Best Diane Atwood Podcasts (2024)

1
How a deaf child helped unlock his parent's hidden potential 49:53

1y ago49:53

49:53

When Claire Jeffers and her husband Ben Lake found out that their infant son was deaf, she questioned her ability to be the kind of mother she thought he might need. Three years later, he is thriving and so are his parents. Claire tells their story in this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast.…

1
Volunteers needed for Vet2Vet Maine 16:11

1+ y ago16:11

16:11

Being a volunteer for Vet2Vet Maine is a win-win situation. That is what every single person I've ever asked about the program has said.In this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast I put the question to volunteer Sam Kelley. He couldn't say enough. Neither could his wife Jean or Executive Director Sue Gold, who helped found the program in …

1
A new look at where you can get your physical therapy 33:49

1+ y ago33:49

33:49

When physical therapy clients couldn't come to him because of Covid fears, Maine physical therapist Phil Finemore created a mobile practice. He tells us all about it in this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast.By Diane Atwood

1
Caring for elderly parents, one challenge at a time 30:36

1+ y ago30:36

30:36

The day after Labor Day, 2022, Jodie Lapchick rented a car and drove from Maine to Hilton Head, South Carolina to "rescue" her elderly parents. Over recent years, their mental and physical health had declined, and although Jodie and her two siblings did not live nearby, they tried to help manage things as best they could. Jodie says her dad had a p…

1
Luanne Cameron creates more happiness with her 110 Philosophy 48:31

1+ y ago48:31

48:31

It starts with having a clear vision and then engaging 110% in living that vision. That is how Luanne Cameron approaches every aspect of her life. She even wrote a book about it - The 110 Philosophy. Luanne is my guest on this month's episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast.By Diane Atwood

1
Living Retired with Gary Chalk 44:49

1+ y ago44:49

44:49

When Gary Chalk retired, he informed some of his friends in an email. What he wrote made them laugh. So he wrote another the following week. The next thing he knew, he was writing a regular humor column and making lots of people laugh. Gary Chalk is my latest guest on the Catching Your Memories podcast.…

1
Claire Hersom: Speaking the truth about poverty 36:32

2y ago36:32

36:32

Claire Hersom considers herself blessed. She has wonderful children and grandchildren, a safe place to live, and although now retired, does good honest work. That work includes trying to break the stereotype of the poor by speaking the truth about what it means to live in abject poverty. When her three children were young, Claire suddenly became a …

1
Recovering from mental illness 41:10

2y ago41:10

41:10

It took several years for Christina Erde to understand and come to terms with her diagnosis of mental illness. Her struggle began as a child when she experienced sometimes crippling anxiety. Her transition into adulthood triggered severe depression and she began seeing a therapist and taking medication. About four years ago, a crisis landed her in …

1
Recovering from alcoholism and Learning How to Let Go 34:43

2y ago34:43

34:43

Roland T. describes his childhood as chaotic. The biggest struggle he faced was his father's alcoholism. When he drank he would get angry and Roland never knew what to expect. As a result, he was often fearful and anxious.You might think that he would steer clear of alcohol, but as a teenager, Roland discovered it was a way to escape reality. That …

1
Forgiveness is not for the other person. It's for you. 25:01

2y ago25:01

25:01

Karyn Wing grew up in a home where physical, sexual, and verbal were the norm. She also grew up believing that it was all her fault. That if she were a good girl none of it would have happened. As an adult, she blocked out much of her childhood, but the scars were there, deeply embedded, along with the feeling that she was never good enough. It too…

1
Important lessons on talking openly about mental health 52:37

2y ago52:37

52:37

In this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast, 23-year-old Marena Koenka shares a story about her mental health struggles. Her experiences are her own and may not be like yours or someone else's, but she has learned that there is great value in sharing them. Doing so helps to connect people, as well as normalize and destigmatize mental illn…

1
Healing from childhood trauma 29:17

2y ago29:17

29:17

How do you move from a traumatic childhood into adulthood without carrying the demons of the past along with you? How do you cope with the anger, mistrust, sadness and depression, anxiety, self-blame? So many emotions and I've only named a few. For some people, it takes a lifetime, and still, they may be triggered by something as innocent-seeming a…

