Jacqueline and Olivia Vong

Season 8 Episode 2: Glimmers, Generations & Glamma!

Season Eight continues with an intimate conversation about caregiving, identity, and the small “glimmers” that shape family connection. In this heartfelt episode, Anika speaks with mother–daughter duo Jacqueline and Olivia Vong about how memory, resilience, and cultural expectations inform their caregiving journey. Jacqueline reflects on growing up with a strong and stylish mother who balanced independence, career success, and caring for aging relatives. Now navigating the “sandwich generation,” she shares how those early examples prepared her to support Olivia through her recent cognitive changes.

Together, they discuss the invisible load of caregiving and the stigma surrounding dementia in many Asian communities, including how language can deepen or challenge that stigma. Olivia offers insights into the routines and passions (especially fashion) that keep her feeling grounded and joyful. Jacqueline recalls stories that capture her mother’s spirit, including her ability to turn any moment, even a business dinner, into a vibrant celebration.

Their exchange highlights the importance of boundaries, self-care, and redefining what aging with dignity can look like. This episode invites listeners to celebrate the glimmers, generations, and all the fabulous “Glamma” moments that make caregiving and family unforgettable.

About our guests:

Olivia Vong and her daughter, Jacqueline, share a powerful intergenerational story of migration, memory, identity, and love. 

Born in Hong Kong and later settling in Canada, Olivia is remembered as a true fashion icon, the life of the party, a woman of extraordinary energy, positivity, and style. Her joie de vivre shaped everyone around her, but especially her only daughter, Jacqueline, to whom she passed her strength, resilience, and unshakeable belief in showing up with grace even through life's hardest chapters.

Now part of the sandwich generation, Jacqueline is raising two young children while caring for Olivia, who lives with dementia, a condition that spans three generations in their family. Through this experience, Jacqueline has become an advocate for caregivers and Asian communities, openly addressing the cultural stigma surrounding dementia, aging, and mental health. She speaks to the importance of preserving dignity, celebrating identity, and reframing what “aging gracefully” means for Asian families.

Together, Olivia and Jacqueline have become emerging voices in the caregiving space. They were featured on the cover of Mind Matters magazine, spotlighting their caregiving journey, and have appeared in panel discussions and editorial features that highlight the power of storytelling to connect families across generations. Jacqueline’s advocacy extends through her work with the Women’s Brain Health Initiative (WBHI) and the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA), where she champions awareness, education, and culturally safe supports for caregivers.

On Root & Seed, Olivia and Jacqueline share a story that is personal yet universal, a tribute to heritage, memory, and the enduring spark of a mother who taught her daughter to live boldly, beautifully, and with endless heart

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Anika:
Welcome back to Root & Seed, a podcast about tradition seekers who are sparked to explore, define, and celebrate their family and cultural identity. I’m your host, Anika Chabra.

We are still reeling from excitement from our first episode of this very special season, where Mohan and his sister Janani gave us a glimpse into their personal journey of reflecting on their father’s life—the legacy that they now get to carry forward through the artefact of a documentary. And still, we’re pondering their invitation to Root & Seed listeners: that in order to truly understand the influences of previous generations, you might not be able to do this in a linear fashion like traditionally done in memoirs. Instead, this might take some back and forth, visiting and revisiting stories, and then stitching them together to come up with your own masterpiece of personal meaning. Profound.

Now, the cool thing about this season—a season that features conversations between—is that I often get to be a “fly on the wall” for the exchanges and moments that otherwise might be dismissed as routine because they feel so familiar to the storytellers. This next episode feels just like that: an opportunity to be a witness to an incredible mother–daughter duo, Jacqueline and Olivia Vong, who lovingly share their story. We first met them at a Women’s Brain Health event last year, when they were just becoming active in publicly sharing their journey to dispel stereotypes often associated with cognitive changes. And so, it felt like a natural invitation to have them continue to share on Root & Seed.

