Aging Powerfully with Melissa Grelo

71. Oscar Winner Marcia Gay Harden on Alzheimer’s, Grief & the Love That Never Leaves

Aging Powerfully with Melissa Grelo

Show Notes

Academy Award–winning actress Marcia Gay Harden joins me on Aging Powerfully with Melissa Grelo for an intimate conversation about losing her mother to Alzheimer’s — and what it taught her about love, grief, and what truly endures.

In honour of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, Marcia shares the heartbreaking and beautiful moments of walking beside her mother as memory fades, along with what she’s learned about women’s brain health, risk, and prevention — and the changes she has made in her own life since her mother’s battle with the disease.

I was fortunate to sit down with Marcia in Toronto at the first-ever Women’s Brain Health Summit, where she spoke powerfully about her personal journey and the urgent need for more research, funding, and awareness around a disease that disproportionately impacts women.

This is a conversation about more than illness — it’s about what remains when memory disappears, and how love never does.

Tech and Audio Producer: Drew Garner

Producer: Melissa Grelo (@MelissaGrelo, @AgingPowerfullyWithMelissaGrelo)

For any partnership inquires, contact [email protected]

More from Aging Powerfully with Melissa Grelo

Oct 29, 2026

Last week, four powerhouse women joined me for the first ever Aging Powerfully Power Panel, and you told us loud and clear that you wanted more. So we're back for Part 2.

Oct 22, 2026

Why are so many women leaving their doctor's office with more questions than answers? For the first time on Aging Powerfully, I'm bringing together four powerhouse experts for one no holds barred conversation: a neuroscientist, a family physician and menopause specialist, a fitness and menopause expert, and a registered dietitian. Four lenses, one mission: helping you understand what is really happening in your body at midlife.

Oct 15, 2026

One year ago, Dr. Omolayo Famuyide sat down with me to talk about why menopause is not the same for all of us. In the menoverse, a year is an eternity. Since then, the U.S. FDA has stripped most of the 20 year old black box warning off hormone therapy, a major new review has weighed in on hormones and dementia, Health Canada has authorized a new nonhormonal option for hot flashes, and social media has served up a fresh wave of miracle cures and scare stories.

Oct 8, 2026

It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this is one conversation every woman needs to hear.

Oct 1, 2026

She Doesn't Care About Your Excuses (And That's Why We Love Her)

See all episodes →