1
Rita Losee on being "inspiractional" 35:12

2y ago35:12

35:12

In her 80s, Rita Losee, from Maine, has lots of memories to share. What she'd much rather do, though, is make new memories. This year, she's already taken a January swim in a frigid ocean, gone whitewater rafting, and run a 5K. What else does she have on her agenda? Hang on, because she'll tell you all about it in this episode of the Catching Your …

1
Keegan Albaugh/Dad Guild 38:15

2y ago38:15

38:15

Keegan Albaugh, from Burlington, Vermont, always knew he wanted to be a dad. He and his partner Stephanie happily welcomed their first child in 2016 and their second in 2018.Fatherhood has been as wonderful and as joyful as Keegan thought it might be. He also knew there would be challenges, but what he didn't realize is the lack of resources and su…

1
Carole Starr: Brain injury and acceptance 38:48

2y ago38:48

38:48

July 2022 marks 23 years since Carole Starr was in a car accident that changed her life forever. She didn't even realize at first that she had suffered a brain injury. No one did. She had no marks, and she had no memory of hitting her head. But little by little the signs appeared and they interfered with nearly every aspect of her daily activities.…

1
David Atwood and Julia Child 34:17

2y ago34:17

34:17

It was the trip of a lifetime. In the early 1970s, WGBH-TV tapped David Atwood to not only direct Julia Child in her French Chef television show but also oversee filming segments with her in France. He shares some memories of those experiences on this episode of the Catching Your Memories podcast. (Read a transcript of the episode and see some pict…

1
Leo Couture WWII Navy veteran 29:19

2y ago29:19

29:19

One of the most profound experiences of Leo Couture's life was his time in the Navy. He spent it on a ship in the South Pacific during WWII. At 17, he didn't know fear, but it wasn't long before it became an ever-present companion.By Diane Atwood

1
Jen Boggs on being a mother 35:51

2+ y ago35:51

35:51

Just in time for Mother's Day, Jen Boggs shares what motherhood is like for her. Her story begins before she became a mother — when she and her husband Mike decided they wanted to become parents. It didn't happen as easily as they thought it might. That was one of the first lessons Jen learned about parenting, and as you will discover in this episo…

1
Alzheimer's disease, a story of two families 40:47

3y ago40:47

40:47

It's likely that each one of us knows someone who has Alzheimer's or is caring for someone with the disease. No matter how you look at it, it's a devastating disease that can take its toll on everyone. In this episode of the Catching Health podcast, I talk with Danielle Bernier, whose mother has Alzheimer's, and Tom O'Connor, who cared for his wife…

1
Secrets: A Story of Addiction, Grief, and Healing 32:52

3y ago32:52

32:52

Imagine that your adult child has died from a drug overdose and you are the one who finds her. That is what happened to Ann Cookson. The grief never goes away, but Ann has been able to turn her pain into something positive. She wrote a book called Secrets: A Story of Addiction, Grief, and Healing. Listen to her story and how writing the book has tr…

1
Learn how to have compassionate conversations 56:56

3+ y ago56:56

56:56

Stephen Andrew's mission in life is to help people who are struggling with a chronic illness like alcoholism. He goes about it in many different ways, but at the core of every one of his endeavors is compassion. In this podcast, Stephen, who is a licensed clinical social worker, explains how we can and why we should try to have compassionate conver…

1
Denise Kinney's muscle weakness turned out to be something serious 10:59

3+ y ago10:59

10:59

Looking back at her childhood, Denise Kinney, now in her 50s, says she always had some degree of muscle weakness and she didn't have the stamina other kids had, but she enjoyed athletics. However, whenever she played basketball, by the second quarter, she'd be out of energy and didn't know why. Decades later, she finally got the answer, but not bec…

1
A conversation about aging with Elizabeth Johnson 44:30

3+ y ago44:30

44:30

My guest in this episode of the Catching Health podcast has put me to shame! From the moment she wakes up and wiggles her toes until she slides under her blankets at night, Liz Johnson is on the move. She might be dancing or she might be pulling weeds, but even if she's lounging (I'm not convinced she ever does), her brain certainly isn't. She take…

1
Some advice and perspectives on growing older 27:34

3+ y ago27:34

27:34

What is old? Wendy Adlerstein, my guest on this episode of the Catching Health podcast, suggests that it has more to do with attitude than how many birthdays you've celebrated. She's a licensed social worker with a certificate in gerontology and the Executive Director of FirstLight Homecare in the Boston area. We tackled several issues related to g…

