KISS ANGELS ♪ ♪ DO YOU FLOAT TO HEAR OR RACK CELLS ♪ >> CATHY: THROUGHOUT LIFE, MANY OF US WILL BE FACED WITH THE AGING AND PASSING OF A LOVED ONE.

A RECENTLY RELEASED BOOK, "POSTCARDS FROM WITHIN," FOLLOWS THE JOURNEY OF SAVITA HARJANI AS SHE LEAVES BEHIND A SUCCESSFUL LEGAL CAREER AND 32 YEARS IN MINNESOTA TO RETURN TO HER NATIVE INDIA AND ACT AS HER MOTHER'S CAREGIVER IN THE FINAL YEARS OF HER LIFE.

THOSE EXPERIENCES LED TO HER DEBUT NOVEL.

SAVITA, THANKS FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU, CATHY, THANK YOU, ERIC, FOR HAVING ME.

IT'S AN HONOR TO BE HERE.

>> Cathy: YOU KNOW, BEING A CAVE-GIVER IS THE HARDEST JOB YOU'RE EVER GOING TO GET AND THERE ISN'T ANY REALLY TRAINING PRIOR, IT'S ON-THE-JOB, YOU KNOW.

WHAT MADE YOUR DECISION TO GO TO INDIA?

>> I -- MY MOTHER CAN'T MANAGE ON HER OWN ANYMORE AND RATHER THAN HAVING HER JOIN US HERE, I ALL THE WANTED MOM TO BE THE QUEEN OF HER CASTLE.

I DON'T THINK A PARENT CAN EVER FEEL THAT COMFORTABLE OR ALL RIGHT IN THEIR CHILD'S HOME, AS A CHILD DOES IN THE PARENTS' HOME, AND IN THE LAST DAYS OF HER LIFE, I REALLY WANTED THAT FOR HER.

AND ALSO I THINK IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S SORT OF EASIER TO GET PEOPLE TO HELP.

>> Cathy: IS THERE -- I HAVE A FRIEND WHO WENT THROUGH A SIMILAR SITUATION THAT YOU WENT THROUGH S IS IT CULTURALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE CHILD TO CARE FOR THE PARENT?

>> TRADITIONALLY, THAT'S BEEN THE MODEL, RIGHTS?

THE JOINT FAMILY MODEL.

IT'S PARENTS LOOK AFTER THEIR PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS LOOK AFTER THE GRANDKIDS.

AND EVERYBODY GETS LOOKED AFTER.

BUT TRADITIONALLY THAT HAS BEEN THE MODEL BUT I THINK IT'S CRUMBLING AND I DON'T HAVE STATISTICAL DATA FOR THAT BUT ANECDOTALLY, CERTAINLY.

>> Eric: IN THE BOOK YOU TALK ABOUT ROLE REVERSAL OF THE PARENT AND THE CHILD.

COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT?

>> YEAH, CERTAINLY.

I -- WHEN I STARTED TAKING CARE OF MY MOM, YOU KNOW, I SUDDENLY FOUND MYSELF BECOMING HER MOTHER, AND BECAUSE SHE TRUSTED ME SO MUCH AND SHE JUST LITERALLY PLACED HER LIFE IN MY HANDS AND ALL HER MEDICAL DECISIONS AND EVERYTHING, AND I DID EEL THE WEIGHT OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY.

BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, I NEVER HAD BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN OF MY OWN SO I ALSO LOOK AT THAT AS A GIFT OF MOTHERHOOD FROM HER TO ME, AND, YES, SO I TOOK CARE OF HER AS MY OWN BABY.

>> Cathy: SHE WAS QUITE SICK, I UNDERSTAND, 16 HOURS OF DIALYSIS A DAY.

>> A DAY.

IDEAS OH, MY GOODNESS AND OVERNIGHT.

BUT SOME PEOPLE MIGHT LOOK AT THIS AS A HUGE DIFFICULTY AND CLEARLY IT WAS BUT WAS IT ALSO A CHANCE TO BOND WITH YOUR MOM?

>> ABSOLUTELY.

I ALWAYS KNEW HER AS MY MOTHER, I ALWAYS KNEW HER AS A WONDERFUL WOMAN BUT IN THIS TIME, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE DIALYSIS TIME WAS ONE ON ONE, WE WERE ALL SITTING WITH GLOVES AND MASK AND EVERYTHING AND ALL HE COULD -- WE COULD DO WAS TALK AND -- SORRY.

