Media & Press
MEDIA & PRESS KIT
Lisa Berlanga
Author | Caregiver Advocate | Founder, Shop LB Market
Author of Dementia in the Raw: Confessions of a Caregiver UNCENSORED
“Dementia wasn’t the hardest part. Living through it is.”
Lisa Berlanga brings an unfiltered caregiver's voice to a conversation that is too often softened, sanitized, or left unspoken.
Drawing from her own experience caring for her mother with dementia, Lisa speaks candidly about the anger, guilt, exhaustion, grief, family conflict, impossible decisions—and unexpected humor—that can come with caregiving.
What began as a personal caregiving journey became a book, an advocacy platform, and now the foundation for a broader vision of caregiver support.
Her mission is simple:
To make sure the person providing the care is not lost in the conversation surrounding the person receiving it.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Dementia in the Raw: Confessions of a Caregiver UNCENSORED
Part memoir. Part survival guide. Completely uncensored.
Nobody talks enough about the anger.
The guilt.
The exhaustion.
The resentment.
The family conflict.
The grief.
Or the impossible decisions caregivers sometimes have to make.
Dementia in the Raw does.
Lisa Berlanga didn't set out to become an author or a caregiving expert. She was a daughter trying to survive the overwhelming reality of caring for her mother with dementia.
What began as confusion and constant fight-or-flight eventually forced Lisa to examine not only what dementia was doing to her mother, but what caregiving was doing to her.
Through deeply personal stories, dark humor, hard-earned lessons and practical solutions, Lisa takes readers through her Four Stages of Caregiving and the changes that helped her move from chaos and burnout toward greater organization, perspective, control and a more realistic understanding of self-care.
Rather than telling caregivers how they should feel, Dementia in the Raw meets them where they actually are.
This isn't a clinical handbook.
And it isn't another polished story about gracefully navigating dementia.
It is the conversation Lisa wishes someone had been willing to have with her when everything was falling apart.
You can love the person you're caring for and still hate what caregiving is doing to your life.
And sometimes, changing the way you approach caregiving can change everything.
ABOUT LISA BERLANGA
Lisa Berlanga is an author, caregiver advocate, business owner and founder of Shop LB Market.
Born and raised in California's Central Valley—Ceres, to be exact—Lisa is a mother of three who entered the caregiving world without professional training or a roadmap for what was ahead.
She quickly discovered that some of the hardest parts of caregiving weren't being openly discussed:
The anger.
The guilt.
The exhaustion.
The isolation.
Family dysfunction.
Grieving someone who is still physically present.
And grieving your own sense of normalcy along the way.
Eventually, Lisa realized that improving her mother's care required changing the way she approached her own role as caregiver.
Organization, journaling, routines, humor, perspective, boundaries, problem-solving and a willingness to adapt became survival tools.
Lisa turned those experiences into Dementia in the Raw.
With no previous background in writing, publishing, audiobook production, website development or book marketing, she taught herself the skills necessary to bring the project to life—including narrating her own audiobook.
But the book did something else.
It gave Lisa a clearer view of what was missing for caregivers beyond information about the disease itself.
Today, her work is expanding beyond authorship into caregiver advocacy, community conversations and the development of a broader care-support ecosystem through Shop LB Market.
Lisa isn't approaching caregiving as a clinician looking in.
She's a caregiver who has lived it—and continues to live it.
WHY DEMENTIA IN THE RAW IS DIFFERENT
There are many excellent resources explaining dementia.
Lisa's work focuses on something different:
What is happening to the caregiver?
Instead of beginning with the disease, Lisa begins with the human being trying to survive it.
Her work explores what can happen when a caregiver stops focusing exclusively on changing the person with dementia and begins examining what they can change:
their environment, routines, organization, expectations, reactions, boundaries, communication and perspective.
The result is a conversation about dementia caregiving that is raw, sometimes uncomfortable, occasionally funny and intentionally practical.
Because while validation matters—
so do solutions.
LISA'S CORE MESSAGE
A better quality of life for the caregiver can lead to a better standard of care for the person they love.
Caregiving can become so focused on the needs of the person receiving care that the caregiver gradually disappears from the equation.
Lisa challenges that approach.
Her message isn't simply:
“Practice self-care.”
It is about taking a serious look at the caregiver's entire operating system.
