A Season of Caring Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Rayna Neises, ACC, host, reflects on the topic of being a conscious caregiver from Tears in My Gumbo and last week’s interview (117) with Nadine Roberts Cornish. Rayna explores more with the five steps that can help caregivers to move away from being on autopilot: [0:39] Five Steps to Conscious Caregiving: Step 1: Helplessness Step 2: Recognition Step 3: Process Step 4: Acceptance...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, speaks with Nadine Roberts Cornish.  Nadine is a Certified Senior Advisor, Gerontologist, author, and national speaker.  She is also the founder of The Caregiver’s Guardian (TCG) which was created from her personal experience caring for her mother. TCG provides coaching and consultation services to family caregivers across the country. In additi...

Send us Fan Mail Rayna Neises, ACC, host, reflects on the topic of celebrating the season of caring for a senior adult from last week’s interview (115) with Jenn Chan. Rayna continues with that theme and looks at how this can help caregivers. [1:47]  There is so much involved in making the milestone decision to become a family caregiver. [3:00]  Four areas to think about: [3:20]  Do this season th...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, speaks with Jenn Chan. Jenn is a CEO, certified senior advisor, certified caregiving consultant, and a support group facilitator. Inspired by caregiving for her grandmother, Jenn has dedicated her career to elevating the family caregiver role with fun, love, and positivity.  She believes caregiving is a lifestyle and that becoming a senior careg...

Send us Fan Mail Rayna Neises, ACC, host, reflects on the topic of learning from others from last week’s interview (113) with Jean Lee. Jean is an author and co-founder of AlzAuthors.com whose mission is to provide resources to light the way for those on the Alzheimer’s/dementia journey. They spotlight authors who share their personal journeys so that others can benefit. This week, Rayna continues...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, speaks with Jean Lee. Jean was working full-time as a teacher when both of her parents were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Her first book, Alzheimer’s Daughter, is a memoir of her journey balancing her teaching responsibilities with her caregiving journey. Through her writing experience, she connected with other authors of Alzheimer’s books and co-...

Send us Fan Mail Rayna Neises, ACC, host, discusses support groups, what might be keeping you from being a part, what to expect and various kinds of groups.  [1:48] What could be holding you back from joining a support group: [2:10] Feeling that you will be put on the spot and must share your story [3:00] Feeling uncertain regarding what you would share about your loved one and concerned that othe...

Send us Fan Mail Rayna Neises, ACC, host, reflects on the topics covered during last week’s interview (109) with Erin Galyean. Rayna shares some additional thoughts based on Erin’s role as the VP of Communications during her caring season with her sister, Megan. In addition, Rayna provides support ideas for communication tools and building a caregiving team.   It is important to have someone who c...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, speaks with Mike and Kim Barnes. While balancing their lives as spouses and parents with their successful TV/journalism careers, they have also been caring for their aging parents. It is through these experiences that they have found a passion to help others who are on this caring journey. People want to be part of a community, and Mike and Kim...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Erin Galyean. Erin is an author, speaker, and sales trainer. From her professional experience, combined with losing her father and sister, she has become a patient advocate and wants to share her knowledge with others so they can do the same.  Erin provides the following insights:  Without a caregiving team, you are robbing others of...

Send us Fan Mail Rayna Neises, ACC, host, reflects on the topics covered during last week’s interview (107) with Nancy Poland. Rayna shares some additional learnings from Nancy’s second book, Remarkable Caregiving, where she interviewed six family caregivers and told their stories. In addition, Rayna provides supporting data that family caregivers are not alone.   Caregivers can get their strength...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Nancy Poland. Nancy is a writer and speaker who focuses on caregiving. She gained her experience as a family caregiver by caring for her father with Lewy Body Dementia. Nancy is the author of two books and provides a monthly newsletter, “Caring for the Caregiver,” and free resources on her website. She is a speaker, trainer, wife, mot...

