All Episodes
Browse the complete archive of conversations about navigating the sandwich generation.
"Grief Is A Wave" | Kerry Milligan: One Year After Emmie | Club Sandwich
Aug 19, 2026
Grief doesn't run to the timetable you were handed. A year after her mum Emmie died, Kerry Milligan thought she was managing well. Then she went back to Tasmania with a small plastic container of her mother's ashes, and found out that year one isn't a finish line. Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. For support: Carer Gateway 1800 422 737. Griefline 1300 845 745. Lifeline 13 11 14, 24/7. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community.SEND US YOUR QUESTION: hello@clubsandwich.community In this episode:The Conversation: Sarah and Kerry go back to Tasmania: where Kerry was born, where her ancestors are buried, and where she took one of the three small portions of her mother's ashes she'd kept. Kerry describes being followed around Battery Point by the voices of her dead ancestors, letting Emmie go into the Derwent from the back of the MONA ferry, and the panic that caught up with her underground at MONA soon after. From there: grief as a wave rather than a staircase, the triggers nobody warns you about, and how a kidney stone at 6:45 on a Sunday morning turned a conversation about her mother's death into a conversation about her own. This Week's Hack: Your advance care directive is no use in a drawer. Lodge a copy with your GP so it's on your medical record, and make sure the person who'd actually drive you to emergency has one too — because when it happens, you'll leave the house barely dressed. Listener Letter: Send this to the friend who's somewhere past the first anniversary and has quietly decided they should be over it by now. You don't need to write anything. Just send it. Topics covered in this episode:- What the one-year mark after a parent's death actually feels like- Grief as a wave: why it doesn't leave, it just changes shape- Scattering a parent's ashes, and choosing where and when- Grief triggers, and why the body seems to remember anniversaries- Advance care directives, and who speaks for you in an emergency- Facing your own mortality once your parent is gone- Sorting through a parent's belongings — and the things you still can't touch Meet the regular Clubbers:Melissa Reader — CEO of Vera and expert on Australia's ageing crisis.Jo Lamble — Clinical psychologist specialising in guilt and family dynamics.Dr Ginni Mansberg — GP and women's health advocate.Dr Stephanie Ward — Geriatrician helping you understand the ageing brain.Kerry Milligan — Gogglebox star bringing humour and honesty. This episode was supported by Australian Unity, home health and care services: australianunity.com.au/clubsandwich. With thanks to NSW Trustee and Guardian. Search NSW Trustee and Guardian, or call 1300 10 20 30. Vera is your candid companion as you care for an ageing parent. Have a look at https://vera.guide. Put The Kettle On, Vera's free conversation guide: the five questions worth asking your ageing mum or dad, at putthekettleon.com.au. Our FACES campaign: Last year, 4,812 older Australians died waiting for the aged care they'd already been approved for, about 13 a day. Vera started FACES to count the people waiting, and count the ones we lose, every quarter, published. If you're sitting in that wait with your mum or dad right now, add your name at vera.guide/faces. Credits:Sarah Macdonald – Host + Executive ProducerMelissa Reader – Commissioning Editor, Executive Producer + ClubberJustin McArthur – Executive Producer + Editor, for P. Zinner Podcasts (https://pzinner.com.au)Thanks and kudos to Sean Wayland for our theme music Club Sandwich — hear more at https://seanwayland.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Divorce, Grief, and a Coven of Witches | Katie Noonan | Club Sandwich
Jul 8, 2026
What happens when your marriage ends in the exact season your parent needs you most? Katie Noonan knows, and this week, she tells us how you start again in the middle of everything. Content note: this episode discusses separation and divorce, grief and the death of a parent. Be gentle with yourself while you listen. For support: Relationships Australia 1300 364 277 (relationships.org.au) — counselling and separation support. Family Relationship Advice Line 1800 050 321. Griefline 1300 845 745 (griefline.org.au). Lifeline 13 11 14, 24/7. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit https://clubsandwich.community to join the conversation.SEND US YOUR QUESTION: hello@clubsandwich.community In this episode:The Conversation: Five-time ARIA Award winner Katie Noonan joins Sarah Macdonald for divorce in the sandwich years – learning her 26-year marriage was over from a lawyer's letter, seven months after losing her beloved dad; her 81-year-old mum, his full-time carer for 14 years, asking "who am I now?"; two suddenly single women caring for each other; the coven of girlfriends holding her up; getting sober; and turning all of it into her new album, Alone But All One.This Week's Hack: Build your coven before you need it. Katie actively organises hers – ten women, monthly ladies dinners, book club, the cheap local cinema. Don't wait for community to find you in a crisis. Put the recurring date in the diary now.Send this to: anyone navigating a separation while caring for ageing parents, or the friend quietly holding it all together.A moment that stays: "I used to be one of four on a Medicare card, now I've got a solo Medicare card, and they ask me, 'Who's your next of kin?' And I'm like, 'Oh, I don't really have one anymore.'" Meet the regular Clubbers:Melissa Reader — CEO of Vera and expert on Australia's ageing crisis.Jo Lamble — Clinical psychologist specialising in guilt and family dynamics.Dr Ginni Mansberg — GP and women's health advocate.Dr Stephanie Ward — Geriatrician helping you understand the ageing brain.Kerry Milligan — Gogglebox star bringing humour and honesty. About Katie Noonan: Five-time ARIA award-winning singer, songwriter and producer — the voice of george and Elixir, with 30 studio albums across 30 years. Her new album Alone But All One is out now, written in the wake of her father's death and the end of her 26-year marriage, and featuring her first songwriting collaboration with Trent Dalton. Tour dates at katienoonan.com.au. Music from Katie Noonan's album Alone But All One appears in this episode, with her kind permission. Put The Kettle On — Vera's free conversation guide: the five questions worth asking your ageing mum or dad, at putthekettleon.com.au This episode was supported by Australian Unity, home health and care services — australianunity.com.au/clubsandwich. With thanks to NSW Trustee and Guardian — search NSW Trustee and Guardian, or call 1300 10 20 30. Vera is your candid companion as you care for an ageing parent. Have a look at https://vera.guide.Credits:Sarah Macdonald – Host + Executive ProducerMelissa Reader – Commissioning Editor, Executive Producer + ClubberJustin McArthur – Executive Producer + Editor, for P. Zinner Podcasts (https://pzinner.com.au)Thanks and kudos to Sean Wayland for our theme music Club Sandwich — hear more at https://seanwayland.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.