The Release Podcast

The problem for Samantha Boss wasn’t getting divorced; it was surviving the post-divorce abuse so many suffer when leaving a narcissistic ex (in her case the ex was diagnosed), or even just a deliberately cruel person. Many of us can relate.

Her four year long divorce complete with 300 court filings was just the beginning, and Sam has been through it all. Now together with her grown children she shares the hard won, no nonsense lessons she wishes she’d known, through her podcast, guidebooks and coaching services. Whether its the parenting plan, mediation prep, or her parental alienation response guide, Sam has your back. Because she was the only one who had her own. 

Does the hobbling of every marriage follow a similar path? Can one spouse themselves manage to change the tide? Is every marriage actually worth saving?

Neeki Motabar is an influencer known as "the baddest b in the building," a powerlifter, A recovering shy girl, and the author of "How To Hack The Patriarchy."

Where does your confidence really come from?

Have you ever taken the time to consider the small parts of you that are not so confident and what you could do to make yourself feel better in those dark corners? Simone Knego has. She's a keynote speaker, an author, and a podcast host who tries to encourage people to lead with purpose and live without limits. Her focus is on building what she calls unshakable confidence from the inside out. Simone helps high achieving women build as she says, real confidence, from the kitchen table to the boardroom, by allowing them the space to really query what it is that's happened to them, who it is they become as a result, how they got where they are now, and what it is they're still afraid to look back over their shoulder and make peace with.

Because until you look back at the past, can you really make peace with who you are to be able to move freely, totally confidently forward? I think not.

What would possess a person to choose to put themselves in the middle of the maelstrom of stress that is modern divorce negotiation, on a daily basis?

Joe is a former board member of the Chicago chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators, the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA), the Academy of Professional Family Mediators, the NY State Council on Divorce Mediation, and the Washington Mediation Association. And he’s got some hard won advice that anybody even contemplating divorce should consider.

They say that divorce is an earthquake for the people leaving a marriage, but a chronic condition for the children who have to survive it…but in truth that’s only if at least one parent refuses to fix their mindset and prioritize the children. Sadly, for many healthy folks, their coparents can’t keep their side of the street clean. From mockery to outright mental and physical abuse, what they inflicted on you while married will likely be visited upon the children during their time with that parent as well, and that’s a painful surprise for many.

So what can a protective parent do? 

Well, for one, listen to this week’s podccast with Dr. Christine Cocchiola, whose specialty is Coercive Control (also the topic of her viral TED talk) in relationships, post-separation abuse, the weaponization of the family court system by abusive parents, and most importantly…the best strategies for protecting our kids. More people than ever are opting out now of abusive marriages, and awakening to the tactics being used to punish them and their children, often for years after the leave. Dr. Cocchiola knows all too well after 3 decades as a domestic violence counselor and a survivor of a 27 year toxic relationship & marriage as well, that there is hope. If you can get into the right mindset, and get clear on the coercive control as a consistent pattern in the abuser’s playbook…there is always always hope.

Divorce may be an earthquake….but high-conflict coparenting can feel like a marathon (without water through a jungle that is sometimes on fire), not a sprint. And few people are working as hard to refocus coparenting on the children, than Michelle Dempsey.

Have you ever considered how satisfying it would be to climb one, two, or even seven of the tallest peaks on Earth? Sam Sidiqi has, and he has the distinction of being the very first Afghan in the world to summit both Mount Everest and Mount Denali. On today's podcast, we're talking about what it is that drives somebody to put themselves through pre-acclimatization, oxygen deprivation, months of training and up to two months away from their family to cross that item off their bucket list.

What is at the root of the shift in giving? Beyond Melinda Gates and Mackenzie Scott, the numbers of women in philanthropy are soaring. And it might not be for the reasons you think.

Nancy Griffin has learned a few things about the ways of women's minds...when they set their minds to giving. Her company, Women Worth & Wellness (and the related seminar series) grew out of a career as a wealth advisor where she was led after a successful early stint at Proctor & Gamble, when women weren't exactly commonplace in the boardroom.

Why does it take most of us most of our lives to figure out that the hiding and shrinking was the opposite of the point? That we are here to love whomever we were created to be, guts and insecurities and all? 

Alexandria Ott is swimming through that realization, and is very ready to share her journey, almost in real time. Alexandria cofounded The Blank Table underground dinner series, speaks widely about the power of authenticity both during keynotes and on her podcast, and was also founder of Chrome City Creative Studio, a trailblazing, all-women team specializing in unforgettable experiences for brands in hospitality, design, and the arts.

Today we’re deep-diving into what she learned about truth, healing, the importance of tenderness…when life forced her to crack her own world wide open. And she’s so much better off for it. From where I’m sitting...all I can say is SAME.