How Do You Find Yourself Again After Identity Loss, Trauma, and Caregiving?

#Grief #Loss #LifeBalance #Selfcare

Suzy McNamara is an author and speaker who gives a voice to various forms of grief and loss that so often go unnamed and are unaddressed. Suzy wrote the book, The Silkworm, the Magician, and the Sister Tree, a deeply personal and human exploration of caregiving, grief, enduring love, and health & wellness. In 2024, Suzy lost her husband of 37 years, Bob McNamara, to Posterior Cortical Atrophy, an aggressive form of early-onset Alzheimer’s, after caring for him at home for five years. Months earlier, her sister and lifelong best friend, Elizabeth Muslin, died from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. These overlapping losses shape her perspective and inform her writing.

Suzy’s work offers particular insight into early-onset Alzheimer’s, where illness dismantles identity during years when marriages, careers, friendships, and family life are often at their most active. She writes honestly about the daily realities of caregiving, including isolation, exhaustion, and the quiet labor of preserving dignity, countering shame, emotional wellness, and holding onto meaning amid uncertainty. Suzy believes grief is a lonely sport and survival depends on community, shared language, and the courage to name what is often left unsaid. Grounded in sustaining faith practices, she writes to walk alongside readers as they navigate their own losses.

Suzy continues to find meaning through her lifelong love of books, movies, and music, interests she once shared with her husband and sister and now shares with her children and the wider community she has built.

Learn:
What identity loss actually feels.
How can a person find themselves again after years of being in survival mode?
Did writing The Silkworm, the Magician, and the Sister Tree help Suzy understand her own memory, grief, and healing?
How can prolonged stress, caregiving, and unresolved grief affect a person’s sense of self over time?
Get a couple of tips if you are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or another condition, and you feel like you are disappearing on this caring journey.

 

Alzheimer’s Speaks Blog 

https://alzheimersspeaks.com/how-do-you-find-yourself-again-after-identity-loss-trauma-and-caregiving/

 

Watch the Video Interview Below

https://youtu.be/1iGgNbYlbEY

 

Listen and Subscribe to Alzheimer’s Speaks on Apple Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-do-you-find-yourself-again-after-identity-loss/id986940432?i=1000760360523

 

Listen and Subscribe to Alzheimer’s Speaks on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gvhOd0O2mz3rOXOSFfCt7

 

Other Podcasts

https://pod.link/986940432

 

Dementia Map

https://dementiamap.com/events/#!event/2026/4/9/how-do-you-find-yourself-again-after-identity-loss-trauma-and-caregiving

 

Contact Suzy McNamara   

Website    https://suzymcnamara.com

LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzymcnamara

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/suzy.mcnamara

Instagram   https://www.facebook.com/suzy.mcnamara

 

Contact Lori La Bey of Alzheimer’s Speaks

Contact Lori La Beywith questions or branding needs at https://www.alzheimersspeaks.com/

Alzheimer's Speaks shifts dementia care from crisis to comfort around the world, one episode at a time, by raising all voices and delivering sound news, not just sound bites, since 2011.

Alzheimer's Speaks is part of the Senior Resource Podcast Network.                                                                                                                    

How Do You Find Yourself Again After Identity Loss, Trauma, and Caregiving?
#Grief #Loss #LifeBalance #Selfcare
Suzy McNamara is an author and speaker who gives a voice to various forms of grief and loss that so often go unnamed and are unaddressed. Suzy wrote the book,&nbsp;The Silkworm, the Magician, and the Sister Tree, a deeply personal and human exploration of caregiving, grief, enduring love, and&nbsp;health &amp; wellness.&nbsp;In 2024, Suzy lost her husband of 37 years, Bob McNamara, to Posterior Cortical Atrophy, an aggressive form of early-onset Alzheimer&rsquo;s, after caring for him at home for five years. Months earlier, her sister and lifelong best friend, Elizabeth Muslin, died from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. These overlapping losses shape her perspective and inform her writing.
Suzy&rsquo;s work offers particular insight into early-onset Alzheimer&rsquo;s, where illness dismantles identity during years when marriages, careers, friendships, and family life are often at their most active. She writes honestly about the daily realities of caregiving, including isolation, exhaustion, and the quiet labor of preserving dignity, countering shame, emotional wellness, and holding onto meaning amid uncertainty.&nbsp;Suzy believes grief is a lonely sport and survival depends on community, shared language, and the courage to name what is often left unsaid. Grounded in sustaining faith practices, she writes to walk alongside readers as they navigate their own losses.
Suzy continues to find meaning through her lifelong love of books, movies, and music, interests she once shared with her husband and sister and now shares with her children and the wider community she has built.
Learn:
<ol>
<li>What identity loss actually feels.</li>
<li>How can a person find themselves again after years of being in survival mode?</li>
<li>Did writing The Silkworm, the Magician, and the Sister Tree help Suzy understand her own memory, grief, and healing?</li>
<li>How can prolonged stress, caregiving, and unresolved grief affect a person&rsquo;s sense of self over time?</li>
<li>Get a couple of tips if you are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer&rsquo;s or another condition, and you feel like you are disappearing on this caring journey.</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
Alzheimer&rsquo;s Speaks Blog 
<a href="https://alzheimersspeaks.com/how-do-you-find-yourself-again-after-identity-loss-trauma-and-caregiving/">https://alzheimersspeaks.com/how-do-you-find-yourself-again-after-identity-loss-trauma-and-caregiving/</a>
&nbsp;
Watch the Video Interview Below
<a href="https://youtu.be/1iGgNbYlbEY">https://youtu.be/1iGgNbYlbEY</a>
&nbsp;
Listen and Subscribe to Alzheimer&rsquo;s Speaks on Apple Podcast
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-do-you-find-yourself-again-after-identity-loss/id986940432?i=1000760360523">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-do-you-find-yourself-again-after-identity-loss/id986940432?i=1000760360523</a>
&nbsp;
Listen and Subscribe to Alzheimer&rsquo;s Speaks on Spotify
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gvhOd0O2mz3rOXOSFfCt7">https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gvhOd0O2mz3rOXOSFfCt7</a>
&nbsp;
Other Podcasts
<a href="https://pod.link/986940432">https://pod.link/986940432</a>
&nbsp;
Dementia Map
<a href="https://dementiamap.com/events/#!event/2026/4/9/how-do-you-find-yourself-again-after-identity-loss-trauma-and-caregiving">https://dementiamap.com/events/#!event/2026/4/9/how-do-you-find-yourself-again-after-identity-loss-trauma-and-caregiving</a>
&nbsp;
Contact Suzy McNamara&nbsp;&nbsp; 
Website&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://suzymcnamara.com/">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://suzymcnamara.com/">https://suzymcnamara.com</a> 
LinkedIn &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzymcnamara/">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzymcnamara/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzymcnamara</a> 
Facebook&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/suzy.mcnamara"> </a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/suzy.mcnamara">https://www.facebook.com/suzy.mcnamara</a>
Instagram&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/suzy.mcnamara">https://www.facebook.com/suzy.mcnamara </a>
&nbsp;
Contact Lori La Bey of Alzheimer&rsquo;s Speaks
Contact <a href="mailto:Radio@AlzheimersSpeaks.com">Lori La Bey </a>with questions or branding needs at <a href="https://alzheimersspeaks.com/">https://www.alzheimersspeaks.com/</a>
Alzheimer's Speaks shifts dementia care from crisis to comfort around the world, one episode at a time, by raising all voices and delivering sound news, not just sound bites, since 2011.
Alzheimer's Speaks is part of the Senior Resource Podcast Network.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Alzheimer's Speaks Radio gives voice to all, sharing resources, tools, and products.   Through collaboration & education we are changing dementia care.

