has that option. But that isn’t the point of this book. Instead, it is a warm reminder to slow down, to be present, and to love in whatever way your circumstances allow (while also extending compassion to yourself for what you cannot do). It encourages us to cherish the connection that can emerge even in the most challenging of times.
Alongside this deeply moving and human story, Sharon McInnes also raises important questions about the shamefully inadequate state of public health elder care. I hope this book contributes to the conversations needed to bring about meaningful and urgently necessary change.

[Lynda Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book. A painful book. A story that spans the lifetime of a mother/daughter relationship. McInnes takes you fully into her world of caring for her aged mother who is declining over a number of years with vascular dementia; she shares her joys, her frustrations, her fears and worries. McInnes lets the reader and future care takers know the many ways the British Columbia health care system is often not helpful in what it offers for disabled seniors.
McInnes tells of her husband’s willing assistance in the caregiving and its impact on their marriage. During her years of caregiving McInnes first grandchild arrives and there are beautiful scenes of the author’s love and delight with her grandson, and her mother’s loving response, despite her dementia, to her first great grandchild. This is a moving, hopeful and always beautifully written book about family love and caring and intergenerational connections. A highly recommended read it is.
Lynda A. Archer, Author, Tears in the Grass (Finalist, Lambda Literary Award)

[Karen Stroebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for anyone who is a caregiver, will be a caregiver, or will need a caregiver at some point (and that's most of us). Sharon McInnes's raw honesty paints a picture of what it is to care for someone you love, while her compassion charts a way through it.

The skilled writing made this book a page turner. I found it very hard to put the book down and when I wasn't reading, it lingered on my mind. The mixture of humour and gravitas really worked for me.

Sharon's love for her mother, and her ability to trust her heart through all the difficult decisions that accompanied her journey of care was profound. I learned a lot - from the nitty gritty details of navigating the Canadian care system, to the importance of humour, compassion, and presence in supporting someone with dementia.

I feel richer having read this and will be recommending it to anyone who will listen!

[Carolyne Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt and heartbreaking tale of a loving daughter’s journey with her mother highlighting the inadequacies of existing elder are resources yet celebrating the humanity and humour of al those involved in her mother’s end-of-life care.