Welcome back to another episode of 'All Good in the Sisterhood' with your host, Sophie Donald.

This week we are joined by Kat Horrocks, a women's life and career coach empowering women to put themselves first and achieve their goals.  She has her own podcast called 'Put Yourself First'

I have followed Kat for a while on instagram and loved her content and general vibe, so I am so happy she agreed to be a guest on mine! 

In this episode Kat talks us through her own career journey and explains what a life coach actually is.  She then gives us practical tips to create healthy boundaries in our lives and how to say no to things that do not serve you.   We then chat about toxic  people/relationships and how we can deal with them in our lives. 

There are so many great tips to take away from this episode and I personally have put some into practice to help me overcome my people-pleasing tendencies!

You can follow Kat on instagram:

• @kat_horrocks

and visit her website:

• www.kathorrocks.com

If you enjoyed this episode please share with friends and/or on instagram and tag me @_sophiedonald_

I would really appreciate a review/rating on the Itunes app too! 

@sophiedonald_pt

Welcome back to 'All Good in The Sisterhood' with your host Sophie Donald.

This week we are joined by Sarah Rhind, a former heroin addict who turned her life around and is now Street Soccer Scotland's Women's Co-ordinator.

Haven't heard of Street Soccer? Either had I until I heard this truly inspirational story.  After years of battling addiction and two rounds of rehab, it was football that helped Sarah recover and change her life around. 

Football became the highlight of Sarah's week and led her to play for Scotland in the Homeless World Cup in 2015. 

Sarah tells us in the episode that 'addiction doesn't discriminate' and throughout her life she had always struggled to be in her own skin.  Heroin allowed her that escape and eventually she became dependant on it to function. 

Football was something she knew she was good at and gave her the confidence to take control of her life.

Maybe we already know the benefits of sport, but I hope this story will emphasise the life saving mental benefits of sport and fitness in our lives.

You can follow Sarah on Twitter:

• @SSS_SarahRhind

and you can follow Street Soccer Scotland on Instagram:

• streetsoccerscotland

If you found this story inspirational (I know you will) then please help me spread the words and tag the podcast on your stories, rate on the itunes app and share with anyone you think would enjoy :) 

@sophiedonald_pt

In this episode we are joined by Kate Forbes, who is the MSP for the constituency of Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch and was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Finance in February 2020.

Kate is the first woman under 30 to give the budget speech in both Holyrood and Westminster, being given less than a days notice before doing so.  I know what you're thinking - what a girl boss! I just had to get her on and have a chat with her.

In this episode we chat about Kate's career path that led her to become an MSP, how she feels about being a woman in politics and how she deals with the pressures of being a politician.  We talk through the day she gave the budget speech and how she felt in the hours leading up to it. The term 'imposter syndrome' comes up a few times in our conversation and it may be comforting for you to know that even Kate suffers from this. 

If your guilty (like me) of not taking a keen interest in politics then this is a great place for you to start.  It is a lighthearted listen and an interesting insight into a politicians life.

If you would like to keep up with Kate you can find her on instagram under:

• kate_forbes_msp

or on twitter under:

• @KateForbesMSP

Let me know if you enjoyed this episode and don't forget to share, rate and review!

@sophiedonald_pt

In this episode we are joined by Fiona Mackenzie - a good friend that I met whilst training at dance college. 

Fiona has battled with her body image and disordered eating patterns for a number of years and I feel super lucky that she has decided to be so open about the subject on the pod.  

Fiona is a multi-talented human.  She has performed around the world on cruise ships as a singer, studied pyschology of mental health at university and now works for a maths tutoring company (see...multi-talented!)

In this episode, Fiona explains exactly what Binge Eating Disorder is and we talk about the negative effects that dance college has had on her body image.  It is a super insightful episode with a few emotional parts so if this is something you are currently going through it may be quite triggering.   Please be kind to yourself make sure you are in the right headspace before you listen. 

You can find Fiona on instagram:

• @fifilaboomba

If you think you are suffering from an eating disorder please reach out to someone for help.  Whether that is friends, family or a professional, never feel alone.

