The Head Start: Embracing the Journey
The Head Start: Embracing the Journey is hosted by Nora McInerny and presented by iHeartRadio and AbbVie. The podcast explores the everyday challenges and uncertainties of living with chronic migraine through open conversations. It features doctors, experts, and everyday people sharing personal experiences, coping strategies, and major wins. The show aims to build a supportive community around an often invisible disease.
Episodes
When Life Rewrites the Story: A Conversation with Britt Middleton
We all have a story we’re trying to tell, even when life has other plans. In this episode, Nora McInerny sits down with romance novelist and journalist Britt Middleton to explore how creativity can become both an escape and a source of resilience while living with Chronic Migraine. Together, they reflect on Britt’s fifteen-year journey to diagnosis, the realities of navigatin
Redefining What It Means to Show Up: Muneera Page on Living with Chronic Migraine
As a working mother, author, and speaker, Muneera knows what it means to juggle competing priorities. But living with Chronic Migraine has forced her to reconsider the pressure to always keep going. In this episode, Nora sits down with Muneera to explore the realities of managing family, career, and a very public life while navigating a seemingly invisible disease. She reflects on the guilt that c
Quiet Thoughts on Living with Chronic Migraine from Michelle Douglas and Caitlyn Eiffert
There’s something different about a voice note. It’s not polished. It’s not rehearsed. It’s just one person trying to put words around something that’s hard to explain. In this special episode, Nora McInerny steps away from the traditional interview format to hear directly from Michelle Douglas and Caitlyn Eiffert through personal voice notes. Together, they reflect o
Where Are They Now? Checking in with Priya Rama and Qasim Amin Nathari on their Chronic Migraine journeys
Living with Chronic Migraine is rarely a straight line. Life keeps moving, responsibilities pile up, and the journey continues long after the moment of diagnosis. In the Season 4 premiere, Nora reconnects with two familiar voices from earlier seasons: Priya Rama and Qasim Amin Nathari. Together, they reflect on what has changed, what has stayed the same, and what it looks like to keep moving forwa
The Head Start: Embracing the Journey Season 4 is Here
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chronic Migraine Through My Sister’s Eyes: A Conversation with Meghan McInerny
We all carry more than we show—juggling roles, responsibilities, and realities that often go unseen, even by those closest to us. In this episode, Nora sits down with her big sister, Meghan, for an honest and vulnerable conversation about the reality of living with Chronic Migraine—a reality woven into their family history. Together, they reflect on how this shared thread has shaped th
Strength Behind the Scenes: A Conversation with Lilly Singh
Living in the public eye brings constant pressure, making it even more important for actress and host Lilly Singh to approach life with intentionality while managing her Chronic Migraine. In this episode, Nora sits down with Lilly to explore the daily routines, open communication, and wellbeing-first mindset that have helped her manage both personally and professionally. She shares strategies
Intimacy and Chronic Migraine: A Conversation with Tom Picerno
Talking about intimacy can be difficult, even with your partner. It’s nuanced. It’s often avoided. But it’s still very important. In this episode, Nora and guest Tom Picerno explore how he’s navigated these delicate conversations while living with Chronic Migraine. They’re joined by Tom’s wife, Cheryl, who adds an extra layer of perspective to how they’ve
Sweat and Resilience: Balancing Chronic Migraine with Fitness Goals
The healing power of fitness goes far beyond physical benefits—for today’s guest, it’s a form of self-expression and a celebration of what the body can do. In this episode, host Nora McInerny sits down with fitness personality Ivylis Rivera, who shares her deeply personal journey of navigating life with Chronic Migraine while holding onto her passion for movement. Ivylis opens up
The Head Start: Embracing the Journey Season 3 is Here
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Two Generations, One Shared Disease: A Conversation with Mother and Son
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 respe
Acting The Part Amidst Adversity: A Conversation with Aaron Matthew Atkisson
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.
Teaching Through the Struggle: A Conversation with Danielle Mandoza
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 fa
Healthcare Access & Affordability: A Conversation with Jaime Sanders
“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 empowe
The Silent Struggle Behind the Veteran Mindset: A Conversation with Ivan Perry
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 Op
Living with Chronic Migraine in the Grind Culture: A Conversation with Lauren Browning
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 you
The Head Start: Embracing the Journey is Back!
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.
Being Real About Chronic Migraine: A Conversation with Paula Dumas
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 t
Finding Support Along Your Chronic Migraine Journey: A Conversation with Meg Donnelly
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 lik
Searching for Work-Life Balance with Chronic Migraine: A Conversation with Winnielyn Bautista
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 an
Parenting Marked by Chronic Migraine: A Conversation with Marina Medved-Lentini
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 o
Making Space for Creativity: A Conversation with Artist Priya Rama
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 experien
Migraine Attacks Triggered by the Food You Eat: A Conversation with Alicia Wolf
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
Between Advocacy & Awareness: A Conversation with Qasim Amin Nathari
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 main
Pressure Under the Bright Lights: A Conversation with Kristin Chenoweth
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
Introducing: The Head Start: Embracing the Journey
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
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