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KNOTS
OF
SURVIVAL
A Lifeline for the Caregiver Who Never Planned to Be One
by Sherry Petty
“For the caregiver who is doing the best they can — and needs to know that's enough.”
You didn't plan for this. Maybe the call came suddenly.
Maybe it crept up slowly.
However you arrived here, you are now a caregiver — and no one handed you a roadmap. Until now.
About the Book
Something Steady to Hold
Caregiving can feel like being caught in a strong current — pulled in directions you never anticipated, trying to stay upright while quietly losing pieces of yourself.
You love the person you're caring for. You show up. You do what needs to be done. And still, there are moments of exhaustion, resentment, guilt, grief, and loneliness that no one warned you about.
It is love and exhaustion. Devotion and resentment. Sacred moments and silent grief.
Knots of Survival is for the caregiver who never planned to be one. Written with honesty, depth, and occasional wry humor, it names what many caregivers feel but rarely say out loud — and offers a lifeline.
The knots in this book are not tangles to undo. They are intentional holds — the kind tied into rope so your grip doesn't slip when the current grows stronger.
Across seventeen chapters organized into four movements, readers are accompanied through the full emotional landscape of caregiving: the grief that arrives before the goodbye, the humor that survives alongside the heartbreak, the sacred moments hidden inside the ordinary, and the slow, faithful journey back to yourself.
Inside you'll find:
- ∞Honest reflections on the emotional realities of caregiving
- ∞Practical ways to navigate burnout, resentment, guilt, and identity shifts
- ∞Anchor questions to steady your thinking in difficult moments
- ∞Permission to acknowledge the parts no one talks about
- ∞A reminder that you are not alone
Caregiving can quietly steal a person — their time, their identity, their spark. Sherry's Knots of Survival is the book that hands it all back. With raw honesty and unexpected warmth, she untangles the guilt, grief, and grit of a role most of us never signed up for, and shows caregivers they're allowed to live a full life too. Read it. Underline it. Then shout about it to everyone who needs it.
— BonnyMae
author of Learn to Live With It? Hell No!
Go Deeper
The Companion App
The Knots of Survival Companion App brings the book to life — with guided reflection questions, a personal journal, and a space that's just for you. 17 knots. 21 questions per knot. Your journey, at your pace.
17 Knots
All unlocked and ready to explore
21 Reflections
Per knot — go as deep as you need
Your Journal
Private, personal, always yours
No charge for 14 days · Founding member rate locked forever
About the Author
Sherry Petty
Sherry Petty is a writer, facilitator, and advocate for those navigating life's most unexpected seasons. An unplanned caregiver multiple times over, she knows firsthand what it means to love someone through the slow, tender unraveling of illness and decline.
She has cared for her father and sister through Alzheimer's, accompanied her mother through her final season, and walked alongside her husband through his last days. Each journey taught her something new about grief, grace, identity, and the quiet cost of showing up with love when no one handed you a map.
Knots of Survival is the book she wishes someone had handed her at the beginning of each of those journeys.
She is the founder of Worthy Warrior Women, a community devoted to helping women rediscover themselves after seasons of loss and transition. She lives in North Carolina with her feisty cat, Harley.
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