@sophiedonald_pt

In this episode we are joined by Suzie Innes to chat about IVF PGD.

Now, IVF may be something you have heard of but possibly not the 'PGD' part.  Honestly, this episode is like a science lesson and you are about to learn a whole lot of cool stuff!

When Suzie met her now husband Richard, he told her that his mum had Huntington's Disease and that he has a 50% chance of also carrying the gene, which means that if they had children they would also carry the same risk. 

Huntingdon's Disease is an hereditary disorder of the central nervous system. Huntington’s disease usually develops in adulthood and can cause a very wide range of symptoms including:

• Slight, uncontrollable muscular movements
• Stumbling and clumsiness
• Lack of concentration
• Short-term memory lapses
• Depression
• Changes of mood, sometimes including aggressive or antisocial behaviour.

For more information see https://hdscotland.org/

Understandably, Suzie and Richard didn't want to risk passing the gene onto their children, and this is where the amazing process of IVF PGD comes in!

I'll let Suzie do the explaining in the episode, but in short, this procedure has allowed them to give birth to two beautiful children called Peggy and Hector with the peace of mind that they will never get Huntingdon's Disease.

This episode will open your eyes to the world of science and how incredible this procedure is!

Suzie owns her own dance school and you can follow her on:

• @streetstruckdance

@sophiedonald_pt

In this episode we are joined by Tilly Beau Rasmussen, a good friend I studied and lived with for four years. 

This year, Tilly gave birth to a beautiful baby boy called Winston.  He was born at 31 weeks which means he was 9 weeks early.  

In this episode Tilly talks openly about her birth story, recovering from her C-section and the positive effect that hypnobirthing had on her experience.  

If you would like to follow Tilly she has two pages, one for her business and one for her mummy updates:

• @tillsysdanceandyogafactory
• @mybumpandbaby

I personally felt so proud to be a woman after recording this episode.  The physical and mental resilience that we have just blows my mind! If you enjoyed this episode too, please be sure to message Tilly and let her know!

@sophiedonald_pt

In this episode we are joined by Nikita and Jamila Archibald.  Two sisters who grew up in Inverness, Scotland.  Together, they have made the instagram page @wearebeautifulfaces.

Following the death of George Floyd, I knew I wanted to educate myself and do better as a privileged white woman.  I came across their page and I loved the message they were trying to spread.  They have created a safe space to share experiences based on race, sexuality, gender and mental health.  

Reading others people's experiences and opinions has been massively educational for me and highlights that the issue of racial injustice is not just 'a problem in America'.  I hope you can engage and empathise with these stories as much as I have.  

Here is a list of the resources that were mentioned in the pod.  This is in no way an exhaustive list but hopefully a good place to start:

• https://www.standwithblacklives.com/ - a great website with lots of resources including a history of racism in Britain.
• 1Xtra Talks Special - George Floyd and Black Lives Matter (podcast)
• Adulting - Systemic Racism in the UK with Adam Pugh and Africa Daley-Clarke (podcast)
• The High Low - Anti-Racism Resources and An Author Special with Candice Brathwaite (podcast)
• @midwivesagainstracism - IG page
• @iamjenniejoseph - IG page
• @candicebrathwaite - IG page 
• @violadavis - IG page
• @medschool_racism - IG page

If you enjoyed this episode make sure you give @wearebeautifulfaces a follow and let them know how you have listened!

@sophiedonald_pt

In this episode we are joined by our first boy in the sisterhood - Brett Sewell!

Brett is an absolute ray of sunshine and has brought so much joy to my life since I met him during a pantomime contract two years ago.

In this episode Brett will be chatting to us about racial injustices that he has experienced in his life and he will be reading out two poems that he wrote following the death of George Floyd.

This episode discusses the subject of race in an open and insightful way.  You can follow brett on instagram @brettsewell_

His first poem is called 'Together'

Together we are one,
Together we can rise,
Together we can beat all these twisted lies.
Together we can pull through and make sense of what's ahead
Together we can truly stop the corruption
that's been led.

