It’s one thing, as a parent, to deal with your own struggles, but to watch your kid go through it - to see them face obstacles and struggles can be excruciating. It often feels like the parent’s job is to shield their child from hardships. In this episode, Nora shares the story of Angel and Xavier, a mother and son who are no strangers to Chronic Migraine, supporting each other through their respective journeys. They shine a light on their shared burden and how it may impact different...

Oftentimes the standard “I’m good!” response isn’t rooted in the truth. We often act our way through our struggles, so we don’t burden someone else with our problems. In this episode, Nora delves into how Aaron Matthew Atkisson balances the art of acting both on set and as the primary caregiver for his family. When a migraine attack hits, he can’t simply ask his family to wait, or call cut on set. Reflecting on his approach to boundaries and fatherhood, Aaron sheds light on the stigmas...

Navigating parenthood can be overwhelming all on its own, but Danielle Mandoza takes it a step further teaching young children at work, too. In this episode, Nora explores Danielle’s struggle to balance her roles as a parent and teacher with the ever-lingering threat of a migraine attack. Thanks to the experiences of her mother and grandmother who both lived with migraine, Danielle continues to face her own Chronic Migraine diagnosis head-on and confidently explores treatment options with her...

“Knowledge is Power” may be an old cliche, but it is never more true than when talking about living with a chronic illness, like Chronic Migraine. In this episode, Nora explores how writer and advocate Jaime Sanders found the right words to describe her migraine symptoms earlier than most, thanks to her access to healthcare education. Her community and support provided a springboard for her empowerment while navigating her Chronic Migraine journey. Otherwise known as The Migraine Diva, Jaime...

Most of us have probably heard “Suck it up!” or “Get over it!” at some point. But when you’re living with Chronic Migraine, these phrases are far from helpful. In this episode, Nora talks to Air Force veteran Ivan Perry who is pushing back on a culture that measures strength by silence and a lack of struggle. He channels the resilience he developed while living with Chronic Migraine by founding Operation Aspire Group, guiding companies to build and create more inclusive environments. Ivan...

The pressures of hustle culture can be nonstop. In this episode, Nora and guest, Lauren Browning, get vulnerable about navigating Chronic Migraine in the unforgiving and unrelenting world of entrepreneurship. Building a working environment that fits her life, Lauren shares what drove her to create the sustainable swimwear brand, Ricki Beach Club. She talks about bringing your authentic self to your work, even on the most challenging days, and managing her Chronic Migraine from the drawing...

Nora McInerny returns with all-new conversations exploring personal stories of people living with Chronic Migraine. If you’re new to the series, there are eight episodes of our first season worth binging. Let’s learn a little more about Chronic Migraine together. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora explores the impact and importance of storytelling and advocacy in people's lives and how it can help people feel seen and heard. She speaks with Paula Dumas about how her advocacy work in the migraine community is about more than just changing perception and policy. It's about connecting people living with migraine worldwide through their shared experiences. Being the producer and co-host of the Migraine World Summit and a former...

In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora explores what a support network can look like and how to shape one that feels right to you. She has been connecting with people for years by sharing her personal journey to find support. Nora takes a look at the different types of support - interpersonal, creative, and even the more traditional medical support - and what that looks like for someone living with Chronic Migraine. She speaks with guest Meg Donnelly, a cinematographer...

In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora dives into the ever-blurring lines between work and life. Nora has made a career of sharing moments from her life to connect with others. That makes it nearly impossible to have any sort of separation between her work and life. She speaks with guest Winnielyn Bautista about how she tries to find and set boundaries between her career and personal goals amid the constant threat of a migraine attack. Winnielyn shares her thoughts on...

In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora explores how modern-day parenting is made even more difficult for those living with Chronic Migraine, including guest Marina Medved-Lentini. Marina is the founder of the online community Parenting With Migraine, which creates content trying to educate, support and help parents who are already overloaded with information and pressures on how best to parent their kids. Nora and Marina take a closer look at the realities of being a...

In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora tackles the idea of having a creative outlet to express your struggles which, as her experience shows, may not be as straightforward as expected. Nora is joined by artist Priya Rama who uses her art as a way to show what she is feeling during her migraine attacks. This has not only become an outlet for Priya to communicate her experience but also a way for other people to better understand the experience of someone living with...

In this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora chats with Alicia Wolf, aka The Dizzy Cook, on how she has been able to use food as a way to help manage her migraine triggers. Some people have foods that can be triggers for headaches or even migraine attacks. Alicia Wolf is a cook, recipe developer, and cookbook author who has pushed through her own condition to find that healthier eating has helped. Rethinking the food you eat doesn’t need to include an all-consuming diet...

On this episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora speaks with Qasim Amin Nathari about the stigma around men seeking help for physical andmental health issues, in particular men of color. Qasim is an author, scholar with Chronic Migraine and advocate for Black male representation within the migraine community. He openly shares his struggle balancing migraine attack triggers as he maintains a busy life, often flying to his speaking engagements throughout the country. Through this...

In the first episode of The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, Nora McInerny gets to talk to living legend Kristin Chenoweth about the pressure and power of living in the public eye. There is a push and pull between the nerves or fear of being judged and the addicting adrenaline rush of performing in front of a community of people that seems to understand you. Kristin and Nora share their stories of struggling with the pressure to work through their vulnerabilities in a public forum and how...

Nora McInerny hosts The Head Start: Embracing the Journey, a new podcast from iHeartRadio and AbbVie, a space to share open and honest conversations acknowledging the struggles we all face, while leaning into the hope and optimism we all share. We’ll hear from doctors, experts, and everyday people who will be sharing their experiences, migraine coping strategies, and major wins, all while building a community of support around an invisible disease that makes every day uncertain: Chronic...