In this episode my guest and longtime friend, Tara, and I explore the narrative many women know too well - long marriage, children, financial dependence, and the ground shifting beneath us through divorce. 

Now a marriage and family counselor, Tara regularly gets an up-close look at the systems that surround families and how, for our purposes, they affect women - systems like the church, the family system, the legal system, and the broader system of culture and community.  

These systems are powerful. They can change a crisis into a transition, despair into hope, and a barrier into an opportunity. 

After listening to this episode, you might wonder how the systems around you have affected your life.  Personally, I think many of the systems surrounding me need improvement.  One of the ways I’m setting out to do just that is through this podcast.  

If after listening to this episode you feel empowered to confront or support the systems around you that are or are not working, send it to another woman you care about.  Women will change the world for women.

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In this episode with Tina and Melody we explore the often-unseen work of hospital navigators — the people who help patients struggling with alcohol or drug addiction navigate complex healthcare systems with clarity, support, and most importantly, dignity.

That moment of crisis is often a rock bottom moment - which in the world of addiction, is actually one of the most transformative moments of a person’s life.  It’s critical they be met with care and compassion.  So what better person to help them navigate next steps than someone who has been exactly where they are?  

In this conversation, Tina and Melody share their personal experiences of how they navigated through their own rock moments, and how those moments changed the course of their lives forever.

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At 19, Sherri was homeless with two young children, and over the next several years, she experienced what far too many women do - abuse.  Physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, and mental abuse became her norm.  How does a woman escape this nightmare?  How does she find it within herself to believe this does not have to be her life?  She can start by telling herself what Sherri’s friend told her:

“What I think and how I feel is important and deserves a voice.”

In this episode, Sherri and I have a raw, honest conversation about broken systems and broken people, and how women can find hope, healing, and the life of their dreams simply by finding their own voice.

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The bond between women is different than the bond between men and women.  They're both special.  But there's just something about having a woman in your life that walks with you through everything and who you know will always be there for you.  Tiffany is that woman for me.  We met during a tough time in my life and she had just come through her own tough time.  She gave me hope, put up with my shenanigans, and just stuck with me.  I'll never take that for granted.  

Women in midlife are simply the best.  We're in our "F.Era" - the freedom era, the "I don't give a f*#@" era, the fantastic, fabulous and fearless era.  I'm 41 and I hear the 50s and 60s are even better.  Don't you just love aging?

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Matty and I met just weeks after she left tent city - an encampment in a usually wooded area in which the unhoused lived.  Not long after Matty and I met, she took me to the encampment to meet the people she left behind.  We took them propane heaters and food.  It was exactly what you would imagine - dirty, smelly, and depressing.

In this episode, Matty takes us right into the heart of her story - almost entirely built of trauma after trauma after trauma.  And yet here she is, alive.  Her refusal to give up inspires me and I hope it will inspire you too.

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The child welfare system refers to the entire network of laws, agencies, professionals, and programs designed to protect children’s safety, ensure their well-being, and support families.  At the heart of that system are social workers.  They are in the trenches and on the front lines of the fight for children and families.  They deserve medals of honor.

In this episode, Leanne and Olivia, both with experience in the field of social work, help us understand the interconnectedness of it all.  

To learn more about becoming a foster parent in Tennessee, click the link below:

To report child abuse, call 877-237-0004.   

Have you ever felt extra "aware"?  Like you're in your head a lot and like you see beneath the surface of everything?  Do you feel different than most of the people around you?  And do you feel lonely because of that?  

In this episode, Sam and I take a deep dive into what it's like to be a neurodivergent woman and how her upbringing and an extra dose of awareness has led her to be both a community activist AND a diplomat. 

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The U.S. has the highest female imprisonment rate in the world, with roughly 200,000 women incarcerated.  Up to 90% of those women are survivors of physical or sexual violence, and many incarcerated for violent crimes acted against abusive partners.

In this episode, Lakeisha gives us an inside look into her experience in a women's prison and how spending 8 years incarcerated lit a fire in her to help women embrace healing, restoration, and renewal.  Her entrepreneurial spirit, hard work ethic, determination, and commitment to God inspire me to be a better woman and to never quit.  

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Have you ever wondered what it's like to share an open toilet in a jail cell with another person? Spoiler alert - it's not great. In this episode, Destani takes us into the jail she spent most of her time incarcerated in. Destani and I met after she earned her way out of her cell and into the program pod. I was teaching a parenting program at the time and she passed with flying colors.

In this episode, we explore what it's really like in jail, why women are the best at caring for other women, and how to never give up.