What isn't working?
What can be organized?
What can be documented?
What patterns are being missed?
What expectations need to change?
What responsibilities can be handled differently?
What is within the caregiver's control?
And perhaps most importantly:
Is the caregiver willing to change and adapt, too?
BEYOND THE BOOK
Building a Care Ecosystem
Dementia in the Raw began as Lisa's way of giving caregivers the honesty, validation and practical guidance she wished she had received herself.
But publishing the book also revealed something larger.
Caregivers frequently have to search across multiple places for information, products, services, emotional support and practical help—often while already exhausted and overwhelmed.
Through Shop LB Market, Lisa is developing a broader care ecosystem designed around the real-life experience of giving and receiving care.
The vision brings together areas such as:
- practical caregiver resources and products
- caregiver self-care and everyday support
- tools for organizing and coordinating care
- ways for family and friends to meaningfully support a caregiver
- care-related services and future technology
- resources that can evolve as care needs change
- firsthand stories from both caregivers and people receiving care
The goal is not simply to build another caregiver marketplace.
It is to build support around the way caregiving is actually lived.
CARE STORIES
Two sides of care. Both deserve to be heard.
One part of the developing Shop LB Market ecosystem is Care Stories, a planned space for true, firsthand experiences from both sides of caregiving.
Stories may include experiences involving dementia, aging, stroke recovery, disability, illness, surgery, end-of-life care and other situations in which people give or receive care.
Care Stories is being designed to include perspectives from:
People providing care
Family caregivers, professional caregivers and others responsible for helping another person.
People receiving care
Individuals experiencing illness, disability, aging, recovery or other circumstances requiring assistance.
The purpose is simple:
To help people understand care through the voices of those actually living it.
FROM CAREGIVER TO FOUNDER
Lisa's entrepreneurial work is rooted in the same philosophy as her book:
Care should support the person receiving it without forgetting the person providing it.
Shop LB Market began from firsthand caregiving experience and continues to evolve around the problems Lisa encountered herself.
Rather than separating her work as an author, caregiver and business owner, Lisa views them as parts of the same mission:
Tell the truth about caregiving.
Identify what's missing.
Build practical solutions.
INTERVIEW, MEDIA & PODCAST TOPICS
Lisa is available for conversations surrounding:
I Wrote the Book for the Caregiver—Not the Disease
Why Lisa believes the caregiver deserves a larger place in conversations surrounding dementia and long-term care.
The Caregiver's Willingness to Change
Why waiting for the person with dementia to change can leave caregivers trapped—and what happened when Lisa began changing her own approach instead.
Caregiving Is Work
Why being related to the person receiving care does not make the physical, emotional and logistical workload disappear.
The Emotions Caregivers Don't Want to Admit
Anger, resentment, guilt, frustration, exhaustion and grief—and why acknowledging difficult emotions can be more useful than pretending they aren't there.
Can You Love Someone and Still Resent Caregiving?
Why love and resentment are not mutually exclusive.
Caregiver Burnout Before You Recognize It as Burnout
How living in constant crisis mode gradually becomes “normal.”
Organizing Caregiving Like a Job
How responsibilities, routines, schedules, documentation and systems can reduce chaos.
The Power of Journaling and Data
Using food, behavior, medical and video journaling to identify patterns that can be difficult to recognize when you're exhausted.
Family Dysfunction & Dementia
How caregiving can expose or intensify existing family dynamics.
Humor in the Middle of Something Terrible
Why sometimes you have to laugh—and why humor doesn't mean you aren't taking caregiving seriously.
Why “Take Care of Yourself” Isn't Enough
Moving beyond generic self-care advice toward practical changes that affect a caregiver's everyday life.
From Chaos to Control
Lisa's Four Stages of Caregiving and the changes that transformed her experience.
From Caregiver to Founder
How one family's caregiving experience led to a book, advocacy work and the development of a broader care ecosystem.
What Caregivers Actually Need
Why emotional validation must be accompanied by practical support.
Caregiving, Culture & Intergenerational Responsibility
Exploring how family expectations, cultural traditions and generational responsibilities can shape the caregiving experience.
Building Solutions From Lived Experience
Why people who have actually lived caregiving can identify needs that traditional systems sometimes overlook.
SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
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Why do you say, “I wrote this book for the caregiver—not the disease”?
