Episodes

J Smiles gives family caregivers the real, confusing truth about celebrating Thanksgiving when your LO has dementia, ALZ. Yeah, you want to love on them and smother them with food, family and fun. But is it a good idea? J has...

J Smiles is joined by patient advocate superhero and caregiver, "Eclectic" Dawn (ED). ED shares countless stories of holding the medical team accountable to her mother's care. But she is not arrogant or pushy. Instead she tak...

J Smiles grapples with whether or not to take the ALZ GENE test. Zetty, her mom, was diagnosed with early onset and Zetty's father had ALZ too. Will knowing make life better or more stressful? J leans into her caregiver crew ...

J Smiles is joined by Susan - a daughter, wife, mom and high-powered executive who found herself leading the caregiver charge when was diagnosed with early onset ALZ. Susan's mom was living independently and completely self-s...

Hillary's mom live independently for decades until an unrelated doctor's visit showed mom's brain wasn’t functioning well. Is it cancer or dementia? A facility, her home or live with family? Hillary and her brother (two diff...

J Smiles and Yvette continue with part 2. Yvette reveals the eventual diagnosis her mom was given, how her family managed LIFE along the way, her top advice for newbie caregivers and more. Yvette recounts earthy, gritty and h...

*Audio UPDATE/Correction 6/13/21* 🥰 Few family caregivers have a story that put J Smiles on her butt - Yvette did. Whirlwind does not begin to describe the snap crackle pop speed the dementia used to invade the McNally Family...

J Smiles struggles with abnormal memory loss and brain fog. Her immediate fear is the early onset of Alzheimer’s -- any caregiver's nightmare. She paints a picture like only J can of the events leading up to her panic and ho...

J Smiles chats with Kimberly Cooper, a sandwich generation wife determined to honor her mom's passion for independence even after dementia enters their lives. Kim details her mom's stroke which nudged the cognitive decline. J...

Finally J Smiles has a healthy sleep hygiene routine... and it works, perfectly. Well, she sleeps long and hard. The problem is the depth of slumber unlocks unknown caregiving consternation. She has to decide whether to ditch...

J Smiles takes a big trip to Washington, DC to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is elated to take a such a meaningful vacation. A newbie caregiver at the time, J is looking forward to re...

For once J is able to get Zetty in the bed before 2am, excited and sound asleep all hell breaks loose when the house alarm blares "intruder alert." J is delirious, rubbing her eyes and trying to determine what to do. One thin...

J Smiles believes that dating is self care. The problem is she cannot seem to secure a date. She takes the listener on a journey of her pre-caregiver dating existence. After Zetty's ALZ diagnosis, there is so much sacrifice,...

Caregiving is so nuanced. We can identify the major things swiftly -- medicine and food must be consumed; bills paid and so on. What happens when non-harmful modifications appear? Those creature comforts - habits - preference...

Who knew skipping sleep could add up so quickly? Not, J Smiles! What J believed was a supernatural power is now bad for her. She struggles -- yet again -- to accept a monumental shift. Most of her life she has functioned on ...

J Smiles opens Season 2 with a riveting story of personal panic. J wakes up but cannot find Zetty anywhere. On vacation and without her local support system, J scrambles to create a strategy to trace Zetty's steps. But where ...

Omar Hamilton joins J Smiles on a deep dive into the life of a child flying blindly into the foggy cognitive abyss of a parent. Omar's dad was living independently and quite self sufficient. Or so everyone thought. Omar, a cl...

J Smiles and Erika have been thick as theives for over 20 yrs. Howard University and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority cemented their relationship. But as only kids who love to travel, who appreciate fine dining, who have never miss...

Zetty throws J Smiles off with a request for a cell phone. What seems like a simple ask turns into a quest for the holy grail. For Zetty, J soon realizes it is a dignity issue too. J Smiles takes listeners on a rollercoaster...

Alzheimer's disease is very mysterious. Caregivers are often guessing what their LO's (loved ones) are feeling, experiencing, etc. CG's live a life of magical charades. The first time ALZ shows up in an ordinary daily event c...

Chef Angela (Angela Gorham) joins J Smiles for an in-the-trenches-right-now-conversation. Like J, she is single, childless and her mom's full-time caregiver. Another commonality, another's death made their mother's Alzheimer'...

J Smiles lets listeners meet another main "crew" member, a major supporter on her journey as a caregiver, Monica Cost. Interestingly, their bond started as adults through civic board membership. But wow, did they make up fo...

Caregivers experience quite a few dark, negative emotions. Often they are ashamed to shared such feelings aloud. J Smiles tackles frustration in hopes of normalizing this "negative" expression. She uses a variety of funny and...

Caregivers experience a tsunami of emotions. Positive, negative, neutral, unspeakable. J Smiles tackles resentment. She uses very specific examples of pain and purpose to expose her journey of uncovering this tricky emotion. ...