I share your pain. In chess there seem to be a fair number of strategic ideas. Open files, bad bishop, backward pawn, center control, and these can help you form plans. If checkers has these I have not been able to find them or understand them. I think learning checkers can start out in a similar manner to learning chess. Before we understood the strategic ideas in chess we learned how to checkmate a king with winning material. In checkers you start with learning how to win with 2 kings vs 1 king. Then learning about "first position" and "bridges" seem helpful. It seems like many checker books want to avoid showing bad moves. But understanding why a move is bad is a big help! So I looked at some games where black was able to hold square 19 (where white makes the weakest reply to 11-15.) And tried to play both sides to see what made it difficult. Other than sharpening your tactics with constant puzzles and studies (which can be fun and beautiful) I am still having trouble with learning the rest of the game. I hope you have more luck and enjoy the journey.