Today's conversation with attorney and certified divorce mediator David Fein makes the case that mediation isn't reserved for couples who still get along — it's for anyone who'd rather shape their own agreement than let a judge take the simplest way out. And what you decide in mediation isn't permanent: it's a living document you can renegotiate as your family changes.

In this episode:

• Why you don't have to like your ex — or even agree with them — for mediation to work
• Why a mediator isn't a judge — he/she can't rule or force an outcome, and why that changes what's possible in the room
• How aligning on a goal more specific than "I want the kids to be okay" sets a custody mediation up for success
• What happens to the house — why mediation can get creative in a high interest rate environment, and why litigation tends to end in "sell it and split the proceeds"
• The parenting schedule his own kids asked him to change — and why he now tells clients their divorce agreement is "a living document"

About David Fein:

David Fein is an attorney, certified divorce mediator, and the founder of Fein Legal Solutions, LLC, where he specializes in child-centric family mediation for clients across Illinois. His path to family law wasn't a traditional one — he spent more than 30 years in corporate leadership, energy policy, and high-stakes regulatory advocacy before moving into mediation, and he brings that same structured approach to negotiation to families trying to avoid the adversarial court system. He holds a Juris Doctorate from DePaul University College of Law, a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a Certificate in Divorce Mediation from Northwestern University. Having been through his own divorce and built a co-parenting relationship with the mother of his three kids, he helps families restructure their futures with dignity, clarity, and peace of mind.

Learn more about Fein Legal Solutions: www.feinlegalsolutions.com

Book a call with David: https://calendly.com/fein-legal/schedule-1-1-with-david

Call David directly: (312) 446-2882 — he answers his own phone!

Follow David on Instagram: @feindavid312

Connect with Fein Legal Solutions on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fein-legal-solutions-llc-dba-the-law-office-of-david-fein/

Episode-Specific Notes:

Mediation rules and divorce laws vary by state. This conversation references Illinois, where David practices, along with California as a point of contrast — including how a mediated agreement gets formalized and who is permitted to draft it. If you're considering mediation, confirm the requirements that apply where you live.

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.

This is a story about navigating a high-conflict divorce — and rebuilding your life at the same time. Claire Adamou left her home and moved into her sister's converted garage with her two young children. The night she hit rock bottom became the turning point where she took her power back. Claire shares how she stopped handing that power to her ex, why she started dating before her divorce was final, and what it really looks like to blend two families after divorce.

In this episode:

• How her rock bottom also became the turning point — from crying on the garage floor in front of her children to realizing no one would ever make her feel like that again
• Why she started dating before the divorce was final — and what she said to the people, including her own father, who questioned “what kind of a man dates a married woman?”
• "The car of truth" — the school-run ritual where her kids can say anything, and mum is never allowed to get angry
• Blending two families, four kids, and four different parenting styles — and why being rock solid as a couple has to come first
• Why you don't have to wait until the divorce is over to start rebuilding — and what she'd tell you to do tomorrow

About Claire Adamou:

Claire Adamou is a transformational coach, speaker, and leadership facilitator who helps women navigate life's biggest transitions with confidence, resilience, and purpose. When her own marriage ended, her identity shattered — and she had to rebuild all of it from the ground up: her confidence, her sense of self, her vision for the future. She wrote "Life After Divorce: From Surviving to Thriving" as the guide she wishes she'd had in those early days, so no woman has to walk it alone. She lives in the UK with her husband and the blended family they built together — her two children and his two.

Learn more at claireadamou.com

Follow Claire on Instagram: @claireadamou

Find her book: Life After Divorce: From Surviving to Thriving

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.

Elise Madrick had the high school sweetheart, the Chicago suburb, the literal white picket fence — and had spent 14 years quietly abandoning herself to keep it. Today's conversation with the reinvention coach traces what it actually takes to leave the life you were supposed to want and to rebuild as someone new.

