If you're a childfree person who's been told "You'll die alone!" buckle up because Kat Vellos and I are about to reveal the secret to living a life surrounded by people who love and care about you -- friends!

I had an amazing conversation with Kat, a friendship expert and author of the book, We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships.

You can read Kat's writing in over 100 countries and she’s been interviewed by The New York Times, NPR, Communication Arts, The Good Life Project, and many more. Sign up for my Substack Newsletter to get new Spinster Life Podcast episodes, including my full conversation with Kat, delivered directly to your inbox

Here's how to connect with Kat:

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Get Kat's book! We Should Get Together is the handbook for anyone (childfree or not) who’s ready for better friendships, yesterday. It’s the perfect book for anyone who wants to have dedicated, life-enriching friends, and who wants to be that kind of friend, too.

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The holidays are tough, but especially for single people. Too much family togetherness and too many questions into your personal life can instill dread in the heart of even the staunchest singelton. So how can you get through it? I asked solo life expert Mary Delia Allen for her hot take on self-care during the holiday season.

Here's Mary Delia

If you’re a visual person, you can check out this video on YouTube:

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Happy Single Holidays! And I don’t mean eating a Swanson turkey TV dinner by yourself on Thanksgiving. I’m talking about the two international holidays in November celebrating singleness in their own unique institutional way, St.Catherine's Day, and Singles Day 11/11. So let’s contrast and compare the two and examine how they’re both great and problematic in different ways.

You can watch the full video on YouTube:

More hat videos:

Stephen Jones Video

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I’m not a big Halloween person, but one gruesome thing I enjoy year-round is true crime stories. First, who doesn’t love a mystery? And second, stories of murdering husbands reveal the not-so-sunny side of marriage and one of the upsides of staying single. True crime stories also help me feel safer, revealing troubling patterns of behavior to watch for in any situation.

Betty and Glen Wolsieffer were an All-American couple living in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Until Betty was found dead on their bedroom floor on August 30, 1986, and Glen's story of a masked intruder started to fall apart. Learn how ladders, dew, and infidelity at the Red Roof Inn ended in the gruesome demise of a housewife as I create art and tell you the story of the shocking privilege of the cheating dentist.

You can watch the video version on YouTube, or check out the finished artwork on Instagram.

Sources:

Forensic Files Episode

Handsome Devils Episode

Forensic Files Now Blog Post

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What do you think when I say hormones? You probably think about the symptoms of PMS like mood swings and bloating, and you probably think of estrogen. But hormones are so much more. These complex chemical reactions inside our body not only bring on changes like puberty or menopause, but play a crucial role in helping us sleep, regulating our moods, and just..keeping us alive. That’s right, hormones aren’t just sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone, hormones are involved in every body process necessary for life. 

So reducing menopause to an estrogen issue ignores all the other pieces of the puzzle, all the other hormones that play a role in the aging process, and doesn’t do anything to help understand what’s going on inside your body. 

Let’s get educated about hormones with Moyra Gorski as our guide. She loves educating women about their bodies and helping them make changes to feel better and get the life they want. 

Here’s Moyra:Website

Journal to Joy

Moyra’s 8 Tips to Aging Well

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Moyra is also my special guest on YouTube this week. Check it out here:

**post updated 10/6/23**No discussion of cat ladies would be complete without discussing how the crazy got into the cat lady stereotype in the first place, and, how hard it is to remove it today. Even for cat ladies themselves! Today I’m talking to Lucy Meggeson, host of The Spinsterhood Reimagined Podcast, and Haley Shapley, Author of Strong Like Her, to continue our conversation about cat ladies.

Haley shared some fascinating facts about how images of cats were used to discredit women fighting for the right to vote. In the eyes of the anti-sufferage movement, cats were useless, silly, feminine beings who belonged in the home, who needed the safety of the domestic sphere, and who didn’t deserve to be seen and heard. Just like human women. Here are some of the memes:

This last image actually tells the fascinating story of how government tried to silence suffragists and the cruel game of cat and mouse they played with suffragettes (the name for suffragists in the UK.)

Read more about the history of anti-sufferage memes:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-bizarre-history-of-anti-suffrage-cat-memes_n_5818f36ce4b00f11fc5c38b5

https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2013/12/04/the-feminization-of-the-cat-in-anti-suffrage-propaganda/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/teaching-justice-anti-suffrage-postcards.htm

https://aphrabookclub.com/post/crazy-cat-lady-the-history-of-cat-memes-rooted-in-feminist-history/

Here’s Lucy Meggeson:

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Lucy’s Last Appearance on The Spinster Life Podcast

Here’s Haley Shapley:

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Strong Like Her

Haley’s Last Appearance on The Spinster Life Podcast

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Diane Keaton is an American treasure who just keeps on giving. From her memorable film roles in Annie Hall, The Godfather, First Wives Club, Somethings Got To Give, Book Club, and many more, to her strong Instagram game, to her iconic fashion sense, Keaton is a walking advertisement for staying single and thriving.

In today’s episode, I’m taking a deep dive into what makes Diane Keaton’s memorable personal style so powerful. And, I’m going into my own closet to recreate some of Keaton’s most memorable signature outfits to help me find my spinster style. Follow Diane Keaton on Instagram, you won’t regret it. And if you have a Diane Keaton-inspired look you’d like to share, tag @livingthespinsterlife on Instagram!My previous video about women and pantsSpinster Life Podcast Episode About Coco Chanel

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Michele Wispelwey is back! As the founder of Femgevity, a digital telehealth platform for women, Michele channels her experience in the healthcare industry to help women fight back against the traditional ways doctors have health with women as they age. She’s on a mission to extend women’s health spans and prevent the side effects holding them back from enjoying their golden years.

Most doctors don’t know ANYTHING about menopause, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have the medical technology to make menopause a less uncomfortable and potentially dangerous time in a woman’s life. Michele dishes the facts about menopause and how it can be the best part of the rest of your life.

Resources

Find a Menopause specialist on the NAMS website

Here’s Michele

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It’s time to check back in with three of my favorite cat ladies to discuss the cats vs kids debate. Are cats just a substitute for kids? Or, do people, single, married, divorced, etc, have cats because they like cats and get value from their lives because

Let’s find out!

I’m so pleased to welcome Leysan, Lucy, and Haley back to the podcast to talk about pets, children, and the different ways we all show our pets we care.

Here’s Leysan Khabibullina:

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Leysan’s Last Appearance on The Spinster Life Podcast

Here’s Lucy Meggeson:

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Lucy’s Last Appearance on The Spinster Life Podcast

Here’s Haley Shapley:

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Strong Like Her

Haley’s Last Appearance on The Spinster Life Podcast

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Natalie Bevans is a master esthetician who has been helping women feel beautiful in their own skin for 20 years. Today she’s joining me to get real about aging and to tear down some of our assumptions about being less beautiful the older we get. It’s easy to get caught in the trap of comparing ourselves to other women and feeling like you come up short in comparison. Natalie has some tips for you on how to help your skin stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible and how we can all adjust our thinking around what beautiful skin looks like.

Here’s Natalie

IG @thefortembeauty

Natalie Teaches You 10 Simple Steps to Create Glowing Skin - Free Download!

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My Latest YouTube Video About Aging