Nurturing the Nurturer
What happens when the person who gives the most has nothing left to give?
At just 24, long before Eric Lim felt ready, his father developed dementia after a series of strokes, and with astonishing honesty, he recounts the heart-wrenching reversal of roles, caring for the parent who once cared for him, and explores love, loss and resilience.
Across an ageing Asia, a silent crisis unfolds: behind every elderly person who can no longer care for themselves stands a caregiver. This book is for the ones who hold everyone together while no one holds them, who answer every need but their own, and have forgotten themselves.
Nurturing the Nurturer is your invitation to look within. It uncovers the quiet forces that keep caregivers giving beyond their limits: filial duty, the fear of losing face, the guilt that follows even the smallest moment of rest. And it offers another way.
Drawing on mindfulness and restorative slumber, Eric offers a science-based approach to the roots of sleep deprivation, with tools and practices to lead you out of the maze and into the rest you need and deserve.
But this book goes beyond sleep. It is about reclaiming your life, peace of mind and ability to thrive in the toughest of times. It is a homage to the enduring tenacity of the human spirit and those who care for loved ones.
Above all, it is a meditation on a timeless truth: to care for a loved one, you must first care for yourself.
Nurturing the Nurturer will be published by Penguin Random House SEA this October 2026!
Hear my story here
29 June 2026
Mediacorp 8world Frontline
越来越多新加坡男性扛起照顾家人的责任。面对长期看护带来的身心压力，他们往往选择默默承担，不轻易求助。坚强，是否也成了他们最大的负担？
More and more Singaporean men are taking on the responsibility of caring for their families. Faced with the physical and emotional strain of long-term caregiving, they often choose to bear it in silence, reluctant to ask for help. Has being strong become their heaviest burden too?
Mediacorp 8world Frontline
When someone in the family falls ill, who stays behind to care for them? Traditionally, many families see caregiving as a woman’s responsibility. But in Singapore, more men are putting their lives on hold to care for their loved ones. Along with financial pressure, they also face sleepless nights, emotional strain and societal expectations. Eric Lim balanced university life while caring for his father after multiple strokes.
30 May 2026
30 October 2025
The Building Financial Fitness Podcast with Junus Eu - Cost-Benefit Analysis of Informal Caregiving to a Parent, with Eric Lim, Somnus Sleep Wellness
What would you do if you suddenly had to care for the person who once cared for you? At just 24, Eric Lim found himself in that spot when his father collapsed at the void deck. Overnight, he became a caregiver, juggling hospital visits, uni deadlines, and the emotional ups and downs of looking after a parent.
In this episode of Building Financial Fitness, we chat about the real cost of caregiving, from medical bills to the time, energy, and heart it takes. Eric shares how the experience changed his outlook on work, family, and what really matters, and how he found balance along the way.
He also talks about his upcoming book Nurturing the Nurturer – Mindfulness, Sleep, and The Art of Caring Without Losing Yourself. It's an honest, down-to-earth conversation about love, sacrifice, and learning to care without burning out.
"Caregiving doesn't have to be a lonely journey. It's okay to ask for help."
1 August 2025
CNA TODAY Big Read - More than a disability, dementia takes a toll on the whole family – and more young patients are getting it
While many of his peers were focused on graduation trips or job prospects, Mr Eric Lim, then a final-year undergraduate in 2013, was preoccupied with caring for his late father. His father had suffered a series of strokes and was later diagnosed with vascular dementia.
"It was very stressful, because I felt it was like a role reversal: All the time it's always my parents taking care of me, but then suddenly I'm thrust into this role," said Mr Lim, now 36 and co-founder of Somnus Sleep Wellness, a company that helps people with sleep issues such as insomnia.
4 April 2025
CNA938 Rewind - A Letter to Myself: Mindfulness and sleep expert Eric Lim on why "life happens for you, not to you"
I shared with Joel Chua on CNA938’s show “A Letter to Myself” on how mindfulness gave me strength when, as a university student, I became a caregiver to my father who suffered a series of strokes and developed dementia. Today, I use mindfulness strategies and insights to help others find inner peace through the tumult of their daily lives, and gain better quality sleep.
Wholehearted Podcast: Selfless Caregiving and the Power of Mindfulness with Eric Lim | Coen Tan
Has a sudden family emergency threatened to derail your career and life? How will being suddenly thrusted into the position of caregiver shape your life's trajectory?
Confronted with his father's sudden illness, Eric Lim had to take the responsibility of the caregiver to him. His unwavering dedication to caregiving became his guiding principle, finding solace and purpose in prioritizing his father's well-being above all else. Through this experience, Eric drew closer to his father and finding profound meaning in their shared experiences. Eric’s practice into mindfulness was what helped him to stay focused and optimistic in the face of his challenges, and he remains passionate about sharing the power of mindfulness.
Today, as the Co-Founder of Somnus Sleep Wellness, Eric is dedicated to supporting individuals to prioritise their sleep-health, so that they can be mindful and rigorous in their personal and professional pursuits.
In the podcast episode on the Wholehearted Podcast, Eric shares his journey and insights on finding purpose through selfless caregiving. Tune in to gain inspiration and perspective on navigating life's twists with resilience and compassion.
14 May 2024
Singapore Mindfulness Conference 2019: Reducing Stress in Caregiving
Eric Lim, winner of AWWA's Young Model Caregiver (Merit) Award, shares 8 tips to reduce stress in caregiving based on his experience caring for his father who was stricken with a stroke and vascular dementia.
24 August 2019
Zaobao - Live Your Dream
【完成一个梦 • 第二季】第一集：爸爸，换我照顾你 三次中风导致血管性失智症，每天的视野只有房里的天花板。孝顺儿子Eric担起看护者的重担，尽心尽力照顾爸爸。《完成一个梦》能帮他完成什么梦想呢？
29 June 2018
Three strokes left my father with vascular dementia, and for a long time his whole world was the ceiling above his bed. I cared for him with everything I had. Zaobao’s Live Your Dream followed our story, and asked what dream it might help me fulfil.
27 April 2017
UFM1003 Radio Interview
【#UFM1003早班】获得AWWA颁发的模范看护奖：28岁俊杰的父亲前后中风三次，现在只能通过眼神沟通。年纪轻轻的俊杰，无微不至的打理父亲的一切。他的“正念”值得你我学习。
AWWA Model Young Caregiver Award Winner 28-year-old Eric Lim shares about how he can now only use eye contact to communicate with his father, after his father's third stroke. At his young age, Eric takes care of his father's every need dedicatedly, using mindfulness as his support and anchor.
28 March 2017
938Live Radio Interview
Mr Eric Lim, Merit Award Recipient for 2017 Model Young Caregiver Award and Mindfulness Psychologist at Brahm Centre, speaks to 938 Live about how mindfulness helps him be a better caregiver to his father.
28 March 2017
Project We Forgot: From Struggle Comes Strength: Inspiring Other Young Caregivers
Eric Lim, based in Singapore, was 24 years old when he started caring for his father who was diagnosed with vascular dementia. Eric was recently awarded the 2017 Young Model Caregiver (Merit) Award. He shares snippets of his own journey; the initial struggles he faced and how he hopes to use his experience to support other young caregivers out there.
Join the Waitlist
Be among the first to get the book when it is published this Oct 2026!