Libsyn Directory

256 Living with Dementia: We Are Still Here so Don't Walk Away with Marilyn Raichle

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

Release Date: 02/23/2026

280 What Traditional Chinese Medicine Can Teach Us About Healthspan Extension and Aging Youthfully with Dr. Mao Shing Ni DACM, LAc, PhD

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

What if the path to healthy longevity lies not in choosing between ancient healing traditions and modern science, but in learning how to integrate both? In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Dr. Mao Shing Ni—38th-generation doctor of Chinese medicine, co-founder of Tao of Wellness, and author of Secrets of Longevity—about how Traditional Chinese Medicine can complement modern approaches to healthspan optimization. Dr. Mao explains the foundational principles of Chinese medicine, including balance, the five elemental systems, and the links between organ function,...

279 The Aging Immune System: Vaccines, Healthy Longevity and What We Can Learn from Covid with Michael T. Myers JR MD

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

How does our immune system change as we age, and what role can vaccines play in supporting healthy longevity? In this informative episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch welcomes physician, healthcare executive, and medical writer Dr. Michael Myers for a thoughtful, evidence-based discussion about immunosenescence—the age-related decline of immune function—and its implications for healthy aging. Together they explore how vaccines work, why vaccine recommendations evolve throughout life, and the importance of understanding both the science and the uncertainties...

278 The Muscle-Longevity Connection: Strength Training Supports Metabolism, Bones, and Healthy Longevity with Jeanne Phares

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

What role does muscle strength play in healthy aging, longevity, and independence? In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Jeanne Phares about why maintaining and building muscle becomes increasingly important for women during and after menopause. Drawing on her personal experience as a leukemia survivor and decades of strength training, Jeanne explains the connections between muscle mass, metabolism, bone health, resilience, and recovery. Listeners will learn practical strategies for strength training, nutrition, and lifestyle habits that support vitality...

FB 109 Anne Mullens: Fueling with Fat: Demystifying the Ketogenic Lifestyle

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

THIS FLASHBACK FRIDAY EPISODE OF GROWING OLDER LIVING YOUNGER focuses on the impact of low carbohydrate and ketogenic nutrition on health and aging well. Today’s Featured Expert is Anne Mullens, an award winning Canadian journalist and author specializing in Health and Science Writing, At a time when the twin hazards of diabetes and obesity are so prevalent in our society that we say that there is a diabesity epidemic, we are bombarded with discordant messages about what, when, and how to eat, to stay healthy and age gracefully. A goal of this podcast is to cut through the noise and provide...

277 Chronic Pain, Mobility and Healthy Aging: The Muscle-Longevity Connection with Stacey Roberts

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

Is chronic pain really an inevitable part of aging—or could it be a warning sign that deeper imbalances are affecting your healthspan, mobility, and quality of life? In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with physical therapist, registered nurse, educator, and functional wellness expert,Stacey Roberts, about the root causes of chronic pain and why conventional treatments often focus on symptom relief instead of true healing. Stacey explains how chronic inflammation, food sensitivities, hormone imbalance, gut health issues, biomechanics, and lifestyle...

Flashback Friday 005 Susan Bock Smith and Judy Bjornson: Becoming Fall-Proof

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

“You got to just move. It doesn’t matter how efficient your movements are, what matters is that you are moving.” - Susan Bock Smith

276 Why You Never Get Over Grief -and Why That's Good with Thomas Attig

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

Grief is not a problem to be solved or something we simply “get over.” In this profound conversation, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with philosopher and grief expert Thomas Attig about mourning as a lifelong process of relearning how to live in a world forever changed by loss. Drawing on decades of scholarship and personal insight, Thomas explains how grief can deepen our love, strengthen resilience, and help us find wisdom and meaning in life’s most difficult transitions. This episode offers compassionate guidance for anyone grieving a loved one or supporting someone through loss. Thomas...

FB 026 Brian Morgan: Think Deeply, Speak Clearly, Bridge the Divide

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

I talk with Brian Morgan. President of Think Deeply, Write Clearly about bridging the many divides that are polarizing our society, through creative thought and communication.

275 Reverse Diabetes and Restore Vitality Through Functional Nutrition with Lori Balue

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

What if fatigue, weight gain, brain fog, and declining strength after 50 are not inevitable signs of aging, but signals of underlying metabolic dysfunction that can be corrected? In episode 275, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with metabolic restoration practitioner, Lori Balue, about how women can restore energy, reduce inflammation, preserve muscle, and regain metabolic resilience through personalized nutrition and functional testing. Lori shares her remarkable journey of losing 100 pounds, reversing prediabetes and chronic inflammation, and transforming her health in midlife. Listeners will...

FB 118 Dr. Douglas Scharre: Alzheimer's ? or Simply Aging ?

Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,

THIS FLASHBACK FRIDAY EPISODE OF GROWING OLDER LIVING YOUNGER focuses on the effect of aging on brain functions, affecting many attributes of cognition, like memory and processing speed; and on the importance of recognizing the early warning signs of dementia for early treatment. Today’s guest is neuropsychiatrist and creator of the SAGE test, Dr. Douglas Scharre. Dr. Scharre is board certified in neurology, behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry with special interests in cognitive assessment, degenerative dementias and dementia-related behaviors. He joined The Ohio...

More Episodes

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/