In this episode:

• How one ordinary moment can make it clear a marriage is over — not because of one big thing, but the cumulation of “small nicks that become a gaping wound”
• “What part did you play in this?” — the question a coach asked mid-divorce that challenged Elise to put down the victim card and take 100% responsibility
• Deciding whether to make amends — Elise’s advice to consider whether it would benefit you, the other person, or the relationship, and whether that relationship is worth it
• The collateral damage of ending a marriage — why some friendships can’t come with you, and why learning to say “no” can be both challenging and necessary to move forward
• The “mushy middle” — why the hardest part of reinvention is the liminal space between where the old self is gone and the new one isn’t built yet

About Elise Madrick:

Elise Madrick is the founder and CEO of Cerené, where she works with people in the disorienting space between one chapter and the next — divorce, career change, retirement — to reinvent who they are and what they believe is possible. She began her career in clinical social work, and her background now spans behavioral science and ontological coaching alongside years leading and lecturing in executive education at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, where she built some of the institution’s highest-rated programs. Her work operates at the level of identity: the stories people carry about who they are, what they deserve, and what they believe is actually available to them. Through 1:1 coaching and immersive Cerené Experiences — with upcoming cohorts in Chicago and Portugal — she guides people ready to step beyond what they already know.

Learn more about Cerené: https://www.cerene.life/

Follow Cerené on Instagram: @cerene.life

Follow Elise on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisemadrick/

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.

Today's conversation with Sarah Armstrong — author of “The Mom's Guide to a Good Divorce” — unpacks what actually makes a divorce a "good" one: not luck, and not a quiet settlement, but something parents can quietly design, one deliberate child-centered choice at a time.

In this episode:

• What a "good divorce" really is — a phrase Sarah's seven-year-old daughter Grace coined — and why it's a posture you choose, not luck you're handed
• Why you can only ever control your own reactions, never your co-parent's — and how a "compartmentalization muscle" keeps kids out of the emotional crossfire
• The "professional traveler" reframe — how stocking the basics at both homes meant Grace never had to pack a bag between two households
• Why a "good divorce" isn't about you — and yet how protecting your kids and rebuilding your own life, through the "year of firsts," turn out to be the same work
• Where a "good divorce" meets the working-parent "juggling act" — why the newly single working mom's real move isn't doing it all, but preparing early, ditching the guilt, and learning to ask for help

About Sarah Armstrong:

Sarah Madden Armstrong is the author of “The Mom's Guide to a Good Divorce” — practical, bite-sized guidance on what to think through when children are involved — and, more recently, “The Art of the Juggling Act: A Bite-Sized Guide for Working Parents.” A leading proponent of the "good divorce," she has appeared on nearly 100 podcasts and in more than a dozen media outlets to help shift the perception of divorce — making the case that a good divorce isn't just possible, but something parents can design. By day, Sarah is Vice President of Global Marketing Operations at Google, following a career that included partnership at McKinsey & Co. and two decades in global marketing at The Coca-Cola Company. A Georgetown graduate and former scholarship volleyball player, she's the proud mom of Grace — now a college graduate — and lives in San Francisco.

Learn more about Sarah's books: momsguidetogooddivorce.com and thejugglingact.com

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: sarah-madden-armstrong

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.

In this solo episode, I'm celebrating my 41st birthday — which falls just two days before the 8th anniversary of my divorce. I reflect on a life that looks nothing like I once planned, and why this year I'm trading goal-setting and resolutions for presence, self-appreciation, and simply settling in.

In this episode:

• Why the timing of my birthday and divorce anniversary feels bigger this year — I'm coming up on almost as much time apart from my ex as we spent together
• The psychology of "temporal landmarks" and the “fresh start effect” — why birthdays, like New Year's and Mondays, pull us into reflection and reset
• Why I'm skipping the birthday goal-setting this year — trading the pressure to achieve for presence and settling in
• The Hoffman practice that pairs appreciation with gratitude — learning to appreciate myself, not just be grateful for the blessings in my life
• How my life at 41 looks different from what I expected and nothing like the one we were sold as millennials — and why so many friends my age feel that same disconnect
• The wish I'm making at 41 as I blow out my birthday candles — wanting an aligned partner, but choosing to love myself first instead of pinning my happiness on finding one

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.

Today's conversation with Nicole Marrè — women's empowerment coach and founder of Goddess Rewilding™ — traces her path out of a controlling marriage and into the work of helping women awaken to their wisest, wildest, and wholly feminine selves.

