We Know What It Means to Be in the Middle
We’re Dr. MaryBeth Parisi and Dr. Susan Parisi—sisters, physicians, mothers, daughters, and caregivers who have lived the sandwich ourselves.
Why We Built This
Pursue Life Coaching and our focus on supporting caregivers grew out of our own personal journeys as physicians—and as daughters.
We already had our own crazy, busy lives: careers, children, households, relationships, and the constant effort to maintain some semblance of balance.
Then, almost overnight, one more “job” was added to an already teetering tower.
Caring for a parent transformed our lives from a whirlwind of activity into a full-on tornado.
In fact, it was more insidious than that.
It started with something seemingly small—a skin spot that was “bothering” our Mom.
Mom Was the Center of Our Family
Mom was the matriarch of our family. If Mom said it or wanted it, it became so.
She was an incredible woman, with tremendous stamina and an amazing ability to keep four children in line—most of the time. She taught us, as professional women, that we could do anything we set our minds to.
So, we set our minds to caring for our Mom.
And the sandwich grew.
Over the course of years, more and more layers of complexity were added to her life, our father’s life, and ours.
What began as helping with a medical issue became navigating an increasingly complicated healthcare system, making decisions we never imagined we would have to make, and trying to balance caregiving with careers, children, relationships, and our own lives.
We Knew Healthcare. We Didn’t Know This.
We had seen the healthcare system from the inside as physicians.
Now we were seeing it from the outside—as daughters struggling to keep someone we dearly loved alive.
It became one of the greatest challenges of our careers.
To this day, we revisit decisions, statements, questions, and conversations, often wondering what we could have done differently.
And despite our medical training and experience, we were left with fewer answers than we expected—and a much deeper understanding of how difficult caregiving can be.
Our experience with Mom became the inspiration for The Sh!t Sandwich Generation podcast and, ultimately, for expanding Pursue Life Coaching into a resource and coaching center for caregivers.
So We’re Building What We Wish We’d Had
Mom’s journey showed us how little preparation and support caregivers are given for a role that can consume so much of their lives.
We wished there had been a place to turn for practical resources, honest stories, validation, guidance, and someone who understood what it feels like to be caught in the middle—caring for the people you love while still trying to live your own life.
So we are building that place.
Through Pursue Life Coaching, The Sh!t Sandwich Generation podcast, practical resources, stories, and coaching, we hope to help people in the Sandwich Generation navigate the complexity of caregiving without feeling like they have to figure it all out alone.
This is Mom’s gift to us—and to the millions of others who find themselves in this role.
We can’t change how hard caregiving can be.
But we can make sure you don’t have to navigate it alone.
In loving memory of Ann Marie Parisi
February 26, 1940 – September 12, 2025
Dr. MaryBeth Parisi, M.D.
Dr. MaryBeth Parisi is a board-certified dermatologist, physician leader, certified professional coach, entrepreneur, author, and healthcare innovator. As a Regional Medical Director at Schweiger Dermatology Group, she combines clinical practice with physician leadership, with a focus on provider engagement, education, professional development, and well-being. She also developed and implemented a coaching program within the organization to better support physicians navigating the demands of their careers and lives.
Her work extends beyond clinical medicine into digital health, artificial intelligence, and product development. MaryBeth has provided physician insight and strategic feedback to Doximity as its platform has evolved, served as Dermatology Medical Director for Vituity working with a team of dermatologists on dermatology-focused AI technology, and consulted with ODDITY on the development of technology-driven health and beauty products.
An entrepreneur and author, MaryBeth previously built and led her own dermatology practice and later founded Pursue Life Coaching after becoming a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach. Her perspective shifted profoundly when her mother developed an aggressive skin cancer. Despite being a dermatologist with decades of medical experience, she discovered that knowing medicine and navigating caregiving as a daughter were two very different things.
Today, MaryBeth brings together her experience as a physician, healthcare leader, innovator, coach, mother of four, daughter, and caregiver to help build the practical support she wished her own family had. Together with her sister Susan, she co-hosts The Sh!t Sandwich Generation podcast and is developing resources, education, and coaching to help caregivers navigate life in the middle without losing themselves in the process.
Dr. Susan Parisi, M.D.
Dr. Susan Parisi is a physician, coach, and executive wellness leader who helps high-performing professionals navigate the increasingly complex demands of work, family, caregiving, and life—without losing themselves in the process.
A board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist with more than three decades of clinical, leadership, and coaching experience, Dr. Parisi has spent her career at the intersection of medicine, leadership, well-being, and human transformation. She most recently served as the inaugural Chief Wellness Officer at Geisinger, where she designed and led system-wide strategies to advance professional fulfillment, health, and well-being for more than 26,000 healthcare professionals. Her work focused on moving the conversation beyond burnout toward a broader vision of human flourishing—helping people perform at their highest level while sustaining meaning, vitality, and purpose.
Dr. Parisi brings a unique perspective shaped by caring for patients, leading within complex healthcare systems, and helping individuals navigate change. Her additional training includes Integrative Medicine through the University of Arizona, physician development coaching, health and wellness coaching, and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Her approach combines evidence-based wellness science with practical strategy, reflection, and a deep understanding of the realities of modern life. Through Pursue Life Coaching, Dr. Parisi focuses on a challenge facing a growing number of accomplished professionals: navigating the demands of the “sandwich generation”—supporting adults who are caring for aging parents, often while managing demanding careers, leadership responsibilities, relationships, and their own well-being.
These years can be extraordinarily meaningful, but they can also leave even the most capable people feeling stretched, overwhelmed, or uncertain about how to prioritize what matters most. Dr. Parisi helps professionals step back from the constant demands of caregiving and career, reconnect with what they value, make intentional choices, and create a life that is balanced and sustainable.
Dr. Parisi also co-hosts The Sh!t Sandwich Generation podcast with her sister, Dr. Marybeth Parisi. Together, they explore the realities of life in the sandwich generation with honesty, humor, professional expertise, and compassion. Their work extends beyond the podcast to include other practical resources designed to help people navigate this complicated chapter of life with greater clarity, meaning, vitality, and peace. At the heart of Dr. Parisi’s work is a simple belief: success should not require sacrificing the life you are working so hard to build. Flourishing is not a luxury; it is a human imperative. Through coaching, conversation, and practical tools, she helps accomplished professionals navigate life’s most demanding season while staying connected to their values, their relationships, their purpose, and themselves.