Jacqueline:
Hi everyone. I'm Jacqueline. I am an only child and a mom of two wonderful young children, who are six and eight. I also am affectionately called a “mompreneur,” ’cause I own my own business in the children's entertainment and toy space.

Between my kids’ extracurriculars and school and work, as well as caregiving, life is busy. Very busy. I have found myself always being energetic and positive because I've been given the opportunity to do so. But right now, juggling what we would consider the sandwich generation—with the older care as well as younger care and life in between—has been our daily reality.

But onto my beautiful mom, who has just celebrated a birthday. She came to Canada in the 1950s from Hong Kong—in ’57, okay, ’57—following in her older sister's footsteps and attended Western University. Yes. She was one of the first women in our family to really build an amazing career in real estate. She was a broker for most of her life.

And also, when my mom divorced my father, she moved into a multi-generational household where she was caregiving her older parents. My grandmother lived till she was 101—yes, with dementia. And also, recently, her older sister, who is now 92—my mother was caring for her full-time until just recently—who has dementia as well.

So she had this amazing independent life, but also this gift of caring and caregiving, which she imparted on me.

Mom, how do you keep yourself happy and active every day?

Olivia:
I walking under the trail and I do dancing exercises in the morning. And I associate with my housemate. Then I put myself every day walking 40 min outside, and then in the evening I walk 40 min inside my center.

Jacqueline:
So currently, my mom is living independently, but in a care community that is focused on elder care. We had her move into my household for a little while, and we found that that was not a great environment for her to nurture her ability to really age gracefully. So we have found a solution, and we are really happy to continue to move forward with that.

Olivia:
I am very happy in the Center.

Jacqueline:
And as you can see, she's also a fashionista. She loves, loves, loves watching fashion, looking at fashion, and, you know, just being who she is. So we affectionately call her “Glamma” because she really lives and breathes it.

Olivia:
Fashion is my life.

Anika:

Fashion is your life! Oh gosh. I think you might need a bumper sticker for your car or something like that.

So your story together, as mother and daughter, beautifully reflects so many themes that our audience at Root & Seed speaks about. I'll tell you a short story about why we're called Root & Seed. So from the root perspective, oftentimes people like to look at the stories from the past. And from the seed perspective, oftentimes people want to decide what they want to carry forward—and that’s not everything.

But what's important about Root & Seed is there's the ampersand generation, which you talked about and articulated as the sandwich generation. Same idea: it's the person in the middle who is stepping up, caring for the younger and the older generation, and in some instances deciding what they want to take forward.

Can you talk a little bit about how nurturing intergenerational connections can happen through caregiving?

Olivia:
When I been finishing my university, I been started working. And then I am not live alone—I live in my sister's house. She have a mentee. She is not well. I want to stay close with her. I can give my hand to look after her. That's the reason I choose to stay with her.

Jacqueline:
What my mom was illustrating is kind of the stories that matter most, I think, to your audience. And, you know, in our case it’s her story of resilience—really just overcoming a marriage breakup and coming into caregiving as well as raising a child and showing her, and instilling in her, what she did: the confidence of being a businesswoman, of being fashion elegant.

But also balancing that with caring for me as well as caring for my grandma—who we officially call Ppa—and my aunt, who we call Ee, for so many years, has really led me to become such a nurturing person but also a fighter. I think she's taught me no matter what, that's really important.

Anika:

I'm just touched so, so deeply that you have the values of caregiving embedded in your upbringing, Jacqueline. Like, you were able to witness your mom doing that, so it sounds like it's something that naturally comes to you.

But there have to be hard moments, right? There have to be moments you're being pulled in different directions. How has your perception—your observation—of memory change and cognitive decline changed as you've stepped into that role for your own mom?