In this episode:

• How a controlling marriage kept Nicole in constant fight-or-flight — and the neuroscience that explains why willpower alone couldn't free her
• The night she heard a voice say "you deserve more than this" — and the year of EFT tapping and other spiritual practices that allowed her to reclaim her self-worth
• What "rewilding" really means — coming back to the fullest, wildest version of your feminine self after years of being contained
• Why the drive women are so often told is "too masculine" is really their feminine warrior-ess energy
• How to move rage through the body — drumming, screaming, burning letters — before it calcifies into resentment

About Nicole Marrè:

Nicole Marrè is a women's empowerment coach, certified somatic neuroscience guide, and founder of Goddess Rewilding™. She trained under one of the country's leading programs in feminine liberation and trauma-informed transformation, and now teaches her own feminine leadership program to women ready to reclaim their bodies, power, and identity after major life transitions — including divorce. A Certified Reiki Master Teacher and creator of SoulSensual Reiki™, she hosts international retreats, speaks, and leads ceremony for women rebuilding their lives on their own terms.

Learn more about Nicole's work: https://www.nikimarre.com/ (prior) or https://www.nicolemarre.com/ (new)

Follow Nicole on Instagram and TikTok: @nicole_rewild

Episode-Specific Notes:

The practices Nicole shares reflect her personal experience and coaching approach, not clinical treatment — please consult a licensed professional for mental health care specific to your situation.

Content note: This episode includes candid discussion of emotional hardship. If you or someone you know needs support, the National Domestic Violence Hotline offers free, confidential help 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233 (call) or text START to 88788.

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.

Today's conversation with matrimonial attorney Mia Poppe blends hard-won legal wisdom with her own divorce experience to show that surviving a custody battle is as much about steadying your mind as building your case.

In this episode:

• What "custody at issue" really means — and why mitigating the impact on your kids matters more than "winning"
• The documentation do's and don'ts — keep any journal at your attorney's direction, keep teachers and pediatricians out of the fight, and beware of what you post on social media
• What's actually discoverable — WhatsApp messages, ChatGPT searches, even a private handwritten journal — and why what feels private often isn't
• "Divorce psychosis" — how the pressure of a custody fight can distort judgment and why you need a "tribe" to walk you back from the ledge
• How her own custody litigation made Mia a fiercely empathetic advocate for her clients
• Detachment as daily practice — acknowledging, thanking, and releasing the emotions that don't serve you, so you move through custody without losing yourself

About Mia Poppe:

Mia Poppe, Esq. is a New York-based matrimonial attorney known for her work on complex custody cases, with offices in Midtown Manhattan and Westchester County. A South Carolina native and the granddaughter of a sharecropper, she brings pragmatism, honesty, and hard-won empathy to a practice shaped in part by her own experience of divorce. Before turning to law, she spent over a decade in leadership roles at Citicorp, GE Capital, and Bank of America — financial acumen she now pairs with legal strategy for her clients. She is also the author of two books, “The Empowered Woman's Guide” and “Un-Breaking Wonder Woman,” and is building MC2 Coaching Community, launching in 2026 to help women achieve whole-life success.

Learn more about Mia's practice: https://www.miapoppe.com/

Follow her on Instagram: @miapoppe.esq

Connect with Mia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miapoppe/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nylawsa

Episode-Specific Notes:

Listener offer: Mia is gifting a complimentary copy of her book “The Empowered Woman's Guide” to the first 25 listeners who request one by emailing [email protected].

Mia's comments in this episode reflect her general perspective on custody and family law, not personalized legal advice — laws vary by state, so please consult a qualified attorney about your specific situation.

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.

When her life came apart, Ally Fallon did the only thing she knew how: she wrote it down. This is the story of how losing everything taught her she was indestructible.

In this episode:

• The day everything became clear — how a discovery on her husband's iPad set off 48 hours of decisive action
• Why "you can be in love or in control, but not both" named what her marriage really was
• How confusion became the tell — the way she learned to recognize manipulation and trust her own body again
• Losing everything at once — marriage, business, faith, career — and the apartment-floor collapse that became fertile ground for rebuilding
• Why writing her memoir became a life raft — how putting the story on the page is what actually saved her
• The reframe that changed everything — a plot doesn't move until the hero acts, and how she wrote herself as its protagonist

About Allison Fallon:

Allison Fallon is an award winning author, accomplished ghostwriter, and expert writing coach. She has coached thousands of authors and aspiring authors to outline, compose, edit and publish their books. Her most recent book, "Write Your Story," helps everyday people turn their life experiences into stories that heal and inspire. She lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and two young kids.