Send us Fan Mail Rayna Neises, ACC, host, reflects on the topics shared during last week’s interview with Debra Hallisey. She revisits the concepts around relationships that Debra shared from her book, The Caregiver’s Relationship Contract . In addition, Rayna explores how to set boundaries and navigate renegotiating them. Be sure to download the free resource Rayna provides related to these topic...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Debra Hallisey. Debra lost her job due to her caregiving responsibilities with her mother and, as a result, founded Advocate for Mom and Dad, LLC. In addition, based on her experiences, she has authored a book that provides a step-by-step guide for discussing relationship issues. Debra uses personal stories to illustrate how these tec...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Carlos Olivas III.  Carlos was a guest last year on the podcast and immediately comes to mind when thinking about advocacy.  He is the primary caregiver for his father living with Alzheimer’s since 2016.  During this caregiving season, Carols has been able to connect, encourage, and empathize with caregivers from around the world.  Th...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Usha Tewari.  Usha is a first-generation Indian American, passionate advocate, and congressional ambassador.  She worked full time at her government job and was the sole caregiver for her mother who had Alzheimer’s.  Usha understands what it takes to advocate for individuals, and she shares her passion in this area and her caregiving...

Send us Fan Mail Rayna Neises, ACC, host, expands on the concepts Lauren Dykovitz shared regarding her journey in caring for her mother with Early Onset Alzheimer’s.  In addition, Rayna shares information on the basics of Alzheimer’s Disease and things you can do: Alzheimer’s is a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and a specific type of dementia. Memory loss may not al...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Lauren Dykovitz.  Lauren is a writer, author, wife, and dog mom.  She became a family caregiver when her mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in July 2010 when Lauren was only 25.  Lauren started the Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s blog and social media pages to document her journey and share her experiences.  She has written...

Send us Fan Mail Rayna Neises, ACC, host, reflects on her conversation from last week with Susan Stern.  Susan shared several hands-on tips regarding resilience and its importance during the caregiving journey.  Resilience is the capability to recover quickly from difficulties and Rayna provides the following suggestions for building resiliency: Learn what your “WHY” is for your caregiving journey...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Susan Stern.  Susan is a wife, mother, and family caregiver.  After 20 years as a speech-language pathologist, she changed her career path to pursue her calling to support other caregivers.  Susan became a certified coach and started her business helping overwhelmed family caregivers improve their self-care and life balance.  She now...

Send us Fan Mail In this Encore Episode, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Carlos Olivas III.  Carlos lived in Southern California where he was working a great job in live events doing production and design while raising his daughter.  But life took a turn five years ago when he made the decision to move back to his childhood home to care for his father. As a result of his experience, he has dev...

Send us Fan Mail On this Encore Episode: Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Marty Stevens-Heebner.  Marty is CEO of Clear Home Solutions.  She created the company to help older adults and their families when their treasures, paperwork, and stuff get in the way of moving their lives forward.  Marty was inspired to launch the company eight years ago after her experiences with her father and aunt. ...

Send us Fan Mail In the Encore Episode this week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks with Catherine Hodder Esq. Catherine is an attorney and author of the bestseller, “Estate Planning for the Sandwich Generation: How to Help Your Parents and Protect Your Kids”.  "Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now." according to Alan Lakein.  This quote...

Send us Fan Mail December is Encore Episode month, where A Season of Caring Podcast shares the most listened to episodes of the year.  We will kick off the month with Self-care is Self Preservation.  Rayna Neises, your host, shares about self-care and how important it is to your ability to provide the care your loved one needs.  Listen in to hear the tips that have people talking. The best self-ca...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Rayna Neises, your host, talks about a few of the emotions that are a part of this season of life.  There are 53 million unpaid family caregivers in the United States it is easy to feel alone and overwhelmed with emotions while you are caring for a loved one and it is totally normal. Rayna explores three emotions and their impact: Worry is a normal reaction to caring fo...