1
Dr. Fred Craigie on living a meaningful, joyful, and peaceful life 47:41

3+ y ago47:41

47:41

What does it mean to be you? If that seems like a question that would require deep reflection, you are right. It's exactly what psychologist Dr. Fred Craigie is inviting us to do. In this Catching Health podcast, he has a wealth of questions to help lead us along a path of self-reflection and he has a new book that we should certainly take along on…

1
Looking forward to the future one scarf at a time 33:31

3+ y ago33:31

33:31

When COVID forced a lockdown in London in early March, Hazell Jacobs knew she had to find something to help her cope. She found inspiration in her vast scarf collection and decided to write a blog about them. Its title Scarf Aid is an apt one. The stories about her scarves that she has been weaving since March have brought comfort not only to Hazel…

1
Catherine Gentile, author 36:34

4y ago36:34

36:34

The title of this post says Catherine Gentile, author. She is so much more, but her greatest strength is her ability to pull gold from her life experiences and observations of the lives of others and weave them into meaningful stories that touch us all. As you will learn from our conversation, Catherine has been writing since she was a young child,…

1
The truth about women and retirement 26:38

4y ago26:38

26:38

Two friends — one retired, the other thinking about it — were curious about how other working women were handling this monumental transition in their lives. So curious they decided to send out a questionnaire to women everywhere. About 300 women responded and boy, did they have a lot to say.The answers Leslie Inman and Roxanne Jones received were r…

1
Navigating Glioblastoma: A Caregiver's Perspective 38:23

4y ago38:23

38:23

"A shapeshifter, crafty and intelligent. It mutates, resists lethal weapons, keeps itself just out of reach of just the smartest interventions." These are the words that Sally Connolly uses to describe glioblastoma, the brain cancer that took her husband Peter's life in 2016. In her newly published memoir, Sally not only recounts their three-year s…

1
A conversation about aging with a soaring senior 41:46

4y ago41:46

41:46

Rita Losee describes herself as a Woman of adventure, Doctor of Success, Proponent of Prosperity, InspirACTional Speaker, Author. She is that and more. Decades ago, she made a promise to herself that she would live a life of adventure. What a ride it has been and she is not even close to slowing down. At 78, Rita is also doing her best to encourage…

1
Your aging parents are getting a divorce? Now what? 40:22

4y ago40:22

40:22

Whether they were caught off guard or they've been expecting their parents to divorce for years, many adult children are rocked to the core when it actually happens. Family therapists Carol Hughes and Bruce Fredenburg have written a book called Home Will Never Be the Same Again. They did it because, in their experience, few people recognize the imp…

1
Our Wisdom Years with Dr. Charles Garfield 20:25

4y ago20:25

20:25

How can you grow older with joy, fulfillment, resilience, and no regrets? You could begin by reading the book Our Wisdom Years by psychologist Dr. Charles Garfield. Instead of fighting against aging or later life as he calls it, he suggests that we embrace the opportunity to live a more meaningful life. His book provides a roadmap that is guarantee…

1
Jim Mardin, 98: Conversations About Aging 47:22

4y ago47:22

47:22

At 98, Jim Mardin has led an incredible life, and he intends to keep on living it for several more years. We had our conversation shortly before COVID-19 forced him to stop his three days a week volunteer job. He still drives, takes no medications, enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, and loves sharing stories about his life. He is kind, optim…

1
Wayne Newell, 77: Conversations About Aging 1:04:48

4+ y ago1:04:48

1:04:48

Wayne Newell is a Passamaquoddy Indian Man who was born and raised on the Pleasant Point Indian Reservation in Maine. After getting a Master's degree at Harvard he and his family made their home on the nearby Indian Township Reservation, where he taught until his retirement in 2012. Although struggling with health issues, his mind and spirit are go…

