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Parenting UP! Caregiving adventures with comedian J Smiles

Get engulfed in the intense journey of a caregiver who happens to be a comedian. J Smiles use of levity reveals the stress and rewards of caregiving interwoven with her own personal journey.  Almost 10 years ago, she was catapulted into caregiving overnight when the shock of her dad's death pushed her mom into Alzheimer's in the blink of an eye. A natural storyteller, her vivid descriptions and impressive recall will place you squarely in each moment of truth, at each fork in the road. She was a single, childless mechanical engineering, product designing, lawyer living a meticulously crafted international existence until she wasn't. The lifestyle shift was immediate. Starting from scratch, she painstakingly carved out useful knowledge and created a beneficial care plan for her mom.  J Smiles will fly solo and have expert guests. You will get tips, tricks, trends and TRUTH.  Alzheimer's is heavy, we don’t have to be. All caregivers are welcome to snuggle up, Parent Up!

Recent Episodes

Dec. 8, 2025

Caregivers Without Barriers: Chanda’s Fight for Care Equity

What if the care system you need doesn’t exist yet? Chanda didn’t wait. In this episode, we speak with Chanda Hinton, founder of the Chanda Center for Health. After a childhood spinal cord injury and years of depending on med...

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Nov. 24, 2025

From Then Until Now: A Personal Moment on my Caregiving and Comedy Jo…

A single shock can reorder a life. When my father passed suddenly and my mother’s Alzheimer’s deepened, I became the point person for everything. My pivot—raw, messy, and unplanned—sparked a mission: use comedy to have a posi...

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Nov. 17, 2025

Beyond the Actor: Why Brandon Claybon is Passionate about Alzheimer’s…

Parenting Up Family! Tune in for a special episode during National Family Caregivers Month! We are usually bi-weekly, but thanks to the Alzheimer's Association of Georgia, we are releasing this bonus episode this month! In th...

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Nov. 10, 2025

Is Caregiving Your Calling?

What does it look like to choose love—and keep choosing it, day after day? We sit down with JET, a grandson who decided his grandmother with dementia wouldn’t go to a facility. He brought her into his home, rebuilt his life a...

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Oct. 27, 2025

Stories in Our Steps: Walk to End Alzheimer's Recap

The Promenade at Piedmont Park turned into a surge of color, courage, and hope at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s hosted by the Atlanta chapter of the Alzheimer's Association—and we brought our cameras and team to capture it all....

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Oct. 13, 2025

Parenting Up! 5th Anniversary Vlog

Five years later, the room is louder, the laughs are bigger, and the village is real. We took our microphones into a buzzing anniversary reception at Buckhead Art & Company and let our community speak: caregivers who’ve lost,...

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Recent Blog Posts

Feb. 6, 2023

"I'm On Edge Of Quitting Caregiving"

“I'm On Edge Of Quitting Caregiving” Everybody has a bad day. What are signs that you need an immediate break from caregiving? I’m J Smiles, comedian, Alzheimer’s and Dementia activist, and family caregiver. You may know me…

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Oct. 6, 2022

“Advocating 101: Partner with the provider – chatting with “Eclectic”…

“Advocating 101: Partner with the provider – chatting with “Eclectic” Dawn  Your Loved One Doesn’t Have to Have Alzheimer’s or Dementia For You to be Part of the Parenting Up Family: 5 Reasons You Became a C…

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Oct. 6, 2022

“Keeping Mom Independent: A Chat with Kim Cooper”  - How to Give Your…

“Keeping Mom Independent: A Chat with Kim Cooper”  How to Give Your Loved one Independence for a Better Quality of Life I’m J Smiles, comedian, Alzheimer’s and Dementia activist, and family caregiver. You may know me f…

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