In this episode of The Well-Tended Life podcast, I sit down with Deb Miller—author, professor, grandmother, and truth-teller—for an honest and inspiring conversation about rewriting the stories we’ve been handed and daring to create a new kind of happily ever after.

Deb’s memoir Forget the Fairytale is both a personal journey and a call to women everywhere to release outdated scripts about who we should be, what a “good girl” does, and where our worth comes from. Through her own experiences of heartbreak, resilience, reinvention, and joy, she shows us how forgetting the fairytale can actually be the beginning of living more freely, authentically, and happily.

We talk about the cultural conditioning that keeps women small, the power of claiming our own stories, and how even Disney princesses have evolved from damsels in distress to warriors of their own destiny. Deb also shares the tender wisdom of her daughter’s words, her reflections on motherhood and career pivots, and why choosing happiness is not only possible but powerful.

Whether you’re navigating divorce, reinvention, or simply ready to stop living by someone else’s rules, this conversation will stir your courage, spark your imagination, and remind you that it’s never too late to write a new story.

✨ Here are a few Heart Taps from this episode:

1️⃣ Fairytales reflect culture—but they don’t have to define your life. You can change the story and the ending.

2️⃣ Happiness isn’t about circumstances—it’s about the choices we make every day.

3️⃣ Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is show your kids (and yourself) what strength looks like.

4️⃣ Transformation often starts with a moment—whether it feels like a slap in the face or an unexpected epiphany.

5️⃣ Forgetting the fairytale doesn’t mean giving up hope; it means creating your own version of happily ever after.

🌸 So grab your journal and settle in—this is a conversation about courage, freedom, and finding joy in the story you choose to tell.

CONNECT WITH DEB HERE: 

https://forgetthefairytale.net/

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