“The Body Doesn’t Lie”: Mariel Hemingway on Brain Health, Breaking Generational Cycles, and What Her SPECT Scan Revealed

She carries one of the most iconic names in American literature — and one of its heaviest legacies. Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, grew up inside a family marked by extraordinary brilliance and profound pain. Depression, addiction, and suicide shadowed multiple generations of the Hemingway family, and Mariel has spent much of her adult life doing something rare and courageous: talking about it openly, doing the work to heal it, and helping others do the same.

In her memoir Out Came the Sun: Overcoming the Legacy of Mental Illness, Addiction, and Suicide in My Family, Mariel chronicled the deeply personal journey of breaking those generational cycles. Today, she continues that mission through The Queen Returns, her wellness platform and community dedicated to helping women reconnect with themselves at every stage of life.

Recently, Mariel sat down with Dr. Daniel Amen — psychiatrist, brain health pioneer, and founder of both Amen Clinics and Amen University — for a conversation on his podcast that was both deeply personal and profoundly illuminating. As part of that experience, Mariel received a brain SPECT scan, giving her something she had never had before: a clear, compassionate window into her own brain health. For someone who grew up carrying a quiet fear about what her family history might mean for her own mind, the results were not what she expected — they were better.

What followed was an honest, moving conversation about the neuroscience of healing, the power of lifestyle choices, what it means to stop abandoning yourself, and why the body always tells the truth first. Below, Mariel shares some of the highlights — in her own words.

On Breaking Generational Cycles

You’ve spoken openly about your family’s history with depression, addiction, and suicide — and the work it took to stop carrying those patterns forward. How did learning to listen to your body, rather than override it, become central to your healing?

For a long time I lived from my mind. I analyzed, explained, performed, and achieved. But the body keeps score long before the mind is willing to tell the truth. What I began to realize was that my body was constantly signaling when I was abandoning myself. Tightness in my chest, exhaustion, anxiety, over-accommodating, saying yes when I meant no.

Coming from a family where there was so much brilliance but also so much pain, depression, addiction, and suicide, I think many of us learned to override ourselves in order to survive. My healing really began when I stopped trying to outthink my pain and started listening to what my nervous system was trying to tell me.

“The body doesn’t lie. It will tell you when you’re living in fear, performing, or disconnected from yourself. Learning to slow down enough to hear those signals changed my life.”

On the Brain SPECT Scan Experience

When you saw your brain scan results with Dr. Amen, what was that moment like — and did anything surprise you?

Honestly, it was emotional. Given my family history, I think there’s always a quiet fear somewhere in the background about what you might find.

What surprised me most was hearing that my brain was actually in very good shape. My memory was strong, there was no sign of depression, and Dr. Amen pointed out that many of the lifestyle choices I’ve committed to over the years — movement, meditation, nature, nutrition, slowing down, emotional work — really matter. That was incredibly validating.

There was also evidence of an old childhood brain injury, which was fascinating because it connected dots for me in a compassionate way instead of a shame-based way.

“I walked away feeling empowered rather than afraid.”

On Supporting Women Through Mental Health

Through The Queen Returns, you’ve built a space for women at different life stages to reconnect with themselves. What are the patterns you keep seeing, and what do you wish more women understood about mental health that nobody is really talking about?

What I see over and over again is women who have become extraordinarily good at functioning while being deeply disconnected from themselves. They’re capable, successful, giving, nurturing — but underneath that is exhaustion, loneliness, resentment, grief, and often a nervous system that has been in survival mode for decades.

Many women have learned to perform wellness instead of actually feeling safe inside themselves. We know how to care for everyone else while abandoning our own bodies.

What I wish more women understood is that mental health is not just about thoughts. It’s about the relationship you have with your body, your boundaries, your truth, your ability to rest, your ability to feel. So many women are praised for self-sacrifice while silently falling apart.

“Healing starts when we stop editing ourselves to fit what everyone else needs us to be.”

On the Practice of Pausing

You wrote that you notice where you ‘edit yourself, make yourself smaller, or perform to make others comfortable.’ How do you practice pausing instead of reacting — and how do you help other women learn to do the same?

The pause has become sacred to me.

When I feel activated now, I try not to immediately react, explain, defend, or fix. I pause long enough to ask myself: What am I actually feeling in my body right now? Am I responding from truth or from survival?

That small moment changes everything.

For many women, reacting quickly has become a form of protection. But when we slow down, we begin to notice the old patterns — people-pleasing, overexplaining, shrinking, performing, caretaking. The pause allows us to choose instead of automatically repeating the same nervous system response.

“The goal is not perfection or constant peace. The goal is awareness. Once you can catch the moment you leave yourself, you can begin returning to yourself.”

On Brain Health Education

Dr. Amen’s work is built on the idea that seeing the brain helps you address what’s actually happening. How do you think broader access to brain health education could change the way people understand and approach mental health?

I think it could change everything.

For so many years mental health has been approached with shame, mystery, or labels that make people feel broken. What I appreciate about Dr. Amen’s work is that it brings curiosity and compassion into the conversation. When people can actually see what’s happening in the brain, it removes some of the judgment and opens the door to possibility.

It also helps people understand that the brain is influenced by lifestyle, trauma, stress, nutrition, sleep, relationships, movement. All of it matters. That’s empowering because it means we’re not helpless.

“The more people understand that brain health is connected to everyday choices and emotional wellbeing, the more proactive and compassionate I think we become toward ourselves and each other.”

On What Healing Really Means

Your healing journey has been deeply public and deeply personal. How has your understanding of what ‘healing’ actually means evolved over the years?

I used to think healing meant arriving somewhere — becoming fully healed, fully peaceful, fully beyond pain. I don’t think that anymore.

Healing, for me, is the willingness to stay connected to yourself even when life hurts. It’s being able to feel grief without becoming consumed by it. It’s learning how to hold joy and sadness in the same moment.

Loss changes you. Grief changes you. But healing is not about erasing those experiences. It’s about becoming more honest, more compassionate, more present inside your life because of them.

“There are still hard days. There are still moments of fear or overwhelm. But now I know how to come back to myself instead of abandoning myself inside those moments.”

One Thing That Has Stayed With Her

Without giving too much away — what’s one thing Dr. Amen said during your conversation that you’re still thinking about?

One thing Dr. Amen said that really stayed with me was how much our daily choices shape the future of our brain.

There was something deeply hopeful in that. Not perfection. Not fear. Not obsessing. But the understanding that the small things we do consistently — how we move, rest, connect, think, nourish ourselves, manage stress, spend time in nature — truly matter.

“Healing is not one giant moment. It’s the small choices we make every day to stay connected to ourselves.”

Mariel’s words are a reminder that healing is not a destination. It is a daily practice of returning to yourself, one honest moment at a time. From her family’s painful legacy to the lifestyle choices that have quietly protected her brain for decades, her journey is proof that the cycles we inherit do not have to be the cycles we carry forward.

We are deeply grateful to Mariel for her openness, her wisdom, and her willingness to share something so personal in service of helping others.

To hear the full conversation between Mariel and Dr. Amen, listen to the complete podcast episode here:

[PODCAST LINK]

And if Mariel’s story resonated with you, explore the wealth of brain health resources available at Amen University — where education meets empowerment on the path to a healthier mind and life.

View all Amen University Courses

About Mariel Hemingway

Mariel Hemingway is a wellness advocate, author, and mental health champion. She is the founder of The Queen Returns, an online community supporting women in reconnecting with themselves at every stage of life. Her books include Out Came the Sun, Running with Nature, and Eating with Peace and Moderation. Follow her on Instagram @marielhemingway and at thequeenreturns.com.