In Episode 11, From Millennial Caregiver to National Advocate – Jessica C. Guthrie’s Story of Caregiving, Jessica, a caregiver, educator, strategist, advocate, and founder of Jessica C. Guthrie Caregiving Consultancy, has been working to change how we understand and support family caregivers. Her work grew from a deeply personal realization that young caregivers need to see themselves in the conversation, and caregiving needs to be recognized as part of the workplace conversation too.

In this powerful conversation, Jessica and Jackee talk about:

• Jessica becoming a caregiver at 26 and navigating long-distance caregiving
• How caregiving can reshape your identity without becoming your entire identity
• The isolation that comes when friends and peers cannot understand your reality
• The wake-up call that forced Jessica to prioritize her own mental and physical health
• The power of community, storytelling, and shared experiences
• Why family caregivers need greater support, training, compensation, and workplace protections

One of the most powerful moments comes when Jessica reflects on finally embracing the word “caregiver.”

Her message to younger caregivers is simple and deeply human…slow down and be present.

Jessica reminds caregivers that even in the hardest seasons, there are moments of joy, laughter, connection, and memories worth holding onto.

Caregiving is rarely just one emotion.

It can be love, gratitude, frustration, sadness, guilt and resentment, sometimes all within the same day.

In Episode 10, Terrie, who shares the responsibilities of being a caregiver with her brother for their mother, talks about the balance between caregiving and maintaining a demanding corporate career. Her mother's dementia journey has unfolded over more than a decade, gradually changing the relationship they once knew.

Terrie talks honestly about the emotions caregivers don't always feel comfortable admitting. The frustration of managing another person's life. The sadness of losing pieces of the relationship you once had. The exhaustion of juggling caregiving with work. And the resentment that isn't necessarily directed at the person you're caring for, but at the time, freedom and energy the role can consume.

We also talk about the working caregiver experience, including deciding what to share at work, finding trusted colleagues, managing unexpected caregiving emergencies and building a support system.

Most importantly, Terrie shares a message every caregiver needs to hear…give yourself grace over guilt.

What does it mean to sustain caregiving over years, while still showing up for your family, without losing yourself in the process?

Episode 8, The Slow Burn - How Long-Term Caregiving Lives in Your Body, with guest Jenna Eldstrom of Deeply Rooted Health Coaching, explores the cumulative impact of long-term caregiving, particularly with neurodegenerative diseases like PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) and other conditions that unfold slowly over years. It focuses on how caregiving doesn’t just affect your schedule or emotions, it lives in your body.

Through the lens of a long-haul caregiver and somatic practitioner, Jenna unpacks how burnout builds gradually, and often invisibly and the toll it takes on the nervous system from prolonged stress. Many caregivers don’t recognize this impact until they’re already deep into it. We’ll also share somatic therapy practices that can help caregivers regulate, release, and sustain themselves, instead of simply pushing through.

Check out Jenna’s website https://www.deeplyrootedhealthcoaching.com for more details on somatic therapy and how you can benefit from just a few minutes of somatic therapy a day.

When does caring for someone at home stop being sustainable?

For many families, deciding whether to move a parent into assisted living, a nursing home, or hospice can feel like an impossible choice. There can be guilt, grief, financial pressure, family dynamics, and the fear that choosing a facility somehow means you've failed the person you love.

In Episode 8, Gregory, a former caregiver, shares the deeply personal journey of caring for his father as his health, mobility, and independence declined. As a physician, Gregory understood the medical realities of his father's condition, but that knowledge did not make the decisions any easier.

His father's journey took the family from independent living in the Virgin Islands, to assisted living in Florida, to a nursing home, and ultimately hospice.

Gregory talks honestly about the emotional complexity of each transition, the challenges of evaluating facilities, navigating staffing issues, balancing caregiving with his career and young son, and learning to accept that each stage of care required something different.

Most importantly, we talk about the stigma surrounding facility care and why moving someone out of the home can sometimes be an act of love, not abandonment.

In Part 3 of this bonus series, host Jackee de Lagarde discusses acceptance and how it became one of the hardest lessons she has encountered in caregiving.

It doesn't happen overnight, and it doesn't mean you've given up. It means you've stopped fighting the reality you didn't choose so you can focus on what matters most.

In this deeply personal bonus episode, Jackee reflects on the emotional shift from asking, "Why me?" to asking, "How do I move forward?" She shares what she's learned after caring for her mother since 2021, the grief that comes with watching someone change over time, and how acceptance has helped her find peace in a role she never expected to have.

This bonus episode explores:

• Why acceptance is not the same as giving up
• Letting go of the life you thought you would have
• Living with anticipatory grief
• Why trying to control caregiving is an illusion
• Releasing unrealistic expectations
• The identity shift that comes with becoming a caregiver
• Finding purpose, community, and peace

If you've been struggling to accept your caregiving journey, this bonus episode is a reminder that acceptance isn't surrender. It's choosing how you show up, one day at a time.

Caregivers become experts at asking for help for everyone except themselves.

They schedule appointments, advocate, coordinate, solve problems, and carry enormous emotional weight. But when it comes to asking for support, many stay silent.

In Episode 7, Iris Coker shares her experience balancing long distance caregiving, career, and family while navigating guilt, grief, and the pressure to always be strong.

Together, we discuss:

• Why caregivers struggle to ask for help
• The hidden weight of long distance caregiving
• Giving yourself permission to accept grace
• How supportive managers and coworkers can make all the difference

And much more..

Sometimes the most important thing a caregiver needs is someone to simply say, "You don't have to do this alone."

There are critical moments in caregiving that don’t get discussed enough.

It starts with the before, then the during, and the after. This episode not only addresses those three stages, but what happens when you get through these stages with one loved one, and begin the process again with another.

In Episode 6 of Who Cares About Me?, we hear from Alex Fenech, Founder & CEO of Closure, a business designed to help people prepare for and navigate both pre- and post-loss moments with clarity and confidence. Alex experienced the painful loss of loved ones and the administrative challenges that come along with being a caregiver, all while balancing a career, motherhood and life's daily responsibilities.

Alex shares what happens before, during, and after caregiving, and how those experiences inspired her to create Closure. Together, we discuss anticipatory grief, accepting support, preparing for the inevitable, and starting the process all over again. We also discuss preparing documents and organizing your life, and how this act is one of the most important gifts you can leave your family.

Why aren’t we talking about the partners who stepped into caregiving without being asked? Who is caring about them and their sacrifices?

The ones who didn't grow up calling this person "Mom" or "Dad," but found themselves showing up anyway, managing medications, helping with mobility, sitting in waiting rooms, and holding space for the person they love.

In Episode 5, “Partners Carrying The Load: The Quiet Role of the In-Law Caregiver,” Clarence Steele, partner to Who Cares About Me? host, Jackee de Lagarde, shares his experience caring for his mother-in-law alongside his partner, reflecting on the emotional complexities, relationship dynamics, and sacrifices that come with supporting someone else's parent, especially when you’ve been in this role already.

Family isn't always who raised you. Sometimes family is who you respect and love.

Do you know an in-law caregiver who has taken on this role? Shout them out in the comments.