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What happened in your caregiving journey that made you realize something had to change?
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Can you love someone deeply and still resent what caregiving is doing to your life?
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Why do you believe caregiving should not be called "just helping"?
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What are the Four Stages of Caregiving?
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What happens when “take care of yourself” isn't realistic advice for an exhausted caregiver?
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Why do so many caregivers suffer in silence?
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How did organization, documentation and tracking patterns change your experience?
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Why is humor such an important part of your caregiving story?
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How did Dementia in the Raw grow from a book into a much larger vision for caregiver support?
PODCAST HOST & MEDIA INTRODUCTION
Lisa Berlanga is the author of Dementia in the Raw: Confessions of a Caregiver UNCENSORED, caregiver advocate and founder of Shop LB Market.
Drawing from her personal experience caring for her mother with dementia, Lisa speaks candidly about the anger, guilt, exhaustion, resentment, grief, family conflict and difficult decisions caregivers often experience but may be afraid to discuss.
Her work combines raw personal storytelling with practical solutions designed to help caregivers move from chaos and burnout toward greater organization, perspective and control.
Today, Lisa is expanding that mission beyond the book through caregiver advocacy and the development of a broader care-support ecosystem built around the realities of both giving and receiving care.
SHORT AUTHOR BIO
Lisa Berlanga is the author of Dementia in the Raw: Confessions of a Caregiver UNCENSORED, a caregiver advocate and founder of Shop LB Market. Inspired by her firsthand experience caring for her mother with dementia, Lisa combines raw storytelling, humor and practical solutions to bring attention to the person behind the care. Her work has grown from a caregiver memoir and survival guide into a broader mission to create resources, conversations and future solutions designed around the realities of giving and receiving care.
ULTRA-SHORT BIO
Lisa Berlanga is an author, caregiver advocate and founder of Shop LB Market whose work grew from firsthand dementia caregiving. Through Dementia in the Raw and a developing care-support ecosystem, she advocates for the caregiver behind the care.
BOOK DETAILS
Title: Dementia in the Raw
Subtitle: Confessions of a Caregiver UNCENSORED
Author: Lisa Berlanga
ISBN-13: 979-8-9960097-1-8
Publisher/Imprint: Shop LB Market
Genre: Dementia Caregiving / Caregiver Memoir / Practical Caregiving Guide
Formats: Paperback | eBook | Audiobook
Audiobook Narrator: Lisa Berlanga
Official Website: DementiaInTheRaw.com
Email: Lisa@LisaBerlanga.com
REVIEWS & RECOGNITION
Kirkus Reviews
“A helpful tool for the loved ones of people with dementia.”
BookLife
Independent review recognition for Lisa's candid approach to caregiver burnout, family dynamics and practical caregiving solutions.
Readers' Favorite
Multiple five-star reviews recognizing the book's honesty, practical strategies, humor and validation for caregivers.
DEMENTIA IN THE RAW WORLDWIDE PODCAST BOOK TOUR
Lisa is currently joining podcast hosts in the United States and internationally for conversations about caregiving, aging, family dynamics, burnout, resilience, practical solutions and the realities families rarely discuss publicly.
The book started the conversation.
The mission is bigger than the book.
BRING LISA TO YOUR AUDIENCE
Podcasts • Media • Caregiver Organizations • Wellness Events • Community Conversations • Support Groups • Book Clubs • Panels
Lisa welcomes opportunities for honest conversations about caregiving and the people living on both sides of care.
Topics can be tailored for caregiver organizations, healthcare and wellness communities, cultural organizations, family audiences, business and entrepreneurship groups, podcasts and media.
MEDIA ASSETS
Available for media, event and promotional use:
High-resolution Lisa Berlanga headshot
High-resolution Dementia in the Raw book cover
Author biography
Book synopsis and details
Interview questions
Review excerpts
Podcast/media information
CONTACT
Lisa Berlanga
Author | Caregiver Advocate | Founder, Shop LB Market
Dementia in the Raw: Confessions of a Caregiver UNCENSORED
Website: DementiaInTheRaw.com
Email: Lisa@LisaBerlanga.com
Facebook: Lisa Berlanga
LinkedIn: Lisa Berlanga
TikTok: @authorlisaberlanga
Be part of the mission.