Club Sandwich

What happens when your marriage ends in the exact season your parent needs you most? Katie Noonan knows, and this week, she tells us how you start again in the middle of everything. Content note: this episode discusses separation and divorce, grief and the death of a parent. Be gentle with yourself while you listen. For support: Relationships Australia 1300 364 277 (relationships.org.au) — c...

The same conversation, again and again. The strange ideas. The day they don't know your face. Part two of our dementia special is about how you cope when a parent is becoming someone else — and how to look after yourself while you do. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit https://clubsandwich.community to join the conversation. SEND US YOUR QUESTION: hello@clubsandwich.community In this episode: The Conversa...

We all walk into a room and forget why we came in. So how do you tell ordinary forgetfulness from the early signs of something more? This week, in part one of our two-part dementia special, geriatrician Dr Stephanie Ward shows us what to actually look for. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit https://clubsandwich.community to join the conversation. SEND US YOUR QUESTION: hello@clubsandwich.community In this episo...

Most of us have a conversation we keep avoiding – about ageing, about more help at home, about dying. In this week's episode, recorded live in Sydney, palliative care physician Dr Kathryn Mannix shows us how to have that tender conversation. Recorded live at our Stay For Supper event, Sarah Macdonald sits down with Dr Kathryn Mannix — global campaigner, author of With the End in Mind a...

Dementia is the leading cause of death in Australia, and a lot of what we believe about it is making things worse. This week, meet the man who moved in. Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit https://clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community. SEND US YOUR QUESTION: hello@clubsandwich.community In this episode:...

Sarah Macdonald and Bianca Dye on caring solo for a mum with dementia when you have no kids and no siblings to share the load – and why "I don't have children" doesn't disqualify you from the sandwich generation. This week Sarah Macdonald is joined by broadcaster Bianca Dye: an only child, with no kids of her own, and the sole carer for her 81-year-old mum, who has Alzheimer's-form dementia....

Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. This week Sarah Macdonald is joined by Dr Joanne Bennett from the Australian Catholic University, designer of the upcoming 'Thriving Without Driving' program, to unpack one of the most loaded conversations in the sandwich generation: taking the keys. Together they map the three kinds of older drivers (the acceptors, the reluctants and the resistors),...

Former NSW Premier Bob Carr on losing his wife Helena, and the year of grief that followed. A long, honest conversation about bereavement. Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. In 2023, Bob Carr's wife Helena died of an aneurysm in his arms in Vienna, after a night at the opera. She'd been his constant companion for more than 50 years. The former NSW Premier and Foreign Minister has writ...

86% of us never have this conversation with our ageing parents. So we built you a way in. Free guide at https://putthekettleon.com.au — and a podcast episode to walk you through it. Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit https://clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community. SEND US YOUR QUESTION: hello@clubs...

Sandwich-generation carers don't get a holiday — not even on Mother's Day. Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community. SEND US YOUR QUESTION: hello@clubsandwich.community In this episode: The Conversation: Sarah Macdonald and clinical psychologist Jo Lamble unpack the...

If a glass of wine has become your shortcut from caregiving stress to “I can finally exhale”, this episode is for you. Ageing parents? You’ve got them. We’ve got you. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit https://clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community. SEND US YOUR QUESTION: hello@clubsandwich.community In this episode: The Conver...

Trying to work out aged care in Australia before you are forced into it? This episode is your practical starting point. Sarah Macdonald and Linda Mellors break down how aged care works, what My Aged Care actually does, when to start, what home care packages mean, and how to make early decisions that can save families stress later. Ageing parents? You’ve got them. We’ve got you. In this...

Are your parents living longer, but not necessarily living well? In this episode, Sarah Macdonald talks with author Lucinda Holdforth about the private thoughts many carers have but rarely say out loud: what happens when old age stretches on, frailty deepens, dementia changes the person you love, and the caring role starts to swallow your own life. Ageing parents? You’ve got them. We’v...

