Daughter asks: Who's the mother now?

By Cindy Cantrell, Globe Correspondent

After her mother fell and could no longer live alone, Sharon Kennedy took on the arduous and heartbreaking task of finding a nursing home for her.

Kennedy, a Grammy-nominated storyteller and performance artist from Medford, will recount the experience this week in two local performances of her one-woman show, ‘‘Which One of Us Is the Mother Now? Tales from the Nursing Home.’’

Kennedy says her show is for everyone, but especially those who are caring for an elderly parent the best they can. Her performance tells a daughter’s story of love, laughter, lessons learned through trials and tears, and advocacy when, for example, an inpatient psychiatric facility was recommended after her mother began acting out as a result of dementia.

‘‘So many of us baby boomers are going through this experience, yet we all feel a tremendous amount of isolation. We’re all wondering, ‘Am I doing anything right? Is there a manual I missed?’’’ said Kennedy, recalling the 16-month period preceding her mother’s death in September 2008. ‘‘I hope to give the audience a feeling of comfort and support on this journey that we all have to figure out.’’

Kennedy will perform ‘‘Which One of Us Is the Mother Now? Tales from the Nursing Home’’ on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Waltham Public Library, 735 Main St.; and Friday at 7:30 p.m. at First Parish in Needham, 23 Dedham Ave. For more information and other performance dates, visit her website, www.sharonkennedy.com.