>> ric: GO AHEAD.

>> I RELATED TO HER AS A WOMAN, YOU KNOW, AND THAT WAS JUST AMAZING AND HER STORIES FROM HER YOUTH AND HER CHILDHOOD THAT SHE NEVER WOULD HAVE SHARED WITH A CHILD SHE WAS BRINGING UP BUT NOW HERE WAS A GROWN WOMAN AND WE COULD TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING UNDER THE SUN.

>> Eric: ONE OF THE QUOTES IS, "NOT ALL CHALLENGING TIMES ARE BAD TIMES, THEY ARE JUST TOUGH AND THEY COULD BE THE BEST OF TIMES."

>> YEAH.

>> Eric: TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST INSIGHTS AND GIFTS THAT LIFE PRESENTED ME WITH.

BECAUSE THIS TIME WAS AS CHALLENGING AS IT COULD GET.

IT WAS ALSO ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL AND I WOULDN'T CHANGE A DAY OF IT, A MINUTE OF IT FOR ANYTHING.

SO -- I GOT A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE TO HOW I DEAL WITH OR RELATE TO CHALLENGING TIMES BECAUSE IT WAS TOUGH BUT IT WASN'T BAD, THE TIME WITH MY MOM JUST RELATING TO HER AS A WOMAN, BONDING WITH HER, THE FRIENDSHIP, THE WISDOM THAT WAS PASSED.

I DON'T KNOW IF I IMBIBED ANY BUT IT WAS CERTAINLY PASSED.

THAT WAS SO PRECIOUS BUT IT DIDN'T CHANGE HOW TOUGH THE TIME WAS BUT IT CHANGED HOW I RELATED TO IT.

SO ONE OF THE BIGGEST GIFTS.

>> Cathy: SOME PEOPLE WOULD LOOK AT THIS AND SAY, OH, MY GOOD THAT'S, SAVITA, YOU LEFT A GREAT JOB AT THOMPSON REUTERS, WHAT ABOUT YOUR CAREER, YOU KNOW, AND HOW DO YOU NOW MAKE UNTHIS TIME AND THE MONEY AND ALL OF THAT?

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS?

>> YOU KNOW, THIS IS MY STORY AND IT PLAYED OUT AND WORKED OUT FOR ME AND I THINK ONE THING THAT PEOPLE READING THIS BOOK AND SAY, OKAY, THIS IS HOW CARE-GIVING SHOULD BE DONE, THAT'S NOT WHAT THE INTENT OF THE BOOK IS.

HOWEVER YOU SHOW UP FOR YOUR LOVED ONE IS PERFECT FOR YOUR LIFE, FOR YOUR LIFE STORY.

THIS WAS MY CHOICE, THIS WAS A CHOICE THAT MY HUSBAND AND I MADE.

I'M VERY, VERY FORTUNATE WOMAN THAT MY PARTNER IN LIFE SUPPORTED ME COMPLETELY SO I WAS ABLE TO DO IT.

AND IT WAS A CHOICE I MADE AND, YOU KNOW, THE THING -- THE HING THAT THEY SAY WHEN YOU'RE AT THE LAST MOMENTS OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO REMEMBER?

I MUCH REMEMBER THE TIME WITH MY MOTHER THAN T.R.

-- >> Eric: SHE SAID YOU WRITE, WASN'T IT?

>> YES, YES.

SO HER BLESSING TO ME WAS -- AND THIS BOOK ---HER BLESSING HAS MATERIALIZED IN THE FORM OF THIS BLESSING.

THE DAY BEFORE SHE PASSED, SHE WAS VERY WITHDRAWN AND I WAS WRITING IN MY JOURNAL, THAT PERHAPS THERE'S SOMETHING LACKING IN MY CARE OF YOU THAT YOU'RE NO LONGER TALKING TO ME AND IN THAT VERY MOMENT, SHE BECKONED TO ME AND I WENT TO HER AND SHE PUT HER HAND ON MY HEAD AND SHE SAID, SHE SAID -- WHICH MEANS "YOU WRITE."

THOSE WERE HER LAST WORDS TO ME, THOSE WERE HER LAST WORDS ON EARTH AND I FEEL SO BLESSED.

>> Cathy: AND THIS IS A LOVELY BOOK SO THIS IS A NEW PATH FOR YOU.

>> IT SEEMS TO BE.

[Laughter] >> Eric: "POSTCARDS FROM WITHIN."

>> Cathy: THANK YOU.