Mind What Matters

This week on Mind What Matters, Nikki DeLoach sits down with nationally recognized gerontologist, social worker, and dementia care expert Dr. Macie Smith for one of the most practical conversations we've had about caregiving. With more than 25 years of experience supporting families living with dementia, Dr. Macie shares the advice she wishes every caregiver received long before a crisis begi...

Walking in Her World: Ty Lewis on Faith, Dementia Care, and Sacred Advocacy week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach sit down with caregiver, educator, and certified dementia practitioner Ty Lewis, the voice behind I Am Gertrude Jordan . Ty has been sharing her mother’s late-stage dementia journey with honesty, tenderness, and deep wisdom, offering other caregivers a windo...

What if the thing that's keeping you stuck is the very thing you've been taught to do your whole life: hold it together? In this deeply personal conversation, Liz Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach explore the emotional cost of caregiving, the dangers of numbness, and why so many caregivers feel like they have to suffer in silence. Through stories of Alzheimer's caregiving, childhood condi...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach sit down with mindfulness teacher, author, and host of the Listen to Sleep podcast, Erik Ireland, for a conversation about identity, suffering, purpose, and what it means to stay present when life doesn't unfold the way we expected. Drawing from his own experiences of reinvention, self-discovery, and personal growth, Erik...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys sits down with Mariana, a 20-year-old nursing student and caregiver whose story is both heartbreaking and deeply inspiring. Mariana grew up watching her mother live with Huntington’s disease, a genetic neurological illness that can affect movement, mood, memory, and independence. At 18, Mariana made the decision to get tested herself and learned...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach sit down with caregiver, advocate, and podcast host Beth Jones for an honest conversation about frontotemporal dementia, isolation, and what happens when your parent slowly becomes someone you no longer recognize.  Beth shares the story of her mom’s early-onset FTD diagnosis at just 65 years old, including the subtle personalit...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach sit down with entrepreneur, technologist, and healthcare innovator Indu Navar for one of the most eye-opening conversations the podcast has had to date.  After losing her husband Peter to ALS, Indu found herself confronting a healthcare system that felt outdated, disconnected, and devastatingly slow. Instead of walking away fro...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach have a deeply personal and urgent conversation about why caregiving can no longer be treated as an individual family issue, because it has become a national crisis.  Drawing from their own experiences caring for loved ones, Liz and Nikki talk honestly about the financial devastation, emotional isolation, burnout, and impossible...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach sit down with journalist and author Leland Vittert for a powerful conversation about a different kind of caregiving, the kind that shapes a child’s entire life. Leland shares the story behind his book Born Lucky , opening up for the first time about growing up with an autism diagnosis that was never discussed, the challenges he...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach continue their conversation with senior living expert Christen Bergeron, this time digging into one of the hardest and most overwhelming parts of caregiving: the cost. With over 25 years of experience in senior living, Christen helps families understand what care can actually look like financially, from assisted living and memo...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach are back together with Neal K. Shah to continue a conversation that’s bigger than any one family’s experience. After unpacking the personal realities of caregiving, this episode turns toward what comes next, how we begin to fix a system that isn’t working for the millions of families navigating it every day. Together, they dive...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys sits down with entrepreneur and caregiver Neal K. Shah to talk about the reality so many families are facing: a caregiving system that is overwhelming, expensive, and often impossible to navigate. After becoming a caregiver for both his grandfather with Alzheimer’s and later his wife during a serious illness, Neal saw firsthand how broken the sy...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys sits down with senior living expert Christen Bergeron to talk about what so many families wish they had understood before finding themselves in the middle of a caregiving crisis. With over 25 years of experience in the senior living space, Christen shares what actually happens when a parent is no longer safe at home, and why so many families are...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys sits down with clinical neuropsychologist Dr. Sarah Richie to explore a form of caregiving that often goes unseen, raising and supporting children with neurodevelopmental differences. From autism and ADHD to dyslexia and executive function challenges, Dr. Richie shares what families are really navigating behind the scenes: the emotional intensit...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys reaches into the archives for a powerful conversation with ultra endurance athlete Travis Macy, host of The Travis Macy Show, and his father, Mark "Mace" Macy. Known for competing in some of the world’s toughest races, including Eco-Challenge and the Leadville 100, Travis and Mark share what it looks like to pursue extreme physical cha...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys revisits a powerful conversation from the archives with Edward O’Day, whose family faced the devastating impact of Alzheimer’s disease soon after losing his father to brain cancer. Edward shares the deeply personal story of navigating his mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the difficult safety decisions that followed, and the emotional...

Caregiving doesn’t end when placement happens, it simply changes shape. In this episode of Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys sits down with registered dietitian and cognitive health advocate Barbie Boules for a open, wide-ranging conversation about what happens after a parent with Alzheimer’s transitions into memory care. Barbie shares her personal experience as a primary caregiver, the safe...

This week on Mind What Matters , Liz Humphreys reaches into the archives to revisit a conversation that still feels as relevant and raw as the day it was recorded. Liz sits down with author and caregiver Lauren Dykovitrz to talk about early-onset Alzheimer’s, the shock of diagnosis in your 20s, and the complicated emotional terrain that follows. Lauren was just 25 when her mother was diagnosed, an...

This week on Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach sit down with gerontologist and licensed clinical social worker Ashley Stevens, founder of The Dementia Guru, for a grounded and empowering conversation about what families truly need after a dementia diagnosis. Ashley shares how her own childhood experience with Alzheimer’s shaped her life’s work, and how she now supports care...

This week on  Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach reflect on what happens when caregiving moves beyond the home and into memory care or assisted living, and how that transition can bring an entirely new layer of responsibility, grief, and vigilance. They speak openly about the emotional complexity of placement, the mix of relief and guilt that can coexist, and the realities f...

In this episode of Mind What Matters , Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach reflect on caregiving, advocacy, and the moments that force us to find our voice, even when it feels uncomfortable or risky. Nikki shares her experience navigating simultaneous medical crises involving her father and her infant son, Bennett, and what it taught her about intuition, persistence, and advocating inside a comp...

In this episode of Mind What Matters, Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach continue their deeply personal conversation about caregiving, shifting from naming the pain to sharing the hard-earned tools that helped Elizabeth survive thirteen years of caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s. Elizabeth opens up about burnout, family tension, and the emotional weight of being the one who carries the day...

Welcome back to Mind What Matters! In this episode of Elizabeth Humphreys and Nikki DeLoach turn the microphones inward to explore the raw, unfiltered realities of caregiving, grief, and the long emotional arc of loving someone with Alzheimer’s. To kick off the new year, the two friends treat each other as guests asking the hard questions about what caregiving really costs, how grief evolves over...

This week on Mind What Matters we are sharing a crossover episode from the Travis Macy Show.  Liz Humphreys and Travis Macy, host of The Travis Macy Show, talk with Dr. Dani Cabral, founder of BrainLove . They explore the science and stories of brain health, offering hope and practical wisdom for nurturing our minds at any life stage. Dr. Cabral shares how her unique approach, blending functional...

On this episode of Mind What Matters Liz and Nikki sit down with acclaimed actor and advocate Sharon Lawrence to talk about caregiving, compassion, and the beauty that exists within life’s hardest goodbyes. Sharon opens up about her journey caring for her in-laws through cancer and end-of-life, reflecting on what it means to stand beside someone not as a fixer, but as a witness. Through powerful s...