Patty's Place
A place to talk about grief, dementia and caregiving. A place to find comfort when you are going through a difficult time.
A place to know you are not alone as you go through this difficult time.
Episodes
57 episodes
Caregiving In The Raw-Interview with Lisa Berlanga
The parts of dementia caregiving that break you are often the parts nobody wants to describe in polite company. So we decided to talk about them plainly. I’m Lisa, your host of Patty’s Place, and I sit down with author Lisa Berlanga to unpack w...
Care Options For Dementia-Interview with Barbara Lambert
Dementia doesn’t announce itself, it sneaks in through small changes until one day you realize nothing feels normal anymore. We sit down with Barbara Lambert, founder of Home to Home for Seniors, to talk through what happens next when your fami...
You Can Lower Dementia Risk With Small Daily Habits-Interview with Alzheimer's Association
We sit down with Kaylee Rizzo and Hattie Finnerty from the Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Chapter to get clear about what dementia is, what Alzheimer’s is, and what early signs should prompt a real medical conversation. We also share practica...
After The Dementia Diagnosis-Interview with Grace Walfall
A dementia diagnosis can feel like getting dropped into the middle of a maze with a pamphlet and a long wait until the next appointment. We wanted to close that gap, so we sat down with Grace Walfall, founder of Living with Change, Dementia Con...
You Can Be Afraid Of Dying And Still Live Well-Interview with Dr. Elizabeth Scott
Death is the one certainty we all share, and somehow it still blindsides us when we get close to it. We talk with psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Scott about the moment her breast cancer diagnosis turned “someday” into “this could be soon” and why t...
Turning Grief Into Kindness Through Music-Interview with Brad Wolfe
Grief can make us tender, but it can also make us sharp. When life breaks open through dementia, caregiving, or death, the pain doesn’t just stay inside our own hearts, it spills into how we treat ourselves and the people around us. I sit down ...
Money Mindset For Grief And Caregiving-Interview with Paula Harris
One phone call can turn a normal day into a maze of grief, paperwork, and decisions you never wanted to make. I sit down with Paula Harris, co-founder of WH Cornerstone Investments and author of Rise Up, a Widow’s Journal and Rise Up, a Grief J...
How To Protect A Parent’s Finances As Dementia Advances-Interview with Dr. Fred Rouse
The hardest part of dementia caregiving is not always the hands-on care. Sometimes it is the moment you realize the bills are not getting paid, the mail is piling up, and your parent cannot explain what is going on. That is where money stress c...
What If The Most Spiritual Thing Is Presence-Interview with Matt Wolfe-Hospice Chaplain
Hospice is one of the most misunderstood words in health care, and that confusion can leave dementia caregivers carrying fear and guilt they never needed to hold. We’re joined by Matt Wolf, hospice chaplain at Lightways Hospice and Serious Illn...
Healing Headsets For Dementia Care-Interview with Kelly Willenborg
A song can do what arguments, reminders, and “just try” sometimes can’t: reach your loved one when dementia has made everything else feel impossible. We sit down with Kelly Willenborg, a brain health gerontologist and the founder of My Memory W...
What If Your Loved One Is Still Your Light-Interview with Grief Counselor Nicollette Vazquez
Grief can make you feel like you have to be “fine” for everyone else, even when you are falling apart in the quiet moments. We wanted a conversation that cuts through the clichés and actually helps, so we invited Nicolette Vasquez, Team Leader ...
Cognitive Stimulation Therapy for Early Dementia Support-Interview with Jill Aitken
Forgetting a name once can feel like a warning siren, especially if dementia has touched your family. We sit down with Jill Agin, founder of Four Better Minds, to talk about what actually helps brain health as we age and what caregivers can do ...
Cooking Can Carry You Through Grief-Interview with Patti Comeau-Simonson
The worst part of grief is not only the pain, it’s the awkward silence around it. People want to help, but they reach for the same tired lines, and you’re left holding heartbreak while also managing everyone else’s comfort. We talk with Patty C...
Light As Medicine-Interview with Sarah Turner
Your energy, sleep, and brain might be running on something you barely think about: light. We talk with Sarah Turner, founder and CEO of Sarah Thrive (CERAThrive), about why modern indoor life can create a real “light deficiency,” especially wh...
How To Get The Struggle Bus Moving-Interview with Laura Sharp-Waites
Some days feel so heavy you can’t even tell what you’re feeling, you just know you’re tired. When grief is fresh, when dementia caregiving never really “turns off,” or when life keeps stacking one problem on top of another, it can start to feel...
Choosing The End-Interview with Author Theresa Evans
A planned goodbye sounds impossible until you hear what it actually looks like inside a family that chooses it. We’re joined by Teresa Evans, an author and former ICU nurse, to talk about her book *Choosing to Die* and the final months she spen...
The Village Solution-Interview with author Carl Nassar
Loneliness doesn’t always look like being alone. Sometimes it looks like being a caregiver with a full calendar, a heavy heart, and nobody to hand the weight to. I sit down with psychotherapist and writer Carl Nassar, author of The Village Solu...
Caregiver Support Is The Best Medicine-Interview with Dr. Warren Wong
We sit down with Dr. Warren Wong to rethink what dementia care should look like when the goal is love, dignity, and real quality of life for both the person living with memory loss and the caregiver. We share hard truths about emergencies, wand...
Stop Saying “Let Me Know If You Need Anything”-Interview with Kelly Edmundson
The funeral ends, the messages slow down, and suddenly the calendar becomes the hardest part of grief. We sit down with Kelly Edmondson, founder and CEO of Timely Presence, to talk about what support should look like after the sympathy flowers ...
What An End Of Life Doula Really Does For Families-Interview with Victoria Volk
Grief gets treated like a single moment, but for caregivers it’s often a long, exhausting season. We sit down with Victoria Volk, certified grief specialist and creator of Grieving Voices, to talk about what actually helps when dementia caregiv...
A Grief Doula Explains What Helps After Loss-Interview with Cindy Burns
Grief can make the world feel smaller overnight, and widowhood can make you wonder who you even are without the person you built your days around. We’re joined by Cindy J. Burns, a grief coach, grief doula, and self-described widow coach, for a...
Living With Alzheimer’s-Interview with Samuel Simon
Alzheimer’s doesn’t just change memory. It can change time, language, confidence, and the simple feeling of being anchored in the world. We talk with Sam Simon, author of *Dementia Man: An Existential Journey*, and his wife Susan about what it ...
What If Caregiver Injuries Are Not Inevitable-Interview with Ben Couch
A lot of caregivers learn transfers the hard way: you get through today, you wake up sore tomorrow, and you tell yourself it’s just the price of loving someone. I’m joined by Ben Couch, creator of Eastern Ergonomics and a longtime healthcare ed...
Therapy Is Not Scary And Your Brain Is Lying-Interview with Dr. Kathryn Brzozowski
Dementia caregiving can break your heart in a way most people don’t understand: you’re grieving someone who is still here. We sit down with psychotherapist Dr Katherine Brasowski, who has 25+ years of experience in grief counseling, anxiety, ch...
A Better Dementia Journey-Interview with Amy Shaw
Dementia doesn’t just change memory, it changes the rules of the relationship. When a person still looks like the mom, dad, or spouse you’ve always known, it’s easy to assume they’re choosing to be difficult, hiding things, or “not trying.” Tha...