1
Joe Cupo, 68: Conversations About Aging 42:44

4+ y ago42:44

42:44

By Diane Atwood

1
Sister Maureen Wallace, 76: Conversations About Aging 48:46

4+ y ago48:46

48:46

By Diane Atwood

1
Ann Quinlan, 81: Conversations About Aging 39:17

4+ y ago39:17

39:17

By Diane Atwood

1
Jennifer Fitzpatrick, 71: Conversations About Aging 47:17

4+ y ago47:17

47:17

By Diane Atwood

1
Alma Thomas, 96: Conversations About Aging 44:58

4+ y ago44:58

44:58

By Diane Atwood

1
Loring "Bob" Newcomb, 94: Conversations About Aging 32:22

4+ y ago32:22

32:22

It may be a cliché, but life does have its ups and downs. That's certainly been true for Loring Newcomb, who prefers to be called Bob. He says if he could go back in time, he might change a few things. He'd change some things right now, too. At 94, he's pretty active, but he says he's often lonely. Hear Bob's story in the latest episode of Conversa…

1
Tom Antonik, 63: Conversations About Aging 53:09

4+ y ago53:09

53:09

The first documented case of AIDS was reported in Los Angeles, California in 1981. Back then, someone who was newly diagnosed might not survive even a few months. New medications were developed in the 90s that helped slow the progression of the disease but did not offer a cure. Today, another generation of medications called antiretrovirals has led…

1
Vikki Choate, 62: Conversations About Aging 33:56

4+ y ago33:56

33:56

At 62, Vikki Choate has started thinking about her retirement plan. I'm sure there's relaxation built into it, but most of it involves moving into a new career. She's got more than a full-time job and she's working toward a doctorate degree. All part of the plan. She's a dynamo, but she also has a strong spiritual side that guides everything she do…

1
Paul Quinn, 80: Conversations About Aging 38:43

5y ago38:43

38:43

Imagine living most of your life on an island off the coast of Maine. That's what Paul Quinn has done and he has lots of stories to share. Like about the time he came home to find a lobster boat (not his) half in his garage and half out in the driveway. I'm Diane Atwood and I'm traveling around Maine talking to people 60+ about what it's like to be…

1
Joanne Santee, 78: Conversations About Aging 53:39

5y ago53:39

53:39

Joanne Santee was diagnosed with a chronic lung condition 25 years ago. She knew that someday she'd need to be hooked up to an oxygen tank in order to breathe. That day arrived, but it hasn't stopped her from enjoying life. Whether reminiscing about adventures she's been on, talking about a recent conversation she had with a group of 11-year-olds o…

1
Ernie DeRaps, 91: Conversations About Aging 44:47

5y ago44:47

44:47

My name is Diane Atwood and I'm traveling the state of Maine interviewing people 60 and older about their perspectives on aging. At one time, Ernie DeRaps was a lighthouse keeper in Maine. After retirement, at age 80, he became an artist. What do you think he painted? Mostly lighthouses, of course! I hope you enjoy our conversation.…

1
Dr. Bill Taylor, 97: Conversations About Aging 28:47

5y ago28:47

28:47

Bill Taylor packed away his windsurfer when he was 92. Didn't have the balance he needed any more. He didn't pack away his zest for life, though, or his curiosity. He talks about the lure of windsurfing, some of the adventures he's had these past 97 years, and love in the latest episode of Conversations About Aging, a Catching Health with Diane Atw…

1
Mary Hamblen, 98: Conversations About Aging 32:17

5y ago32:17

32:17

Try to imagine living to 98 years old. Mary Hamblen didn't and yet, it happened. She's had a good life filled with ups and downs. You just have to go with it, she says. We talked about her life, her thoughts about being older, and her last car, which she misses a lot.By Diane Atwood

1
Bill Saltzer, 93: Conversations About Aging 26:10

5y ago26:10

26:10

At 93, Bill Saltzer is still an active man. Up until last winter, he was living alone in the house he had shared with his wife until she passed away several years ago. His children worried about him and had been urging him to move into an assisted living facility, where they thought he would be safer. He fell while shoveling last winter and hurt hi…

1
Leona Chasse, 95: Conversations About Aging 35:35

5y ago35:35

35:35

Have you ever heard of the Code Girls? They were part of a top-secret mission that helped end World War II. You're about to meet one: Leona Chasse, now 95 and living in Cornish, Maine. Listen to our conversation. I think you'll be glad you did.By Diane Atwood

1
Shirl Weaver, 82: Conversations About Aging 23:02

5y ago23:02

23:02

Shirl Weaver was born and raised in Minnesota. After serving in the military and getting her master's and doctorate degrees, she moved to Maine. In the ensuing years, Shirl made a difference, not only in her community but also around the entire state of Maine. Now retired, she continues to make a difference in people's lives. Listen to our conversa…

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