Welcome to Call to Mind
A podcast recorded by caregivers of family members living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
Audio Stories Of love And Memory Loss
Call to Mind is a deep dive into the experiences of family caregivers living with dementia.
If you’re a caregiver, welcome! We made this podcast with you in mind. We hope these audio diaries, generously shared by others, help you feel heard—and perhaps even inspired by their strength, resilience, emotional vulnerability and rich insights.
If you’re not a caregiver but know someone with dementia, either personally or professionally, we hope these stories give you a deeper understanding and empathy for the family caregiving experience.
Join host Mariko Sakamoto, assistant professor of nursing and researcher with the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria, for the second season of this multi-award-winning series of intimate stories recorded by spouses, children and grandchildren journeying alongside a loved one living with dementia.
Family caregivers are the lifeblood of our fractured healthcare system. With a rapidly aging population, the number of Canadians with dementia is projected to reach over a million by 2030. Over the next 20 years, the number of older Canadians with dementia requiring assistance will double. Currently, family and friends provide more than 580 million unpaid hours of care both at home and in long-term care settings.
This second series, launched in January 2025, is part of a UVic research project led by Mariko. It’s exploring storytelling, different ways of listening, and the power of being heard.
Read more about the project in this UVic news story
Check out the episodes from Season Two
and meet the storytellers!
Becoming a Granddaughter Again
Shifting roles in an intergenerational Punjabi family
When you think about family caregivers, you likely imagine a spouse, or a son or daughter. But there are also young people out there who are doing the lion’s share of care for a grandparent with dementia. Ashley was a full-time student with two part-time jobs when she became one of the primary caregivers for her nani, Devki, in their multi-generational home in Abbotsford. This is a story about racism and gaps in the healthcare system, and the need for human-centred and culturally sensitive supports. It’s also a story about how a young woman finds her way back to being a loving granddaughter again when she becomes lost in the role of caregiver.
Check out the episodes from Season One
and meet the storytellers!
Beautiful Morning: Brenda and Dot
Dorothy—or “Dot” as most people call her—was living in long-term care in Victoria when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Her daughter, Brenda, visited every day...until lockdown. Dot had her 100th birthday pretty much alone. After six months of isolation, Dot was declining fast—losing weight and becoming more confused. Brenda wasn’t allowed to visit, so she brought her mom home to live with her. This episode is about the tenderness, love and laughter that fill most of their days, and the emotional challenges Brenda encounters when Dot becomes lost in the 1950s, long before her daughter was born.
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