Alzheimer's Speaks

The Alzheimer’s Speaks show was launched in 2011 and is believed to be the first dementia-specific radio program in the world. The show caters to all types of dementia and caring needs. It has an international audience and has had the honor to be recognized by some of the most renowned names in the world - Oprah, Maria Shriver, AARP, the National Institute for Dementia Education, and Sharecare.

Lori La Bey hosts the show.  Her own mother lived with dementia for 30 years.  Her compassionate heart creates a safe and comfortable environment for her guests to speak honestly and openly as her audience listens in.  Alzheimer's Speaks is about giving voice to all, and sharing resources, tools, and products. Through collaboration & education, we are changing dementia care.

On Alzheimer's Speaks you will hear from those living with a diagnosis of dementia, and their care partners - family, friends, and professionals.  We've had a variety of researchers, and companies who have created a diverse array of products, services, and tools to ease the journey ahead. 

Join us as we educate, raise awareness, and give hope to those living with or serving those that are diagnosed. Bottom line, we believe together we can combine everyday life in the trenches insights, with medical, academic, and research models, to offer more options to live well with dementia.

BE A GIVER OF HOPE - SUBSCRIBE, LIKE AND SHARE OUR EPISODES

Everyone is welcome on the show, so if you have a personal or professional story about dementia, caregiving, or resources you believe individuals and organizations need to know about to improve our dementia care please Email Lori La Bey.

Also please feel free to access all of our FREE Educational Resources

Follow us on   

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Click here if you are looking for a Keynoter, Speaker, or Trainer.

If you are looking for more information about marketing and branding opportunities you can go here or email us directly.

The Alzheimer’s Speaks show was launched in 2011 and is believed to be the first dementia-specific radio program in the world. The show caters to all types of dementia and caring needs. It has an international audience and has had the honor to be recognized by some of the most renowned names in the world - Oprah, Maria Shriver, AARP, the National Institute for Dementia Education, and Sharecare.
Lori La Bey hosts the show.  Her own mother lived with dementia for 30 years.  Her compassionate heart creates a safe and comfortable environment for her guests to speak honestly and openly as her audience listens in.  Alzheimer's Speaks is about giving voice to all, and sharing resources, tools, and products. Through collaboration &amp; education, we are changing dementia care.
On Alzheimer's Speaks you will hear from those living with a diagnosis of dementia, and their care partners - family, friends, and professionals.  We've had a variety of researchers, and companies who have created a diverse array of products, services, and tools to ease the journey ahead. 
Join us as we educate, raise awareness, and give hope to those living with or serving those that are diagnosed. Bottom line, we believe together we can combine everyday life in the trenches insights, with medical, academic, and research models, to offer more options to live well with dementia.
BE A GIVER OF HOPE - SUBSCRIBE, LIKE AND SHARE OUR EPISODES Everyone is welcome on the show, so if you have a personal or professional story about dementia, caregiving, or resources you believe individuals and organizations need to know about to improve our dementia care please <a href="mailto:Radio@AlzheimersSpeaks.com">Email</a> Lori La Bey.
Also please feel free to access all of our <a href="https://alzheimersspeaks.com/free-educational-resources/">FREE Educational Resources</a>
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If you are looking for more information about <a href="https://alzheimersspeaks.com/marketing-branding-opportunities/">marketing and branding opportunities</a> you can go here or <a href="mailto:Radio@AlzheimersSpeaks.com">email us</a> directly.