Stuck between kids and aging parents: Sarah MacDonald on life in the middle
Journalist, author and broadcaster Sarah MacDonald has spent a lifetime telling other people’s stories — but in this episode of Agehood, she shares her own.
Sarah opens up about losing her beloved father, a gentle obstetrician who championed women through birth but didn’t get the gentle death he deserved. She reflects on what it meant to become his advocate in a hospital system that wasn’t prepared to let go, and the lasting impact of that experience.
Now in the thick of the sandwich generation — caring for both her mother and mother-in-law in their 90s with her young adult children living at home — Sarah speaks honestly about what life in the middle looks like.
FIND OUT MORE
If Sarah’s story resonated with you—and you’re caring for aging parents, navigating your own next chapter, or just trying to keep all the balls in the air—you’re not alone. At Violet, we offer free tools and support to help families navigate the last stage of life with care and confidence. Visit violet.org.au to start the conversation.
CREDITS
Host: Melissa Reader
Executive Producer: Lize Ratliff
Find out more about Violet at violet.org.au
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sarah Macdonald
Sarah MacDonald was born in Crown Street Surry Hills, grew up in Sydney and studied Psychology at university.
After a lot of travel Sarah won a cadetship at ABC Radio News and then worked as triple j's political correspondent in Canberra. She went on to present the youth network’s arts show Creatures of the Spotlight and then the triple j Morning Show.
Sarah also worked in television on programs such as Recovery, Race Around the World and Two Shot.
She lived in India for several years where her husband was working as an ABC foreign correspondent, and while there wrote the international bestseller Holy Cow about her experiences.
Since then she’s written for numerous publications and built the Weekend Nightlife Show, which she loved presenting to the nation’s night owls for three years.
Sarah currently co-presents The Full Catastrophe story-telling event and podcast with Rebeca Huntley and has a book out titled So You’re having a Teenager – the A to Z of Adolescence with Cathy Wilcox.