Happy & Healthy with Amy

Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: How to Start "The Conversation" with Sandra Newsome (Part 2 of 3)

• Amy Lang • Season 2 • Episode 47

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 26:42

The conversations that follow an Alzheimer’s diagnosis can feel tender, awkward, and overwhelming.

But avoiding them does not make them easier.

In this episode, Amy and end-of-life doula Sandra Newsome walk through a practical conversation starter guide that can help you begin with more calm, clarity, and compassion.

What to Listen For

  • [00:47] The tender place many families start from. 
  • [01:40] The conversation guide Sandra recommends. 
  • [02:20] The deceptively simple question that can reveal what your loved one values most. 
  • [03:08] The concept of compressed morbidity. 
  • [04:08] Why how you live today can affect how you live through the end of life. 
  • [06:52] The question that helps identify who and what supports you during difficult times. 
  • [07:40] Why “what matters to me through the end of my life” is not a question to rush. 
  • [10:09] What steps Sandra recommends before asking your parent. 
  • [12:14] The reason timing matters so much. 
  • [15:28] The family conversation that may need to happen if your parent does not want details, but you do. 
  • [17:10] Who should know what — and how family dynamics can affect what gets shared. 
  • [18:32] Why the right timing and setting can make this conversation feel more possible. 
  • [19:30] The sentence Sandra uses to explain why these conversations cannot wait forever. 
  • [21:00] How planning ahead can become a gift to the very people you are trying to protect. 
  • [22:54] Why role-playing the conversation can help you. 

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis can make the future feel uncertain, but these conversations help bring some steadiness back. Start with one question, give yourself time to sit with the answers, and remember: this is not about getting everything perfect.

Listen to this episode to learn how to start the conversation, then continue with Part 3 where Amy and Sandra talk about the documents, decisions, and plans families need to have in place.

Resources Mentioned

Recommended Episodes

  1. Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The Conversation to Start Early with Sandra Newsome (Part 1 of 3)
  2. Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: What to Put in Place Now - Coming Soon!
  3. After an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: A Family Checklist
  4. How to Build an Alzheimer’s Care Team
  5. My Mom Was Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Am I Next?

RESOURCES: