There are some conversations we don’t avoid because they aren’t important—we avoid them because they’re too important. Too personal. Too revealing. Too likely to crack the “I’m fine” mask right off our face. In this episode of The Courage Coalition, I brought back repeat guest Erika Rothenberger a woman who doesn’t just walk into rooms with energy, but with truth. When I asked her what we need to start talking about more in 2026, her answer wasn’t polished. It was a hell yes. Because the conversations that change people aren’t always “safe.” They’re the ones we’ve labeled PG-13: hormones, perimenopause, midlife awakening, money without shame, divorce, addiction, miscarriage, assault real life punches that so many carry quietly, thinking they’re the only one.

What made this conversation hit deeper wasn’t just the topics it was the thread running through all of them: control, belonging, and the cost of silence. Erika shares what it was like growing up with alcoholism inside a home that looked “successful” from the outside, and how those early beliefs wire us to walk on eggshells, perform for safety, and achieve as a coping mechanism. We also talk about eating disorders through a lens that most people miss: not vanity, but nervous-system survival. When life feels out of control, the body will reach for one thing it can manage food, movement, restriction, numbing. And as someone who fostered for 15 years, I’ve seen that same survival strategy in children who had nothing else they could control. This is the part the world doesn’t understand: behavior is often a language of unmet needs. Most of the time, it’s not about the surface issue at all it’s about longing to feel safe, seen, and accepted.

And then the conversation takes a turn into something that reshapes you: Erika’s brutal assault and what she did with her pain afterward. She didn’t just “get through it.” She used it to fight for change, working to shift legislation in Pennsylvania around strangulation laws. That is the definition of audacity: not letting trauma define your legacy, but letting it refine your purpose. If you’re listening and you feel that quiet knowing—there’s more for me—I want you to hear this clearly: you are not behind, you are not too late, and you are not alone. Start where you are. Make your own “audacious badass list.” Collect your evidence. Because courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s the decision to move anyway… and to stop pretending you’re fine when you were made for more.

To get Erika's new book Audacious Expansion click here: https://a.co/d/eQi2JNr

To find out more about Erika and her Audacious movement click here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/erikalearothenberger/

Contact Corree about a podcast question or conversation here: [email protected]

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To find out more about Corree and learn about all the ways she does not choose to stay in one lane go here: https://correeroofener.com/

Are you ready to walk with us for https:/https://fosteringthesummit.org Join us as we change the statistics for children aging out of foster care.

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Until next time, keep shining bright!

- Corree