This Is Your Brain on Mom, sibling co-hosts open up about the unexpected beginning of their mother’s dementia journey — a journey that didn’t start with obvious memory loss, but with a broken ankle. What followed were strange behaviors, unexplained shifts, and subtle cognitive changes that signaled something deeper was happening.
As a brother-and-sister caregiver team, we share the real-life dementia storyof how we first encountered our mom’s cognitive decline. From unusual reactions in the hospital to confusing days at home, we walk through the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease and how they can appear differently than you might expect. We also discuss the differences between dementia vs. Alzheimer’s and how confusing it is to understand the distinction.
This podcast highlights the emotional side of becoming sibling caregivers — the frustration, the gut instinct, and the bond that forms when adult children team up to care for a parent. We also share how we use humor as a survival tool, because sometimes the only way through the fear and confusion of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease is to laugh together.
By telling our caregiving story, we hope to normalize the chaos, confusion, and unexpected moments that caregivers face, and to create a space where others feel seen. We explain why we decided to start this podcast — to document the earliest moments of our journey and to give a voice to other sibling caregiversnavigating similar paths.
Whether you’re researching dementia vs. Alzheimer’s, searching for early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, curious about sibling caregivers, or looking for real-life dementia stories to relate to, this podcast offers a candid, relatable, and hopeful look at the very beginning of the caregiving journey.
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This Is Your Brain on Mom, sibling co-hosts open up about the unexpected beginning of their mother’s dementia journey — a journey that didn’t start with obvious memory loss, but with a broken ankle. What followed were strange behaviors, unexplained shifts, and subtle cognitive changes that signaled something deeper was happening.
As a brother-and-sister caregiver team, we share the real-life dementia storyof how we first encountered our mom’s cognitive decline. From unusual reactions in the hospital to confusing days at home, we walk through the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease and how they can appear differently than you might expect. We also discuss the differences between dementia vs. Alzheimer’s and how confusing it is to understand the distinction.
This podcast highlights the emotional side of becoming sibling caregivers — the frustration, the gut instinct, and the bond that forms when adult children team up to care for a parent. We also share how we use humor as a survival tool, because sometimes the only way through the fear and confusion of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease is to laugh together.
By telling our caregiving story, we hope to normalize the chaos, confusion, and unexpected moments that caregivers face, and to create a space where others feel seen. We explain why we decided to start this podcast — to document the earliest moments of our journey and to give a voice to other sibling caregiversnavigating similar paths.
Whether you’re researching dementia vs. Alzheimer’s, searching for early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, curious about sibling caregivers, or looking for real-life dementia stories to relate to, this podcast offers a candid, relatable, and hopeful look at the very beginning of the caregiving journey.
Grieving Before Goodbye — Loving Through Alzheimer’s “Pre-Grief”
This is Your Brain on Mom
43 minutes
5 days ago
Grieving Before Goodbye — Loving Through Alzheimer’s “Pre-Grief”
In this milestone 10th episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, siblings Wendy and Barry open up about one of the hardest and least-talked-about parts of Alzheimer’s caregiving — pre-grief.
They celebrate reaching ten episodes (and surviving it together!) while reflecting on the powerful community that’s grown around their story — from old friends reconnecting to strangers who deeply understand what it’s like to love someone through dementia.
This heartfelt conversation dives into what it means to grieve the small losses while still finding gratitude for what remains. Wendy shares how her mom’s recent medication change brought back glimpses of her “old self,” and the siblings unpack the emotional rollercoaster that comes with that — hope, guilt, fear, laughter, and everything in between.
With their trademark humor and honesty, Wendy and Barry explore how each of them copes — from late-night worry to true-crime podcasts, over-scheduling, and using laughter as a lifeline. They remind listeners that grief in caregiving doesn’t wait for the end — it arrives quietly, again and again.
🎧 Tune in to hear:
What “pre-grief” really feels like for dementia caregivers
How humor becomes survival when love and loss coexist
The small miracles that happen when the “old” mom shines through
Why community matters more than ever
If you’ve ever felt the heartbreak of losing pieces of someone you love — while they’re still right in front of you — this episode is for you.
This is Your Brain on Mom
This Is Your Brain on Mom, sibling co-hosts open up about the unexpected beginning of their mother’s dementia journey — a journey that didn’t start with obvious memory loss, but with a broken ankle. What followed were strange behaviors, unexplained shifts, and subtle cognitive changes that signaled something deeper was happening.
As a brother-and-sister caregiver team, we share the real-life dementia storyof how we first encountered our mom’s cognitive decline. From unusual reactions in the hospital to confusing days at home, we walk through the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease and how they can appear differently than you might expect. We also discuss the differences between dementia vs. Alzheimer’s and how confusing it is to understand the distinction.
This podcast highlights the emotional side of becoming sibling caregivers — the frustration, the gut instinct, and the bond that forms when adult children team up to care for a parent. We also share how we use humor as a survival tool, because sometimes the only way through the fear and confusion of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease is to laugh together.
By telling our caregiving story, we hope to normalize the chaos, confusion, and unexpected moments that caregivers face, and to create a space where others feel seen. We explain why we decided to start this podcast — to document the earliest moments of our journey and to give a voice to other sibling caregiversnavigating similar paths.
Whether you’re researching dementia vs. Alzheimer’s, searching for early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, curious about sibling caregivers, or looking for real-life dementia stories to relate to, this podcast offers a candid, relatable, and hopeful look at the very beginning of the caregiving journey.