Jacqueline:
Well, as I'm acknowledging my mother's memory is shifting—and we have an early diagnosis of dementia, I think it runs in our family—we really start to realize how time is precious, and how I consider having glimmers of beautiful moments in our lives important now. Living for those instead of planning ahead—retirement savings, all the anxiety of planning so much—because lots of things are unplanned.

And I think culturally also, the expectation of caregiving in Asian culture is important. So I think that was always instilled in me. But culturally speaking, there's a stigma to dementia.

In at least Asian communities, there's a word that really describes dementia. Ma, can you tell me what this word says again?

Olivia:
Says the word and then explains.

Jacqueline:
So — is what the dementia definition is, and the word “idiot” is inside the character. So there's a lot of shame associated with this. And so we’ve worked, recently, on advocacy to try to navigate a language change on how we describe “aging gracefully”—which is how we're trying to propel the new words to describe dementia care, as well as shining a light on caregiving itself.

Because there’s such an invisible load on the caregiver. And it's okay to ask for help. I think culturally, people expect the child to always give back in something called filial piety. I have been really advocating for how we take care of ourselves, because as a caregiver, you get really burnt out.

I think it's important that I had that conversation and solution for my mother, which was best for us to put her in a care facility that manages her care while I can focus on my family as well and be there. That was just an important part of our story as well.

And on top of that, I'd have to say my mom has been aging gracefully—beautifully. Her condition has improved since she's been in the care facility. So I am looking forward to having her see her grandchildren in their moments and have more glimmers of life together.

Anika:
Thank you. What a gift for them to see you, Olivia, see their grandma evolve and change and be a wonderful person as they are themselves growing up and going through different phases in their lives.

Is there a particular story or memory that you believe is front and center for you—one you want to preserve and hold onto at this moment?

Jacqueline:
There are so many stories. From my days of growing up with my mom, going to open houses in her beautiful Chanel outfits—yeah—and showing up with grace and elegance to really impart the style she has. I feel like it's very Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy.

You know, remembering moments with my mom and telling my children about songs she used to sing to me as I was falling asleep, to songs that I sing to my children now. Or the way she would pronounce things that I used to laugh at and be so embarrassed about—and now I celebrate as an Asian woman with her accent.

You know, she can't pronounce the word “mom.” How do we say spaghetti?

Olivia:
“Soup-getty”

Jacqueline:
We really will cherish these memories. And moments together with my family. ’Cause now my family also often says, “Let’s have soup-getty night,” right?

Olivia:
My accent.

Jacqueline:
And this is unique to my family. So I feel like these are beautiful glimmers—beautiful moments that we always remember. And doing a podcast like this—we’ll have this as legacy for us for the future as well.

Anika:

Is there one particular story that really captures the essence of Olivia? That quintessential story that you feel like all of our listeners need to hear?

Jacqueline:
I have to say, when I lived in Asia—Hong Kong—and this was about 10-plus years ago, my mother came to visit me by herself. Late in her years. She came, and I had to go out to a business dinner, and I said, “Mom, just enjoy yourself. You know, you used to live in Hong Kong, you can enjoy yourself.”

She shows up at my dinner. It was a business dinner with my friends from Peppa Pig or Entertainment One, who were all here from the UK. Not only did she transform the business dinner into the most incredible tourist experience anybody could have—curated by my mother.

My mother dragged these amazing individuals, these executives, out to the nightlife of Hong Kong. As an older lady, went into the bar, grabbed them jello shots, had the time of her life. Then, I had to go to bed because I had to get up early—she continued on to the nightlife, karaoke, and dancing.

And this is the essence of my mom. She has the gusto, the joie de vivre—the essence of life—that I will always remember. She was the life of the party, which she's imparted on us.

I will see people in industry events and toy fairs, and they will ask me how my fabulous mother is because they remember the moments that she turned around the night—which was just a strictly business dinner, conservative, first-time meeting—into an experience to remember.

Olivia:

Thank you for your great work. And face me. She’s, I’m so proud and shy. The fastest with the mostest.

