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. Over 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!
Episodes
139 episodes
Turning Alzheimer’s Pain into Purpose: J Smiles on Georgia Focus
Season seven starts with the part of my story that still catches in my throat, even after 14 years: my dad died, and within months my mom began to fall apart in ways that grief alone couldn’t explain. People around her told me I was overreactin...
HOLLYWOOD & THE HOLY GRAIL OF DEMENTIA RESEARCH: Highlights from my time at the Alzheimer's Summit
J Smiles was in Anaheim for the Alzheimer’s Association Community Leaders Summit, surrounded by people who volunteer hard, fundraise harder, and refuse to let dementia be the final word. The surprising part isn’t the scale of the event, it’s th...
Undervalued and Underpaid: The Unjust Cost of Caregiving with Jesse Jackson, Jr. and J Smiles
Caregiving doesn’t just “get hard” over time. Sometimes it detonates your life overnight, and you’re left rebuilding your health, your career, and your family rules while dementia keeps moving the goalposts. That’s why this conversation with Je...
Caregiver Check In - 5 Self Care Staples to Swear By
Forget the bubble-bath checklist. We dig into a practical, body-first approach to caregiver self-care that actually holds under pressure: better sleep, objective stress data, scaled movement, protected solitude, and preventive health that keeps...
Daughter's Against Alzheimer's Battle For The Brain Recap
In today's Season Finale, we recap our experience at Battle for the Brain 2026! We pulled up at the Coca-Cola Roxy for Battle for the Brain—Daughters Against Alzheimer's lip sync showdown, where corporate teams, cheerleaders, and ne...
Alzheimer’s Advocacy at the State Capital: Fighting for local Caregivers and Caree’s
In today's episode, you will hear all that went on for Alzheimer's Advocacy at the Georgia State Capital in Atlanta. We showed up with facts, handwritten notes, and a clear ask: allocate $2 million for caregiver support programs that keep famil...
Who Cares? Answers to 5 Frequently Asked Questions by Family Caregivers
The honest part of caregiving isn’t just the long nights and endless appointments—it’s realizing you’ve become the project manager for a situation nobody trained you for. Family Caregivers take that and turn it into a plan, starting with the me...
Let’s Talk Caregiving: The Questions Everyone Has
Caregiving comes with a stack of questions that rarely fit into neat answers—and that’s exactly where we go in this episode. We open up about the moments no one posts: the dark days, the quick resets that actually help, and the hone...
Dementia Dilemma: Push Through, or Delay the Hairdo?!
What does perseverance look like when words are gone and the day goes sideways? We set out to honor a promise—no gray roots, ever—and walked straight into a masterclass on safety, dignity, and the tiny choices that keep identity alive. A new ca...
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 medicines ...
From Then Until Now: A Personal Moment on my Caregiving and Comedy Journey
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 positive outlet during ...
Beyond the Actor: Why Brandon Claybon is Passionate about Alzheimer’s Advocacy
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 this epis...
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 around her needs, an...
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. From the first che...
5 Year Podcast Anniversary Celebration!
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, caregivers who...
We in Detroit Baby! Behind the Scenes of our first tour!
Hey Parenting Up Family! Today's episode is an audio version of a look behind the scenes of our first tour in Detroit! We had an amazing time with Dr. McNeil and the team at the AGREED Grant! You may have listened to the series, but now, we get...
Unwavering Husband, Caregiver and Advocate - Dan Goerke
What if you could communicate telepathically with someone living with advanced Alzheimer's? Dan Goerke discovered this extraordinary connection with his wife Denise after conventional conversation became impossible. In this episode, Dan reveals...
Gas, Guts, and the Golden Sample: A Caregiver Crashout
Ever wondered how far you'd go to care for someone you love? How much dignity you'd sacrifice? I found my answer on the side of I-20 during Atlanta rush hour.When my mother started talking to people who weren't there, walking into walls...
That's What Friends Are For
Have you ever witnessed someone persevere to no end to maintain a connection with someone they cared about? That's exactly what happened when my mother's DC circle refused to let her disappear after my dad's death.When Betty began bomba...
KEEN AGING: HOW MODERN ELDERS ARE REWRITING GROWING OLD
In today's episode, we had the great opportunity to speak with an amazing author who is changing the outlook on aging! Dr. Corinne Auman, a care management expert and author of "Keenagers: Telling a New Story About Aging," joins us to challenge...
Lights, Camera, Collection: From The Sidelines of Caregiving
Parenting Up family - today's episode is a special one! The worlds of sports memorabilia and caregiving collide in this deeply personal glimpse into my journey to honor my father's extraordinary legacy while navigating the daily cha...
Who Caregivers Can Call: Real Life Resources
Welcome to the last episode of our 3 part 'Detroit Cares About Caregivers' Series! What resources actually exist for caregivers, and how do you access them when you need support? This question haunts many people thrust into caregivi...
White Coat Wisdom: Best Practices for Care Partners
Do you ever feel dismissed or intimidated when advocating for your loved one in medical settings? That ends today.In Episode 2 of our 'Detroit Cares About Caregivers' series, medical providers share the importance of caregivers in the h...
Detroit Caregiver Chronicles
Parenting Up family, we are excited to bring you a new 3-part series in partnership with Wayne State University's AGReed grant! In this episode, Detroit caregivers speak with J Smiles about their experiences as caregivers for their ...
What Caregivers Want Doctors To Know
The void between medical expertise and lived caregiving experience takes center stage in this powerful season finale. Join us as we recap the Alter Dementia Summit 2025!This episode captures the vibrant energy of a gathering that feels s...