Message in the Middle: Midlife Women, Reinvention & Personal Growth
Message in the Middle is a podcast for women navigating the challenges, transitions, and reinventions that often come with midlife.
Hosted by Marianne DeMello-Smith, each episode explores the messy, meaningful moments that shape who we become. Through honest conversations with experts, authors, thought leaders, and everyday women, you'll discover practical insights, inspiring stories, and new perspectives on what it means to grow through life's most difficult seasons.
Whether you're facing a career change, caregiving responsibilities, health challenges, grief, relationship shifts, menopause, identity changes, or simply wondering what's next, Message in the Middle offers encouragement, wisdom, and real-world strategies to help you move forward with greater confidence and purpose.
Together, we'll explore resilience, personal growth, self-discovery, emotional well-being, and the power of turning life's messes into meaningful midlife messages.
Because midlife isn't the end of your story. It may just be the beginning of your next chapter.
Message in the Middle: Midlife Women, Reinvention & Personal Growth
Legacy, Loss, and Love: A Mindful Approach to Caregiving with Jessica Smith
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In this heartfelt episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne sits down with mindfulness teacher, caregiver, and dementia advocate Jessica Smith for a conversation that lives at the intersection of presence, purpose, and deep compassion.
For over two decades, Jessica has studied and practiced awareness-based meditation under the guidance of renowned spiritual teachers like Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, and Michael Singer. But it’s her personal journey as a long-distance caregiver for her mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s more than ten years ago, that has shaped her work in the most profound way.
Together, Marianne and Jessica explore:
- The emotional layers of long-distance caregiving
- Navigating family dynamics in the face of a loved one’s diagnosis
- How mindfulness helps caregivers stay grounded, even on the hardest days
- The evolving relationship between parent and child through the lens of Alzheimer’s
- What it means to connect when memory fades
- Finding peace in “enoughness”
- How training as a death doula deepened Jessica’s perspective on legacy and letting go
- Practical ways caregivers can show up for themselves when time is scarce
This episode is a beautiful reminder that even in the midst of grief, there can be grace and that mindful awareness offers a path not just to endure, but to connect more deeply.
Resources & Links
Connect with Jessica and learn more about her work:
Connect with Marianne:
- Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
- Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
- Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne
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