Julie Fontes got tired of drinking one day so she just decided to stop. No programs, no rehab, just "uh yeah, I'll have a Diet Coke from now on." What do you do when you've taken what should be a minor behavioral modification and watched your entire community lose their minds over it? You write a book, of course. "Like A Normal Person" is Julie's debut novel where she describes a normal year of not drinking in a world that doesn't think that's so normal.

Amira Nystrom is literally a miracle. At 21yo, she went into brain surgery being told by her doctor that nobody had ever survived that particular procedure. Her chances of making it through the surgery and NOT becoming a vegetable were less than 1%. Of course, she made it. She then seemingly cured her chronic Crohn's Disease by simply deciding she didn't want it anymore and living her life in that manner. Then, without qualifications, experience or training, she started an Epic Adventure business and a hypnotherapy practice which are both thriving more than a decade later. On second thought, she's either a miracle or from another planet. Regardless, check out the latest episode of Middle Age Mess or find Amira at www.epicmauihikes.com.

Arias Webster Berry did not exactly grow up on the mean streets since he spent much of his childhood in San Diego, California; however, to do so when both parents are incarcerated for a good portion of your youth ain't so easy. He managed to get through, mending ties with both parents over time and then migrated into the music business producing events with such stars as Janelle Monae, Ludacris and Common before starting his own multi-million dollar marketing company which continues to expand throughout the country.

Nicky Billou advertises himself as the World's Greatest Podcast Guest. While you could say I was "somewhat" skeptical, you know what?, he just might be. Nicky grew up in Iran, persecuted as a Christian, before his family moved to Canada. After experiencing prejudice due to his background (although let's be honest, these were Canadians so they were probably super nice about it), Nicky embarked on a successful corporate career before founding a company and writing best-selling books on Thought Leadership and Business Consulting. We talked for about 40 minutes and never even got to his business as his fascinating background and stories were too interesting to pass up. Check him out at www.thethoughtleaderrevolution.com

Jim Flynn thought being old was gonna be tough, even before he had brain surgery. Then he stumbled onto Jeopardy, blew the game on the final question, wrote 8 books, discovered his lifelong passion and, what d'ya know, senior citizendom turned out not to be so bad after all. Jim reflects back on a crazy journey from humdrum corporate careerist to 8-time novelist, which all started when he decided to write an article about his brief stint on the legendary daytime game show, Jeopardy, and his run-in with Alex Trebeck.

Nisha Srivastava is one of the most uplifting, inspiring people we've had on Middle Age Mess. A 32-year practitioner of Pilates, a Holistic Lifestyle Coach and the owner of one of the first Pilates studios in the UK, Nisha uses transformative wellness insights to challenge the conventional health care system. Nisha has worked with Sting, Cirque du Soleil and Belinda Carlisle to name just a few and, after listening to her for 30 minutes, we guarantee you're going to call up your local Pilates studio to sign up for a few sessions.

Chris Abdey is a Procrastination Coach. I didn't know what a procrastination coach was until I met Chris so don't feel bad if you didn't either. Plus, Chris is Canadian so he's too nice to make me feel bad about my obvious ignorance. However, regardless of what I knew beforehand, at the end of our episode, I was pretty much ready to hire him to fix my life and the lives of everybody around me. So it might be worth 35 minutes of your time, too. You can find Chris at www.procrastinationstation.ca.

Jeff Hardy is not a doctor or a medical professional in any respect. But somehow, he figured out how to build hospitals all over the globe, some in the world's most neediest places. Springing out of his experience in the Vietnam War, he has focused the last 50 years on improving the world's health care system, both now and in the future. Along the way, he created a non-profit organization dedicated to providing medical care to the most underserved populations ever seen. Check him out at www.careforpeace.org or on this week's episode of Middle Age Mess.

As a podcaster, you occasionally get to talk about what's going on in your mind and, since October 7, 2023, I've spent much time thinking about the world's perception of Israel and Jews after the horrific Hamas terrorist attack that killed 1,200 people on that date. So, I invited my Israeli friend, Giddon Barad, on the show to discuss our thoughts and feelings regarding the manner in which Israel and Jews in general have been treated throughout the world over the past year.

Kelly Bonanno grew up in the Entertainment Capital of the World and, erego, she decided to get into the Entertainment Industry. When that got old and boring, though, she moved into a much more exciting field: Dating!!! Kelly is a Matchmaker and Dating Coach based in Southern California who believes that, if you do it right, you should never have a bad date again. Check her out at www.kellybonannon.com and https://datingwithkelly.com and, if you've got the courage, sign up for one of her dating retreats where, hopefully, she can figure out why you're so lonely!