Your Brain on Mom

In this episode, “Running on Empty,” Wendy and Barry check in from a place many dementia caregivers quietly live in: emotional depletion, constant vigilance, fear, guilt, and the crushing weight of never truly feeling “off duty.” What begins with a long-planned trip to New York quickly turns into another caregiving crisis when a bed suddenly opens at their first-choice memory care facility — and t...

In this episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, we dive into the top gift ideas for people living with dementia — curated from real-life experience, caregiver recommendations, and the things we’ve actually bought for our mom. And listen… if anyone wants to send us a giant basket of these products, we will gratefully accept. Caregiving is expensive, okay? We walk through practical, comforting, and di...

In this episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, we sit down with caregiver advocate and podcast host Mikayla Cluxton for a funny, honest, and deeply relatable conversation about the emotional chaos of caregiving — and the strange little rituals that keep us going (yes… even shoe shopping). We talk about the realities of caregiving burnout, anxiety, and the constant battle between wanting quiet alone...

This week on This Is Your Brain On Mom, things take a hilarious turn — because apparently our mom has become… a joiner. Bingo champion. Artist. Bowling league member. Lead singer alongside a mysterious hallway guitarist. We don’t know who she is anymore — but honestly? We’re impressed. In this episode, we catch up on mom’s surprisingly busy social life in memory care, upcoming travel plans, and Ba...

What happens when Alzheimer’s doesn’t just affect the person living with it—but everyone connected to them? In this episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, we’re pulling back the curtain on what caregiving really looks like behind the scenes… including the emotional overflow, the exhaustion, the unexpected laughter, and yes—those moments where avoiding the phone feels like self-preservation. Today,...

In this special episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, Barry sits down with our mom — the woman who started it all. Before memory loss became part of her story, she was a devoted mother of three, a master of school field trips, and the queen of chopped liver Sundays. In her first-ever podcast appearance, Mom shares stories from her childhood in Montreal, the ups and downs of raising kids through th...

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...

In Episode 9 of This Is Your Brain on Mom, siblings Barry and Wendy dive deep into one of the hardest — and most confusing — parts of caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s: the anger. Their mom, Marion, has always been expressive, but lately, her emotions swing from loving to furious in a matter of minutes. Is it the disease? The medication? Or just Mom being… Mom? Barry and Wendy unpack the emotio...

When the doctor asked our mom what her favorite color was, she didn’t say blue, green, or pink. She said, “My daughter.”So… apparently, I’m Mom’s favorite color. Welcome to Episode 8 of This Is Your Brain on Mom — the podcast where two adult siblings try to make sense of life, love, and memory loss… with humor, heart, and a lot of chaos. This week, it’s Barry’s turn to interview Wendy. What starts...

What happens when the sibling in the background finally takes the mic? In this week’s episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, Wendy puts her brother Barry in the hot seat — the self-proclaimed “smarter child” who’s been there through every hospital visit, late-night phone call, and “laugh so you don’t cry” moment. Together, they dive into the humor and heartbreak of caregiving for a mom living with...

Mom had just received the word “Alzheimer’s” — and that very same night, she fell. In this episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, we dive into the chaotic reality of another urgent trip to the ER, hospital stays, and the emotional rollercoaster that comes with caring for a parent with dementia. From sudden changes in behavior, sundowning, and confusion to navigating Montreal’s healthcare system, we...

We finally had the CT scan results. We had a “diagnosis.” We had a caregiving schedule that seemed to work. And we were exhausted — did we really need more doctors, more tests, and more waiting rooms? In this episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, we take you inside the rollercoaster of Google diagnoses, geriatric assessments, and the moment a doctor finally said the word “Alzheimer’s.” From confus...

Mom’s move into semi-assisted living in Quebec turned out to be far more complicated than expected. From the impossible caregiving schedule it created for our family to the false promise of a transit bed, this episode dives into the real challenges of caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s. We share our firsthand experiences navigating the Quebec healthcare system for elder care, the long wait for a...

We thought we were simply taking Mom out for a celebratory family dinner. Instead, we witnessed the first unmistakable signs that something deeper was happening — anxiety, confusion, whispering, and changes in how she ate. In Episode 3 of This Is Your Brain on Mom, a real-life dementia caregiving podcast, siblings Wendy and Barry share the night they realized their mom’s recovery wasn’t just about...

From the carefully planned rehab routines to the subtle cognitive changes that didn’t feel like Mom, this chapter of our dementia journey is where everything began to shift. What started as recovery from a broken ankle turned into questions about memory loss, unusual behavior, and the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease. In this episode of This Is Your Brain on Mom, we — a brother and sister duo...

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 demen...

This Is Your Brain on Mom, sibling co-hosts share 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 duo, we take listeners behind the scenes o...