I’m a Finalist!
What does my dementia caregiving podcast have in common with a CNN podcast? Or a podcast on ABC Radio? A Stak podcast about ballet’s underbelly? The National Prison Radio podcast? A North Carolina podcast on the NPR network? Stanford’s storytelling project podcast? And a podcast on the BBC?
Out of almost 700 entries, those podcasts and My Spouse Has Dementia are among the 124 podcasts shortlisted for the 2025 International Women’s Podcast Awards (IWPA). Just typing those words makes me bubble inside!
According to Everyone Media, creators of the IWPA, entries for 2025 came from 35 countries. This year, 13% of the short-listed podcasts come from a solo creator. I’m one of those solo creators – a very excited solo creator.
Most of you know about the My Spouse Has Dementia podcast. I don’t know if I’ve shared how and when I started the podcast.
Origin Story
In June of 2021, my husband, Dick, and I had to leave our home for five months while the crumbling foundation was removed and replaced. We moved in with our daughter and her family in Rhode Island. Dick had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years earlier. I knew that approximately 40% of family dementia caregivers – people like me – die first, as in before their loved one dies.
It was while we were in Rhode Island that I decided to create the podcast. I already had another podcast, Ritual Recipes, so I had the equipment and knew the process. I also had a voice. I hoped that by sharing my own dementia caregiving story I might help at least one other caregiver. I hoped that sharing my story would also help me.
I remember telling my grandson, Logan, that I had decided to launch a second podcast. He was in college and had a good grip on marketing.
“Wow, Nana, that’s great. What are you calling it? ‘Cause you know the title needs to clearly convey what the podcast is about.”
“I’m calling it My Spouse Has Dementia.”
Logan looked across the room to where Dick was sitting on the couch, a blanket over his legs despite the summer heat, his eyes vacant.
Logan turned to me and said with such tenderness, “Yea. That title is clear.”
Dick and I returned to our home in November of 2021. In March of 2022, I launched My Spouse Has Dementia. That July, Dick died. We had been married for 42 years and 8 days.
At the time, I didn’t have the energy to publish episodes on a regular schedule though I eventually managed to release a few. I’m adding interviews to the podcast now. Most of my guests are dementia caregivers who have written a memoir about their journey. I find it helpful to see how other caregivers are weathering the storm.
I hope to talk with professionals in the fields of dementia, neurology, hospice, palliative care, and elder law and, sadly, elder abuse.
Episode 23: The Caregiver You Love Needs Help
To enter the International Women’s Podcast Awards, I had to submit ten minutes of a podcast episode. I chose the first ten minutes of episode 23. I titled that episode: The Caregiver You Love Needs Help.
Why that particular episode? Because when it comes to dementia caregiving, all too often the caregiver is reluctant to ask for help, or doesn’t know how to ask. That episode is something a caregiver can forward to a friend or family member with a note saying: I need to talk with you. Please listen to this first.
Growing Awareness of Caregiver Stress
The IWPA winners will be announced at the BBC Radio Theatre in London on June 17. I bought a virtual ticket. I’ll let you know the results. Whatever the outcome, I’m thrilled to have made the shortlist, honored to see my podcast recognized among some big names, and, above all, encouraged to see that the pressure on family dementia caregivers is being recognized for the challenge it is.
Everybody-Media
In case you’re interested, the IWPA is created by Everybody Media, an innovative, women-led media company producing authentic, inclusive audio content and serving the podcasting community. For more information about the awards, see https://everybody-media.com.
A Review, Please
Every positive review increases the chances that someone looking for a podcast about dementia caregiving will give mine a chance.
To leave a review on Apple or Spotify, you need to use the podcast app on your phone. If that’s not conventient, here’s an easy alternative: Go my podcast website and click the “Reviews” link. It’s like writing an email.
Your Caregiving Journey?
Home is where our stories begin. Are you a family dementia caregiver? Where are you in the journey? Knowing what you’re dealing with can help me find valuable guests and shape future podcast episodes. Send an email to: zita@myspousehasdementia.com This is a one-woman operation. No one sees my email but me.
My heartfelt thanks for listening to this podcast.
As for that picture of me? It’s an AI-generated fantasy.
Leave a Reply