Anika:
Oh, I love that story. It just paints a picture of her personality, Olivia, and it just exudes everything about you.

Considering your own experience, what advice might you leave the audience with as it relates to caregiving with cognitive decline, and how connection can be fostered and preservation can be front of mind?

Jacqueline:
I think caregiving is a noble but a thankless job, with a lot of invisible loads. And so I really think it’s important for the caregiver to not feel guilty about setting boundaries and ensuring that you continue to take care of yourself.

I don't live and breathe what I’m practicing and preaching all the time, but I'm conscious and I'm aware that I need to ensure that I'm strong enough to be there and show up for my family.

I think also: there's no playbook in caregiving. Everybody has a very unique situation. And it's okay to define your own rules when it comes to what’s best for your own family.

I think with my mom—
What do you think? It's important to stay positive, right?

Olivia:
Thank you. Yes. Always positive is important in life. It's the most important. If you are positive, you do the thing will be fun.

Anika:
So interestingly, we had seen a documentary about a female caregiver who is in the Los Angeles film industry, and she’s caregiving for her husband who is either in his fifties or sixties with early-onset Alzheimer’s. And at the showing, she sort of turned to the audience after explaining and saying thank you to all the people who had contributed to the film. And she said thank you to the audience, and talked about this idea of “an audience completes a story.”

And so we've taken that beautiful sentiment and applied it to our entire season. So in sharing pieces of your mother’s story, of Olivia’s story, outside of your family's circle—what do you want people to take away or carry forward in their lives?

Olivia:
 Well, I think you need to have a strong mind to do whatever you want to do. Don't sit back. Okay? That’s the main thing. Make you going in your life.

Jacqueline:
I think piggybacking from that is really: live your life to the fullest, because you never know. We’re hoping to give a story of hope. When you have cognitive brain health issues, it's not about loss. There is hope—always hope—and happiness. There’s show up yourself.

I think there’s glimmers—we love calling them glimmers—of life that you can really live for. And I think what's important is breaking the cycle of stigmatization and silence. We want people—your audience—to feel less alone because—

Olivia:
Yeah, we always be together. We share each other. Because I think everybody has a story.

Jacqueline:
Yes. And I’m finding more and more it’s very relatable, what we’re talking about, but not much light is shed on it. So it’s a privilege and an honor to really be able to share this and help for advocacy on the work that we all do. And I really appreciate how Root & Seed has played into this and this opportunity to be on the podcast.

Olivia:
Yeah. Thank you too.

Anika:
I don't think I'm gonna forget this interview anytime soon—what a gift. Thank you so much.

Anika:
Forces of nature in their own right, and together you can’t help but feel that the influence of their collective experience has no limit. Jacqueline and Olivia’s pursuit to change the caregiver–elder family narrative can surely provide support and inspiration for those of us who are on our own journeys. By pushing against cultural norms, allowing for healthy physical and emotional distance, recalling the “glimmers” that they wish to preserve and reflect on, they are helping to paint a picture of what can happen when respect and reverence is a two-way street. Two humans, a generation apart yet connected through values, stories, and love. Beautiful.

Keeping with the parent–child dynamic for a hot second, we have a pair of entrepreneurs next episode—Helen and one of her sons, Jan Lo—who started their business when mother Helen had retired at age 65, embarking on a whole new phase of their relationship, from only mother–sons to business partners, and starting a new narrative filled with relentlessness, reinvention, and risk-taking. It’s an evolution of an otherwise traditional intergenerational relationship, and their back stories are ones you won’t want to miss.

Root & Seed is hosted by me, Anika Chabra, Executive Produced by Jenn Siripong Mandel, and Edited by Emily Groleau.

Bye for now.

Episode Credits

Hosted by: Anika Chabra

Brought to you by: Root & Seed

Executive Producer: Jennifer Siripong Mandel

Sound Editing by: Emily Groleau

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