Some Asses Just Need Wiping
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What No One Tells You About Growing Up as Your Parents’ Caregiver
The unspoken trauma of children who become their parents' caregiver—and how to stop it from happening again
Six out of ten adults in America have at least one chronic illness. Behind every one of those statistics is a family scrambling to figure out how to hold it all together—and too often, it's the children who end up carrying the weight.
Author Shelly Grimm was five years old when she first walked into a hospital to say goodbye to her dying mother. She was also five when she realized no adult was coming to save her. What followed was a childhood spent as the parent to her own parent, navigating medical crises, financial disasters, and a world that expected her to be "fine" because she looked like she had it all together.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Know a child who seems “mature for their age”? They might be in survival mode.
- Are you caring for someone with a chronic illness and worried about the impact on your children?
- Do you know a family dealing with ongoing medical challenges who might need support?
- Ever felt like you’re drowning—but no one notices because you're still smiling through it?
- Are you looking for practical ways to protect children from falling through the cracks when life gets chaotic?
What You'll Learn in Some Asses Just Need Wiping:
This isn't a memoir where everything wraps up neatly. It's a mirror held up to the chaos no one talks about… and the roadmap Shelly wishes she had as a child caregiver.
You'll discover:
- The quiet ways kids cry for help without ever saying a word
- How chronic illness creates dysfunction that ripples through generations and how to stop the cycle
- Why traditional support systems fail families in crisis and where to find help that actually works
- Practical steps for protecting children when their world becomes unpredictable
- How to build real resilience (not just the ability to "handle it") in kids facing adult challenges
- The overlooked tools that could’ve saved Shelly from growing up too fast
- When to step in, what to say, and how to help families without overstepping boundaries
This book is for anyone who:
- Works with children (teachers, counselors, coaches, youth pastors)
- Is navigating chronic illness in their family
- Suspects a child in their life needs help but doesn't know how to provide it
- Wants to understand the long-term impact of childhood caregiving
- Needs practical tools for supporting families in crisis
Shelly's story will break your heart—and then give you the tools to make sure it doesn't happen to the children in your world.
About the Author
Shelly Grimm – Author, Financial Services Professional, and Advocate for Perpetual Caregivers
She knows what it’s like to do homework in waiting rooms, to decode insurance jargon before learning cursive, and to grow up faster than any child should. Today, she's a financial services professional with 27 years of experience helping families prepare for the realities of chronic illness and caregiving. Through her work with The Perpetual Caregiver organization, Shelly provides resources and support for those walking similar journeys. She believes that with the right tools and support systems, no child should have to carry the weight she carried—and no family should face chronic illness without a plan. Some Asses Just Need Wiping is her debut memoir and a call to action for anyone who works with children and families.
Connect with Shelly and The Perpetual Caregiver community at www.theperpetualcaregiver.com