Learn more at allisonfallon.com

Follow Allison on Instagram: @allyfallon

Allison's Books:

• "Packing Light: Thoughts on Living Life with Less Baggage"
• "Indestructible: Leveraging Your Broken Heart to Become a Force of Love and Change"
• "The Power of Writing It Down: A Simple Habit to Unlock Your Brain and Reimagine Your Life"
• "Write Your Story: A Simple Framework to Understand Yourself, Your Story, and Your Purpose in the World"

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.

You can always tell — but you can never untell. Today's conversation with therapist and author Oona Metz is a guide to talking about your divorce with intention: who to confide in while you're still deciding, how to tell the adults and kids in your life once you have, and how to signal it to the world without saying a word.

In this episode:

• Why the two most common mistakes are opposite extremes — telling everyone too much too soon and regretting it, or white-knuckling the whole thing alone
• How the calculus shifts once you've actually decided — and why telling someone while you're still contemplating is often really about admitting it to yourself
• Why you don't owe everyone the same story — the concentric-circles model for who gets the whole truth, who gets part of it, and who gets a practiced one-liner
• How to handle the responses that miss — including the nosy gossip fishing for details and the friend who trashes your ex
• What to actually say to your kids — the only two promises worth making, why the first conversation stays short, and how timing changes with a child's age
• The wordless ways you tell the world after divorce — removing your ring, changing your last name, and wiping your social media

About Oona Metz:

Oona Metz is the author of Unhitched: The Essential Divorce Guide for Women, which has been featured on CBS Mornings, in Time magazine, and on NPR's Morning Edition. A Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Certified Group Psychotherapist, and Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, she has 30 years of clinical experience and has spent the past 15 years specializing in treating women navigating divorce. Oona leads three weekly divorce support groups for women and is the founder of the Beacon Group Fellowship, which trains mental health professionals across the country to lead divorce groups.

Learn more at oonametz.com

Follow Oona on Instagram: @oonametz

Follow Women Navigating Divorce on Facebook: facebook.com/womennavigatingdivorce

Connect with Oona on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/oona-metz-licsw-cgp

Subscribe on YouTube: @OonaMetz

Read Oona on Substack: substack.com/@oonametz

Episode-Specific Notes:

This conversation offers general perspective on navigating divorce and is not personalized medical, mental health, or therapeutic advice. Please consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Resources mentioned: Oona Metz's essay on what to say when someone you love is getting divorced — "Congratulations or Condolences: What to Say When Your Friend Gets Divorced" (WBUR Cognoscenti).

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.

In this Dear Diary episode, I read back through the journals from a month I spent traveling France alone in 2017 — deep in the divorce contemplation season — and trace how a trip I took looking for answers became the one where I finally found myself.

In this episode:

• The Art Institute afternoon that started it all — how a Jackson Pollock and Monet's haystacks cracked open the difference between seeing life and truly observing it
• The mindset shift that changed the whole trip — treating every stranger as a teacher and every encounter as a clue worth paying attention to
• The couple married 50 years who helped me name the "emptiness" I'd been avoiding in my own marriage
• Giverny in the morning fog — the turning point where I stopped checking off a bucket list and let myself be fully present
• Arriving in Provence "like a drowned rat," then navigating buses alone — and discovering how capable and independent I really was
• The journal entry I wrote on the plane home — *"*she is not the same person… but changed" — and how I went looking for answers and found myself instead

Episode-Specific Notes:

Allison's Paris favorites mentioned in this episode:

• Chez Janou — Provençal bistro in the Marais: chezjanou.com
• Du Pain et des Idées — artisan boulangerie near the Canal Saint-Martin: dupainetdesidees.com
• Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris — legendary cocktail bar on Place Vendôme: ritzparis.com

Want more of Allison's Paris and France recommendations? DM @thedtalespodcast on Instagram to request the full list.

About "The D. Tales with Allison Kahler":

The D. Tales blends real divorce stories with grounded expert insight — helping you find clarity and courage to move forward on your own terms.

Follow The D. Tales wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow along on Instagram: @thedtalespodcast

Learn more at https://thedtalespodcast.com

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal, medical, mental health, or financial advice.