Judith Henry joins Margo for a deeply honest and life-affirming conversation about caregiving, creativity, and what can unfold when we stay open to possibility at every age. A writer, artist, and podcaster, Judith shares how caring for her parents in the final chapter of their lives became the unexpected catalyst for an expansive creative journey—one rooted in humor, grit, color, and connection.

At 61, Judith wrote The Dutiful Daughter's Guide to Caregiving, a practical and compassionate resource born from lived experience. In her late 60s, she picked up her mother's paintbrushes and fell in love with visual art. And at 71, she launched One Mouthy Dame, a podcast empowering women to embrace aging with honesty, gratitude, and good humor.

Margo and Judith discuss:

• How caring for aging parents became a powerful (and unexpected) creative catalyst

• The emotional realities of caregiving, including grief, guilt, humor, and deep connection

• Writing The Dutiful Daughter's Guide to Caregiving as both memoir and practical support

• Using humor as a survival tool during difficult seasons

• Transitioning from writing into painting and mixed media later in life

• Letting go of judgment and reclaiming creativity at any age

• Launching a podcast in her 70s to speak honestly about aging, anxiety, and visibility

• Falling in love with Kawandi-style quilting and how stitching, mending, and making can be deeply healing

• Book & Writing: https://www.JudithDHenry.com

• Creative Work: https://www.JudithHenryCreative.com

• Podcast: https://www.JudithHenryCreative.com/One-Mouthy-Dame
  

• Website: www.windowsillchats.com
• Instagram: @windowsillchats
• www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
• https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry

Margo is joined by Daisy Fancourt—Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology at UCL and a globally recognized leader in understanding how creativity and social connection influence our health. From her early days designing arts programs inside hospitals to directing major WHO initiatives and publishing over 250 papers, Daisy has spent her career documenting the profound, measurable impact of creative engagement on stress, aging, recovery, cognition, and community wellbeing. In a world that often treats the arts as extra or a luxury, Daisy reframes them as essential—showing how even the simplest creative rituals can foster joy, resilience, health and a deeper sense of belonging in our everyday lives.

Margo and Daisy discuss:

• How Daisy's early work in hospitals revealed the power of creativity as a health tool

• What research shows about the arts reducing stress and supporting cognitive resilience

• Why we're conditioned to see creativity as a luxury—and how to reframe it as necessity

• The role of music, movement, and environment in emotional and physical healing

• Innovative approaches like dance for Parkinson's and creative play for children with disabilities

• How small, accessible creative habits can improve daily wellbeing

• Why talent doesn't matter—process is what delivers the benefits

Mentioned in this episode:
https://sbbresearch.org/

Connect with Daisy:
https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/44526-daisy-fancourt
Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health

Connect with Margo:

• Website: www.windowsillchats.com
• Instagram: @windowsillchats
• www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
• https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry

In the first episode of 2026, Margo invites listeners to join her in a conversation about beginning the year with intention—rather than pressure. Inspired by a recent Substack article by writer Suleika Jaouad, Margo reflects on themes of release, gentleness, and honoring the creative process over rigid resolutions and why this approach is so important for creatives. She also shares real responses from the Windowsill Chats community about what they're letting go of this year, from comparison and self-doubt to perfectionism and "shoulds." Margo explores why finite, manageable containers—like daily sketching, journaling, or mindful walks—can create scaffolding for a sustainable and supportive creative life.

Mentioned in this episode:
The Isolation Journals (Suleika Jaouad's Substack): https://theisolationjournals.substack.com/
Against resolutions - Suleika Jaouad on ritual, repetition, and the fantasy of starting over: https://post.substack.com/cp/182964621

Connect with Margo:

• Website: www.windowsillchats.com
• Instagram: @windowsillchats
• www.patreon.com/inthewindowsill
• https://www.yourtantaustudio.com/thefoundry