Together we can stand,
Together we must fight,
Together we must change to see the light.
Together is the only way to make things right,
We must stand together in this spite.

Together we see the truth,
Together we're not blind,
Together we break the boxes in which we were confined.
With our fists in the air for all to see ,
We're in this together, so take a knee.

His second poem is called 'One Day'

One day they'll know,
One day we'll grow,
We'll break the cycle,
in which we live and know.
One day we'll heal,
One day they'll feel,
Only love, that would be ideal.

One day there will be peace,
No hate to unleash,
A world that is safe with equality and faith.
One day is soon,
One day is now, 
To my kings and queens, 
pick up your crowns.

One day we'll see souls,
not the colour of skin, 
And soon this hate and evil will not live within.
With strength and love, 
anything can change,
Just do your part and say their names.

Hi everyone and welcome back to the 'All Good in the Sisterhood' podcast with your host, me, Sophie Donald.

If you want to feel inspired, empowered and positive about your life then you have come to the right place! Join me and special guests weekly as we talk about the struggles and hardships we have gone through and how, ultimately, these experiences have made us stronger women. So, wherever you are and whatever you're doing, you are part of the sisterhood now... So let's get going.

This week we are joined by Ali, a women who has done wonders for my confidence over the past few years. 

Ali was a domestic abuse victim for over 15 years and today she shares her story with us. Domestic abuse affects both women and men and includes but is not limited to:

• Coercive control (a pattern of intimidation, degradation, isolation and control with the use or threat of physical or sexual violence)
• Psychological and/or emotional abuse [2]
• Physical or sexual abuse
• Financial or economic abuse
• Harassment and stalking
• Online or digital abuse

(women's aid website)

PLEASE NOTE BEFORE YOU LISTEN - Ali is very open about her story which I am really grateful for, however some parts of the conversation are quite upsetting, so please bare this in mind before you listen to this episode.

Resources:

• Caged In - award winning short film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fie78Uvs_7o
• Ted Talk - Why Domestic violence victims don't leave https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1yW5IsnSjo
• Sleeping with the enemy - A film recommendation from Ali 
• The Freedom Programme - Courses that offer information about domestic violence https://www.freedomprogramme.co.uk/index.php
• Bright Sky App - can be downloaded on your phone's app store.

Female owned business spotlight today was Megan Whitecross at Whitescents. You can find her on instagram:

• @whitescents
• www.whitescents.com

I urge you to share this story so we can open up the conversation of domestic abuse.  Thank you for all your support!

@sophiedonald_pt

Hi everyone and welcome back to episode three of the podcast.

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing - You are part of the sisterhood now!

I am so excited to bring you this episode today and introduce you to the incredible woman that is Melanie Woods.

In January 2018 Mel was out for a bike ride in Inverness when a car accidentally drove into her.  The impact caused fatal injuries which means that Mel will never walk again.  It was whilst in hospital recovering that Mel found inspiration from watching para-athletes from her hospital bed competing in the paralympics that year.  Now, two years on, Mel is on her own journey to the paralympics where she hopes to compete in wheelchair racing.  I can honestly say that by listening to Mel's story and recording this episode my attitude towards life has completely changed.  I know that just by listening to this episode it's going to change yours too.

You can follow Mel on instagram:

@melaniewoods87

If you would like to find out more about the charity Back Up (transforming lives after spinal chord injury) you can find them on:

Instagram - @backuptrust
Website - www.backuptrust.org.uk

My female owned business this week is 'Tilly and Roo'.  A contemporary jewellery company created by Jennie Devlin.  Her pieces are made out of polymer clay and alcohol ink and are totally gorgeous!!

You can find her pieces on:

Instagram - @TillyandRoo
Facebook - Tilly and Roo
Etsy - www.etsy.com/shop/tillyandrooshop

Thank you for listening to this weeks episode!  If you enjoyed it please subscribe and leave me a review :) 

@sophiedonald_pt