Dementia is one of the greatest fears associated with Aging—but what if it didn’t have to mean loss, disappearance, or despair? In this deeply moving episode, author and arts innovator Marilyn Raichle shares how walking toward her mother, rather than away, transformed dementia into a journey of presence, creativity, connection, and joy. This conversation offers a profoundly human reframe of memory loss and aging. For many people, dementia is equated with the loss of self, meaning, and value. Families are often advised—explicitly or implicitly—to disengage emotionally, preparing for inevitable decline and disappearance. But how we approach dementia shapes not only quality of life for those living with it, but also the emotional, psychological, and biological Stress experienced by care partners. Chronic fear, Grief, and disengagement accelerate aging for everyone involved, while presence, joy, and connection support resilience and healthspan.

Author of Don’t Walk Away, A Care Partner’s Journey, Marilyn Raichle brings a rare perspective shaped by a lifetime in the performing arts and nine years as a care partner to her mother, Jean. Through art, shared joy, and daily presence, Marilyn discovered that her mother was not “gone,” but distilled to her essential humanity—creative, competitive, loving, and alive. Listeners will learn how creativity opens pathways to connection, why joy is possible even in advanced dementia, and how reframing the experience from Caregiving to partnership transforms both lives.

Episode Timelines:

00:00 — Dementia and our deepest fears about aging

03:45 — Marilyn’s background in the performing arts

07:30 — Becoming a reluctant care partner

10:45 — Discovering creativity through painting

14:30 — The Art of Alzheimer’s is born

18:40 — Enduring personhood explained

22:55 — Sharing joy as a daily practice

27:30 — A single mindset shift for care partners

31:00 — Final reflections on Love, presence, and meaning

Connect with Marilyn Raichle

dontwalkaway.net/

https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.raichle

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynraichle/

instagram.com/raichlem/

Connect with Dr. Gillian Lockitch

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Dr. Gillian Lockitch Dr. Gillian Lockitch

Dr. Gillian Lockitch is an international speaker, author of Growing Older, Living Younger: The Science of Aging Gracefully and The Art of Retiring Comfortably, and host of the Growing Older, Living Younger Podcast. As a dual-certified Specialist in Paediatrics and Medical Biochemistry and Professor at the University of British Columbia, her professional career was rooted in science. During her rehabilitation from life-saving emergency spinal surgery, her passion to be able to dance again led her to explore the intersection of medical and epigenetic science with non-Western healing traditions, to understand how to change aging at the cellular level. Within the Growing Older, Living Younger Project, the Change Your Aging Masterplan cycle is a year-long 3 part coaching program to preserve mind and brain, build your best body, and to survive and thrive in your environment. At 70 Dr. Lockitch became a first time entrepreneur, building a global online business with the premiere wellness and beauty company, to help others extend their healthspan, stay vibrant, active, and independent as they age. Now retired from medical practice, Dr. Lockitch is an empathetic coach and mentor but does not diagnose, treat or prescribe for medical diseases.