Podcast Summary: Squeezed with Yvette Nicole Brown

Episode: The Heavy Case of Caregiving and Alzheimer’s, from The Second Opinion
Release Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Dr. Sharon
Guest: Yvette Nicole Brown
Producer: Lemonada Media

Episode Overview

This episode dives deeply into the personal and emotional journey of caregiving, particularly in the context of Alzheimer's disease. Actress and advocate Yvette Nicole Brown candidly shares her experience as a full-time caregiver to her father, detailing the challenges, decisions, emotional toll, and profound rewards of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. Alongside host Dr. Sharon, the discussion explores topics such as diagnosis, generational patterns, practical advice for future caregivers, systemic issues in caregiving, and the necessity of preparing both logistically and emotionally for the caregiving journey.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Yvette’s Introduction to Caregiving

• Yvette shares her origin story as a caregiver (01:52), beginning when she noticed her father’s increasing forgetfulness while working in Ohio. Prior family experience with dementia (her grandfather) shaped her vigilance.
• She recounts the pivotal moment realizing the seriousness of her father’s memory loss when he lost an important binder (01:52–03:13).

Quote:

“I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know what his diagnosis was. I just knew that whatever he was facing, it will be better for him to be facing it with me.”
— Yvette Nicole Brown (03:11)

2. Alzheimer’s Diagnosis and Family History

• Yvette’s father was in his early 70s when symptoms emerged (03:22), with the formal Alzheimer’s diagnosis coming about a year later.
• The conversation covers the genetic aspect of dementia, as her grandfather also suffered from it (03:56).
• Dr. Sharon offers a clinical explanation of Alzheimer’s as “progressive, irreversible, neurologic disease” that often begins long before clear symptoms (06:10).

Quote:

“For most people, even before the time you realize that something is really happening, that process has been going on for a decade or more.”
— Dr. Sharon (06:10)

3. Early Warning Signs & Masking

• Yvette describes how people with early dementia may mask their symptoms out of fear and a desire to maintain autonomy (05:03).
• Her first big warning sign: her dad getting lost en route to a familiar place (Aunt Mickey’s house) after 40 years (05:03–06:10).

4. Risk Factors and Personal Health

• The pair discuss potential risk factors and the debated link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s (“type 3 diabetes”) (07:24). Yvette talks about her own health, being a type 2 diabetic and going into remission (07:22–08:13).
• Yvette’s father, aside from the dementia, was extremely health conscious—a factor that highlights the disease’s unpredictability (08:17).

5. Gender, Race, and the Complexity of Diagnosis

• Dr. Sharon clarifies that while Alzheimer’s is the most common dementia, there are multiple causes, and some, like small vessel strokes, disproportionately affect Black Americans (09:37–10:26).
• Discussion about the limitations in current diagnostic tools—much is diagnosed by exclusion (10:26–10:57).

6. Planning for the Future

• Despite her family history, Yvette plans proactively for her own aging: financial preparation, savings, and ensuring future care will not become a burden for others, given she has no children (11:24).

Quote:

“I’m going to make sure that I have saved my money and lived my life in such a way that if it does come for me, that I don’t end up being a burden for anyone.”
— Yvette Nicole Brown (11:40)

7. Transition in Care: Letting Go as Full-Time Caregiver

• Yvette cared for her father at home for 11.5 years (13:34). After a serious fall and subsequent decline, she was counseled by a social worker to transition her father to professional memory care (13:34–15:52).
• Profound advice from a social worker:
  • “Would [your father] want you to be his nursemaid or his daughter?”
  • Helped Yvette see that sometimes love means making decisions that maintain relationship roles and quality of life (14:32).

8. The Emotional Toll & The Guilt of Caregiving

• Both host and guest discuss the universal guilt, exhaustion, and isolation caregivers often feel (20:12).
• Emphasis on the need to recognize caregiving as both a loving act and a significant, consuming weight (20:23).
• High cost and inaccessibility of quality memory care is explored ($7,700/month average) (20:59).

