Amy Newmark is the bestselling author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series. Since 2008, she has published more than 170 new books, most of them national bestsellers in the U.S. and Canada. Amy loves to collect stories; she has travelled throughout Brazil’s impoverished northeast region, collecting stories from regular people. She is delighted to have come full circle in her writing career—from collecting stories “from the people” in Brazil as a twenty-year-old to, three decades later, collecting stories “from the people” for “Chicken Soup for the Soul”. Amy is also the author of “Simply Happy”, a crash course in Chicken Soup for the Soul advice and wisdom that is filled with easy-to-implement, practical tips for enjoying a better life. Find out more about Amy at www.amynewmark.com and about the popular book series at www.chickensoup.com. Check out https://copenotes.com/zestful for an innovative app that supports mental health. Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com

Donald Altman is a psychotherapist, international mindfulness expert, former Buddhist monk and award-winning author of over 15 books who has taught mindfulness to thousands of healthcare workers and others. He’s featured in “The Mindfulness Movie” and is profiled in the “Living Spiritual Teachers Project”. Learn more at https://mindfulpractices.com/. Check out https://copenotes.com/zestful for an innovative app that supports mental health. Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com.

Mollie McGlocklin is the creator of “Sleep Is A Skill”, a company that optimizes people’s sleep through a unique blend of technology, accountability, and behavioral change. The company was born from “scratching her own itch” after a lifetime of poor sleep habits culminated into a mega-challenging bout of insomnia for months without end. With a background in psychology & human behavior, she went down the rabbit hole to solve her sleep disturbances without sleeping aids. She became fascinated with chronobiology, and by extension, its practical applications to restore a state of homeostasis not only to her sleep but also to her life as a whole. Knowing the difference between a life with sleep and without, she’s now dedicated her life to sharing the forgotten skill set of sleep. Find out more at sleepisaskill.com. Check out https://copenotes.com/zestful for an innovative app that supports mental health. Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com.

Since 2016, Dr. Noelle Nelson, who is the author of “Happy Healthy…Dead”, has been posting stories about older folks (she calls them Amazings) on a Facebook page "Meet The Amazings." These are older adults who have achieved impressive feats or are living truly fulfilling lives. She's featured almost 450 of these folks. As our older population grows, Dr. Nelson believes it's important (and inspiring) for all of us to realize that accomplished older individuals are everywhere and making a positive impact on their community. She's found a common thread in all—they see the value of continued learning, exercise, and most importantly, putting positive emotions such as appreciation, gratitude and optimism to work. As a side note, Dr. Nelson is 72. She's a competitive ballroom dancer (she started at 70). Prior to the pandemic, she took two ballroom dance classes and two ballet classes a week and still regularly works out. She's authored over a dozen books and she's a trial consultant with clients around the U.S. Find out more about NoelleNelson.com. Check out https://copenotes.com/zestful for an innovative app that supports mental health. Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com.

As a suicide/abuse survivor, Johnny Crowder spent his formative years searching for resources to help him cope with his mental health conditions, ranging from OCD and bipolar disorder to schizophrenia. His searching led him to develop a new way to address mental health challenges. His app, Copenotes, helps support mental health and increases the emotional health of the planet in an accessible and highly effective way. It’s been adopted by many mental health systems and facilities. Check it out on: Copenotes.com/zestful. (I will receive a small affiliate payment if you use this link). Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com.

The Black Lives Matter movement reminds some of us of the 1960s when Americans protested the Vietnam War. Author Rita Dragonette spells out some of the parallels between now and the resistance to the Vietnam war. Her award-winning novel, “The Fourteenth of September”, is based upon Rita’s personal experiences on campus during The Vietnam War. It’s a story about the coming of conscience, and it demonstrates how the war had a profound impact on women as well as men. Find out more about Rita on her website at RitaDragonette.com. Check out https://copenotes.com/zestful for an innovative app that supports mental health. Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com.

Tara Haelle is a science and health journalist, and the author of the article “Your Surge Capacity is Depleted--It’s Why You Feel Awful”, which went viral. I shared her article with many of my clients and in my monthly newsletter “THE ZEST”. At six months in, many of us might feel as though we should be used to this “new normal,” but that’s not how it actually works. Tara talks about what we learned from the three experts she interviewed for the article about surge capacity, ambiguous loss, and a resilience bank account. Tara Haelle has been writing about infectious disease, medical research, and mental health for a decade. Here’s the address to her viral article: https://elemental.medium.com/your-surge-capacity-is-depleted-it-s-why-you-feel-awful-de285d542f4c Find out more about Tara at @TaraHaelle, @Forbes, and check out her book ”The Informed Parent”. Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com.

Rachel Lankester is the founder of Magnificent Midlife, an online hub with several offerings including a podcast. Rachel wants to change the world for women in midlife and beyond and the perceptions of how the world views us, and how we view ourselves. She is passionate about challenging outdated ideas about menopause and aging. In this episode we talk about another kind of discrimination--systematic racism. We talk about Black Lives Matter and what we can do to support racial equality. We are acutely aware we are two privileged white women attempting to understand an experience that we can never really truly understand. But we hope our efforts help others feel more comfortable discussing these issues that are of profound importance. Find out more about Rachel and her many offerings at https://magnificentmidlife.com/ Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com.

Special episode for International Alzheimer’s Day Lori La Bey is an international icon in the field of Dementia. She has been recognized by Oprah as a “Health Hero,” AARP as a “Disruptor and Inspiring Leader,” Maria Shriver as an “Architect of Change,” and by Dr. Oz “As the #1 Influencer Online for Alzheimer’s.” She’s passionate about helping people understand Alzheimer’s Disease and its effects on the patient and their families. You can find out more about Lori’s work at www.AlzheimersSpeaks.com Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com.

Rebecca Scritchfield is a well-being coach, registered dietitian, nutritionist, certified exercise physiologist, and author of the book, “Body Kindness: Transform your health from the inside out and never say diet again”. Rebecca has influenced millions through her writing, podcast, workshops, and appearances in over 100 media outlets including “NBC Nightly News”, “CNN”, the “TODAY show”, “O Magazine”, “Real Simple”, “Time”, and many others. Find out more at capitolnutritiongroup.com. Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at ZestfulAging.com.