This is a tale of caregiving in two cities--and it was the best of times and the worst of times. In this article, the author describes the differences in the care given by nurses and social workers to her 90-year-old mother who died from metastatic colon cancer and to her husband who had traumatic brain injury in an automobile accident and was disabled--essentially quadriplegic with significant cognitive impairment. She contends that leaders in social work and nursing need to acknowledge the inconsistent ways that members of their respective professions approach families. Many practitioners judge what a family caregiver "should" do based on their own values, though not necessarily their own actions. Instead of acknowledging caregivers' emotional attachment to patients, nurses may dismiss or denigrate caregivers' concerns about their ability to provide care. The system drives social workers to focus on reducing the length of stay rather than on the patients' or families' goals for improving quality of life. Nursing and social work leaders should be advocates for family caregivers in their own institutions and associations, as well as in the larger policy world. Leaders should have a better understanding of the realities of family caregiving, as well as an ability to assess the needs of family caregivers and the willingness to show them how and where to find the resources they need.