So...What Else?

Melanie Shankle is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and co-host of The Big Boo podcast. Known for blending humor with heartfelt honesty, Melanie has built a career on finding the holy in the everyday and inviting others to do the same.

Melanie opens up about her deeply complicated relationship with her mother and the ripple effects that shaped her own story. She shares how she had to confront her trauma head-on, not just to heal herself, but to become the steady, loving mother her daughter needed.

We also talk about walking with her daughter Caroline through the emotionally challenging times of high school, and what it looks like to parent with empathy.

Here Be Dragons: https://amzn.to/4a7UV3c

Melanie’s Website: https://thebigmamablog.com/

Follow Melanie on Instagram → @melanieshankle

Follow SWE on Instagram → @so.what.else

Follow Kaitlin on Instagram → @kaitlingraceelliott

https://www.kaitlinelliott.com/

The flu has officially taken down the entire Carpenter household, which means this week you’re blessed with the presence of youngest Chicola sister and Lorax fashion icon, Caroline. The topic of conversation? Food, food, and more food, followed by an interpretive children's book reading by Caroline. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Follow SWE on Instagram → @so.what.else 

Follow Kaitlin on Instagram → @kaitlingraceelliott 

https://www.kaitlinelliott.com/

Amy Duggar King is an author, entrepreneur, and television personality from TLC's 19 Kids and Counting. She grew up side-by-side with the Duggars, spent years inside the world the public only saw on TV, and has since become a bold advocate for healing, truth-telling, and breaking generational cycles.

We dive into Amy's book, Holy Disruptor, where she reveals the secrets, manipulation, and gaslighting she endured inside the Duggar world and in her own home. She talks honestly about being labeled “Crazy Cousin Amy,” the trauma she carried off-camera, and what it took to finally step into freedom.

Amy opens up about her relationship with her grandfather, an emotionally abusive father, and what life was really like on the show. She shares what it was like to live through the fallout of her cousin Josh’s scandals and arrest, the pressure to stay silent, and the cost of finally using her own voice.

Most powerfully, Amy shares how she has held onto Jesus through everything. How she rebuilt her faith after being hurt by Christians, and why disrupting deception can be a deeply holy act.

Holy Disruptor: https://amzn.to/48eynwu

Follow Amy on Instagram → @amyrachelleking

Follow SWE on Instagram → @so.what.else 

Follow Kaitlin on Instagram → @kaitlingraceelliott 

https://www.kaitlinelliott.com/

Scott is sick...yet again. Life in Panther Valley? A nightmare. Last week we lost power. This week we lost water. Thankfully, Scott's inner doomsday prepper finally pays off.

A mail truck spontaneously combusts, but don't worry...the mail was saved. Kaitlin becomes the unhinged soccer parent she always dumps on. Caroline's unconventional Halloween costumes.

Air traffic control to Major Tom. Emily receives a special gift. Matt and Scott bring down the vibes with terrible ways to die. 

PHILADELPHIAAAAA

https://tallowandtea.com/

Follow SWE on Instagram → @so.what.else 

Follow Kaitlin on Instagram → @kaitlingraceelliott 

https://www.kaitlinelliott.com/

Niki Hardy is a writer and speaker, and if you’ve ever wrestled with doubt, disappointment, or the feeling that God didn’t show up in the way you hoped, this conversation is for you.

Niki has studyied at Oxford, moved from England to North Carolina to plant a church, lead mission trips, and authored multiple books including Breathe Again, One Minute Prayers for Women with Cancer, and her latest God, Can We Chat? But the deepest lessons she’s learned came from clinging to Jesus when everything seemed upside down.

We talk about why your doubts don’t have to be the executioner of your faith, and why deconstruction doesn’t have to lead to deconversion. Niki shares how God actually welcomes our honest questions, why we don’t have to pretend we’re “fine,” and what to do when you feel like God has failed you. She also teaches a simple framework for having real, honest conversations with God: how to CHAT with Him in a way that brings connection instead of shame.

You don’t have to have it all figured out to belong. God meets us in the questions.

Watch HERE on Youtube! 

Niki’s Website

God, Can We Chat?

Follow Jamie on insta → @niki.hardy

Follow SWE on Instagram → @so.what.else 

Follow Kaitlin on Instagram → @kaitlingraceelliott 

SWE Website

Kaitlin's hairdresser declares her best hair to blowout. Emily discovers she is severly under-tipping her hairdresser. Kaitlin lives her best Halloween life, without the rest of her family. Scott manages to receive death threats and make lifelong friendships on Facebook Marketplace. A discussion on marital duty imbalance. Beef tallow may have the power to turn trees into seeds. Kaitlin believes she’s finally won a parenting battle...turns out there was a secret hero.

Follow SWE on Insta → @so.what.else 

Follow Kaitlin on Insta → @kaitlingraceelliott 

SWE Website

Jamie Erickson is an author, speaker, podcaster, and the voice behind The Unlikely Homeschool and Mom to Mom Podcast. Jamie joins us to talk about her brand-new book Overwhelmed Mom: Quiet the Chaos, Mind What Matters, and Enjoy Your Life Again.

We unpack the two types of moms our culture celebrates, how overwhelm can sometimes be a choice, and why the way we narrate our lives matters more than we think. Jamie shares how to actually live in the season you’re in, practical steps to feel less overwhelmed today, and how to rediscover joy right where you are.

If your brain feels like it consistently has 87 tabs open, this conversation is your permission to slow down, refocus, and breathe again.

Jamie’s Website

Overwhelmed Mom

Follow Jamie on Instagram → @unlikely_homeschool

Follow SWE on Instagram → @so.what.else 

Follow Kaitlin on Instagram → @kaitlingraceelliott 

SWE Website

Baby Norah makes her video podcast debut. The power of athlete’s foot (cream). The Nick Cannon saga continues. Introducing….Frantic-Fall-Kaitlin: she goes head-to-head with unhinged little league soccer parents; ruins a perfectly good game of frisbee golf; and barely survives a 20-minute power outage with Emily. And apparently, she was a “captain” of her softball team?

Follow SWE on Insta → @so.what.else 

Follow Kaitlin on Insta → @kaitlingraceelliott 

SWE Website

Caroline Shankle is an author, speaker, and student at Texas A&M University pursuing a Master’s degree in Agriculture. Her debut devotional, The Lion and the Bearl launches tomorrow (October 14th)! Written for teen girls, this 100-day guide helps readers face their giants with courage, faith, and perspective.

Caroline shares the story behind the book’s powerful message—how her dad would remind her, during friendship fallouts or heartbreak, that David fought lions and bears before he ever faced Goliath. Every hardship prepares you for what’s next, and Caroline’s words are an inspiring reminder that nothing we go through is wasted.

It’s an encouraging and heartfelt conversation about faith, purpose, and learning to see your current battles as the training ground for future victories.

Caroline’s Website

Caroline’s Book → The Lion and the Bear

Follow Caroline on Instagram → @carolineshankle 

Follow SWE on Instagram → @so.what.else 

Follow Kaitlin on Instagram → @kaitlingraceelliott 

SWE Website

It's a Chicola sisters episooooddeeeeeeee! Gilmore Girls. Sea creatures. National Daughter's Day. Prehistoric creatures. Jayce and Emerson's failed sleepover at Caroline's. Aliens. Emily's hair journey. More creatures. It's everything you would expect. 

Follow SWE on Insta → @so.what.else