What if you stopped living the life you “should” and followed your inner voice instead? In this episode of The Feisty Heroine Podcast, Rachel Beck talks with Joanna, a 41-year-old licensed marriage & family therapist from San Francisco, who is choosing reinvention: an open-ended journey abroad with her dog, a Lisbon-to-Budapest road trip, and a plan to claim EU citizenship through Hungarian ancestry.

Joanna opens up about moving from people-pleasing and perfectionism to treating change as an experiment—and why feeling “stuck” is often valuable information, not failure. Together we explore how societal expectations (and the patriarchy’s quiet pressures) shape women’s choices around work, relationships, and timelines—and how solo travel, community, and listening to your hungers can catalyze personal growth and better mental health.

You’ll hear:

• How to honor your inner voice without having every step figured out

• Tiny next steps to get unstuck (before jumping to the “how”)

• Why reinvention is a superpower at any age

• Cultural contrasts (US vs. Europe) that expand what’s possible

• Practical truth: “You get to make mistakes, too.”

Feisty reminder: Your timeline is yours alone. Ask, “What am I longing for?”—and let that answer lead.

(Keywords: self-discovery, societal expectations, women empowerment, mental health, travel, reinvention, relationships, cultural differences, inner voice, personal growth)