Quote:

"It's not feeling bad about not being able to do more when you're doing all that you humanly can—that's detrimental to your spirit."
— Yvette Nicole Brown (21:59)

• Pivotal moment: Yvette’s father, in a moment of lucidity, asked her:
  • “How did you get this job?” regarding her caregiving.
    • “Daddy, I applied...I will continue to fight for this job.”
    • This underscored for her the complexity and heartache of caring for someone who may not fully understand the sacrifice (22:35).

9. Practical Advice for Potential Caregivers

• Get paperwork in order early: Durable power of attorney (medical & financial), joint bank accounts for easy access if incapacity occurs—the sooner, the better (26:49).
• Build a support network: Let friends know, so they can help and check in, provide meals, respite, and emotional support (26:49).
• Self-care is critical: Yvette jokes about not always having it figured out, but underscores that you must find breaks and restorative activities (28:48).
• Lean into love: The heart of caregiving is pure love, even through the hardest moments.

10. Systemic Crisis and the Future of Care

• Yvette issues a warning about the impending caregiving crisis in the US due to policy changes (cuts to Medicaid/Medicare, closing of nursing facilities) (17:05).
• Stresses the necessity for new community-based care models and resource sharing.
• Recommends resources such as Caring Across Generations, the Motion Picture Television Fund, A Place for Mom, Care.com (17:05–19:13).

11. Lasting Impact and Joy Found in Care

• Dr. Sharon asks how caregiving affected Yvette’s life and health—Yvette acknowledges stress but reaffirms she would “not change a thing” (25:42–26:31).
• Yvette credits her own support system, especially her husband Tony, for caring for her as she cares for others (28:56).

12. Final Thoughts and Season Preview

• The next season of Squeezed will address the emotional complexity of caregiving for estranged parents or parents who “weren’t there for you” (32:24–33:18).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On learning to care:

  “Whether they’re your 72-year-old parent or your 7-week-old child, you gonna figure it out... That’s what caregiving is, just loving.”
  — Yvette Nicole Brown (24:39)

• On managing guilt:

  “The guilt that’s a part of it is unhealthy. It’s not feeling bad about not being able to do more when you’re doing all that you humanly can—that’s detrimental to your spirit.”
  — Yvette Nicole Brown (21:59)

• On the need for early planning:

  “You gotta get a durable power of attorney...there are certain things they can’t sign after a certain point. So you have got to get their permission to care for them while they’re still able to give you permission to do that.”
  — Yvette Nicole Brown (26:49)

• On finding joy:

  “What brings me joy is knowing that I can look back on my life and know that I never stabbed anybody in the back, I've never stepped on anybody to get ahead, and I honored my mother and father.”
  — Yvette Nicole Brown (30:29)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Yvette's caregiving story & recognizing dementia: 01:52–06:10
• Family history and genetics: 03:56–08:57
• Managing risk & health: 07:21–11:24
• Transitioning to professional care: 13:34–15:52
• The weight and guilt of caregiving: 20:12–22:00
• Advice for future caregivers: 26:49–28:36
• Systemic crisis in caregiving: 17:05–19:13
• Emotional joy & support systems: 28:56–31:27
• Season two preview of Squeezed: 32:24–33:18

Takeaways & Practical “Doctor's Orders”

(Dr. Sharon’s closing segment)

1. Genetics is not destiny: 30–50% of dementia cases are preventable—prioritize prevention early (33:33).
2. Preparation eases hardship: Do paperwork (power of attorney, finances, DNRs) before you urgently need them.
3. Self-care matters: You must replenish yourself to sustain the ongoing work of caregiving.
4. No one need face this alone: With planning, support, and self-care, the burden and love of caregiving are manageable.

Closing

This episode is a powerful, compassionate conversation illuminating the realities and possibilities of caregiving in the Alzheimer’s era. Both Dr. Sharon and Yvette Nicole Brown offer personal, practical, and emotional wisdom, highlighting the need for early preparation, honest conversations, resourcefulness, and most importantly, the role of love and community in the caregiving journey.