Worried about an ageing parent ending up in hospital? Caring from another city or another country? In this episode, Sarah Macdonald and Matt Preston talk about dementia, sibling guilt, hospital overwhelm, aged care delays, and why the smartest move is to plan earlier than feels necessary. Matt also reflects on the personal experience behind his current TV work on dementia: supporting his mum throu...

If your parent is ageing and still saying “I’m fine”, this episode is your nudge to stop waiting for crisis. Sarah Macdonald and Gogglebox's Kerry Milligan talk about the conversations families avoid until it is too late: downsizing, wills, advanced care directives, aged care, death planning and the cost of denial. Ageing parents? You’ve got them. We’ve got you. JOIN...

Feeling guilty all the time? Guilty you are not doing enough for your parent. Guilty you are not present enough for your kids, your partner or your job. Guilty for wanting a break. Guilty for even thinking this is all too much. In this episode, Sarah Macdonald is joined by clinical psychologist Jo Lamble to tackle one of the biggest emotional burdens of sandwich generation life: guilt. They unpack...

When your mum or dad insists everything is fine, but you can see the fall risk, the spoiled food, the missed cues and the slow slide, it can make you feel like you’re losing your mind. This episode is for the daughter who’s being called bossy when what she really is, is exhausted, worried, and carrying too much. Ageing parents? You’ve got them. We’ve got you. JOIN THE CLUB:...

They want to stay home. The hard part is making that possible. In this episode, Sarah Macdonald and Melissa Reader talk about one of the biggest questions families face: how do you help an ageing parent stay at home for as long as possible, without waiting for a fall, a hospital stay or a full-blown crisis? They cover the emotional pull of home, the practical reality of care, and the steps that ma...

If you’re caring for ageing parents and quietly thinking “I cannot keep going like this”, you’re not imagining it. Sometimes burnout is not a mindset. It’s your body calling in the debt. Ageing Parents? You've got them, we've got you. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community. SEND US YOUR...

Ageing in an ageist society can feel confronting, especially when you are caring for older parents while navigating your own changing body, identity and future. In this episode of Club Sandwich, Sarah Macdonald and Clubber Kerry Milligan (Gogglebox) explore how to age in an ageist culture, why invisibility can feel painful but also freeing, how body image and confidence shift over time, and h...

If you’re the sibling holding the whole system in your head and everyone else is “right behind you”… this episode is your permission slip and your playbook. Sarah Macdonald and clinical psychologist Jo Lamble unpack sibling dynamics when you’re caring for ageing parents, including why one person becomes the default carer (and why it stays that way). Ageing parents? Y...

Ageing parents? You’ve got them. We’ve got you. One minute you’re living your life, and the next, you look at your parents and realise everything has changed. Whether it’s a sudden health event or a slow "crumble," navigating the aged care system while holding down everything else - work, kids, grandkids, or just your own sanity - is the hardest job you’ll ever do. In...

Caring for ageing parents and quietly thinking “Something’s gotta give”? Welcome.  Because you’ve got them - and we’ve got you. The Sandwich Generation is finally getting the conversation we deserve. Club Sandwich is the community for those caring for ageing parents while juggling work, kids, relationships, and sanity. This is your tribe when family doesn't get i...

The Sandwich Generation is finally getting the conversation we deserve. If you're feeling the squish, our new podcast Club Sandwich is for you.  It's the community for those caring for ageing parents while juggling work, kids, relationships, and sanity. This is your tribe when family doesn't get it - or just isn't enough. And the best news is, Agehood host and Vera.guide CEO Melissa Reader is...

Most of us know we should talk about the end of life - but almost none of us know where to start. In this episode, Melissa Reader is joined by Dr Ira Byock, one of the world’s leading voices in palliative care, to explore how we can live and love more fully by facing what we often avoid. A physician, author, and global advocate, Ira has spent decades reminding us that illness and dying are n...