She obtained her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin/Madison (1970) and her M.J. from the University of California/Berkeley (1973).

Her passion for the field of conscious aging and midlife spirituality has grown out of deep personal experience and reflection. After caring for two simultaneously dying parents long distance, she helped put caregiving on the national radar screen.

After 20 years in newspapers, McLeod left in 1997 to write her book, Caregiving: The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss, and Renewal (John Wiley & Sons, paperback 2000). It was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction.

Her work has now evolved into helping birth a new awareness of the gifts of the second half of life, in particular the spirituality of menopause and the journey of healing and renewal at midlife.

McLeod has been interviewed for her expertise by top national press, including the "Today" show, NPR, the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Newsday, Prevention, and many others. Her articles have appeared in Good Housekeeping, Health, SELF, Family Circle, Cooking Light, Caring, the Wall Street Journal, Aging Today, and the Noetic Sciences Review. In addition to leading a weekly online caregivers support chat for AARP and Third Age for five years, she has written for Web sites including CareThere.com, ThirdAge.com, MyLifePath.com, and WebMD.

McLeod has created and teaches an extensive "Caring for Aging Parents" class for Barnes & Noble University online. She also has taught a course on caring for aging parents through the University of California Extension system. She has also consulted and/or been featured in three PBS series on caregiving. She edited the Rodale Press companion book to the PBS series, And Thou Shalt Honor (September 2002).

McLeod is now focusing on the broader spiritual issues of living fully at midlife, including optimal health, inner healing, and self-renewal. She offers workshops and seminars on self-care and reconnecting with the beauty in life.

Recent speeches and workshops have included "Where did your life go when the caregiving began?" and "This is not your mother's menopause!"

Baby boomers, Caregiving, Aging, Creativity, Health & Wellness, Mental Health, Spirituality, religion, Women & Gender Issues,