Grown-Ass Woman's Guide

When it comes to fiction, there’s nothing like curling up with a good book. I’m able to shut off my active brain, push everything else aside for a little while and enjoy a great story. Recently, I did that with the On Fire Island by Jane L Rosen; it was the perfect end of summer weekend read. Jane’s writing comes from her own personal experience as a wife, mom, sister, daughter and friend. Her stories, while fiction, are inspired by her own life — sometimes to the displeasure of others (you’ll have to hear that story). And Jane shares the major twist her own career took when she decided to put pen to paper for her first of five novels. Seriously, like wow. In this episode, we talk about the themes in her latest book and how we as grown-ass women can learn and grow by having the courage to open ourselves up to new ideas. PS: If writing a book has been on your bucket list, listen until the end. Jane gives some great no-nonsense advice on how to get started. About: Jane L. Rosen is an author, screenwriter, and Huffington Post contributor. She lives in New York City and Fire Island with her husband and three daughters. She is the author of Nine Women, One Dress, Eliza Starts a Rumor, A Shoe Story and On Fire Island. Connect with Jane at JaneLRosen.com or on Instagram. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Dorot Zibby Media Gotham Writers Workshop COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

Four and a half years ago, I had a woman on the podcast who was just starting a business. And although she believed she had something big on her hands, she had no idea what was ahead of her, including becoming a global company, and being named one of Forbes 50 over 50. On this episode of the Grown Ass Woman's Guide, You'll hear directly from Dani Klein Modisett. We'll talk about where she was, where she is now, and all the lessons that she has learned along the way. About: Dani Klein Modisett is a comedian/author/entrepreneur and author of the book, “Take My Spouse, How to Keep Your Marriage Happy, Healthy, and Thriving by Following the Rules of Comedy (Shambhala Press, 2015). Part memoir, part instruction the book draws from the course she taught in Stand-up at UCLA for ten years. Her first book “Afterbirth...stories you won’t read in Parents magazine,” (St. Martin’s Press, 2009) was based on a sold out show she created. In 2018, after her mother became depressed facing an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, she had the idea to hire a comedian to cheer her up. It worked. She wrote an article about it for AARP. After receiving 100’s of requests for comedians she launched Laughter On Call (LOC). LOC started sending comedians around the country when senior communities asked for training for staff. Dani then created a curriculum for self-care and creating connection at all stages of cognition for caregivers. When COVID hit, LOC services went virtual servicing the broader business community struggling with depression and anxiety. To date, LOC has worked with over 500 companies including Meta, Capital One, Bristol Myers and more. Dani has been a speaker & facilitator at Stanford Business School, Harvard Business School, Fuqua at Duke, Columbia, UCLA Andersen and Dartmouth College. She has also coached keynote speakers, business leaders, and Congressional candidates to use more humor in their communication. Her writing has appeared in AARP, NY Times, LA Times, Parents Magazine and many websites. She is a frequent speaker at conferences including Milken Global Conference, CALA, ICAA, and others. COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

As we work on brand new content coming soon, I wanted to share a few of our “best of” episodes that are perfect for summer listening. Enjoy! We’ll be back soon with a whole new season. Happy Summer! In one of the most raw, honest episodes of TGAWG yet, I talk with TV personality, interior designer and life stylist Lauren Makk. I met Lauren back in 2015 when I was working on a daytime syndicated TV show called FABLife. Lauren stood out to me at the time as someone who was very much, what you see is what you get, something I definitely admire, especially in that industry. And, that hasn’t changed in the past six-plus years. In this episode, Lauren shares her journey to sobriety, what life looked like when she was drinking, the excruciatingly painful moment when she knew something needed to change, and what she’s learned about herself in the one year since putting down that Jack Daniel’s bottle. This episode was recorded nine months ago. If you're interested in an update episode, let me kno! Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

Let me ask you this. How involved in your local community are you? Do you attend events, maybe volunteer for a local nonprofit? Do you have regular ladies’ nights playing Bunco or Cards Against Humanity? Don’t judge. Jenny Ketchepaw and Jennifer Abbott-Aston met through a mutual friend who thought they’d hit it off – and they certainly did. They formed a friendship that’s supportive, empowering, and often vulnerable. Like many of us, they could have kept that friendship to themselves, but Jenny and Jen knew they had something special and wanted to empower other women to also experience a deep connection. Here’s their story from friendship to community leadership, and how they’re bringing women together in their own neighborhood — and all around the world. Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

As we work on brand new content coming soon, I wanted to share a few of our “best of” episodes that are perfect for summer listening. Enjoy! We’ll be back soon with a whole new season. Happy Summer! When you’re the world’s first full-figured supermodel chosen as People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People, not once but twice, you have earned the right to be known by a single name — Emme. I talk with the brand spokesperson, television personality, podcast host, author, first full-figured Revlon spokeswoman, keynote speaker, coach, and clothing line creative director about her early modeling career, increasing our self-esteem, and how to make ourselves a priority. Emme also talks about how using our collective voice can make an impact and shares her new ventures, including coaching women through body confidence and her initiative, Fashion without Limits. Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

As we work on brand new content coming soon, I wanted to share a few of our “best of” episodes that are perfect for summer listening. Enjoy! We’ll be back soon with a whole new season. Happy Summer! Lillian So is the new best friend you never knew you needed. Author of So Empowered - Discover the five layers of the body to take control of your life, Lillian breaks down the five layers and shares how each and every one of them can be used to transform every aspect of our lives. In this episode, Lillian shares • a surprising fact about how pain manifests in the body • a framework to help us process adversity, whether it was yesterday or decades ago • small, practical ways to find our bliss Plus, her final takeaway is pure GOLD. About Lillian: Lillian So is a Korean-American daughter of immigrants. As the founder of SOfit SF Inc. and the SOmethod, she is a passionate community builder and entrepreneur. An integrator and facilitator of transformation, Lillian helps people heal, grow, transform, and find what they didn’t know was missing in their lives. She has more than 20 years of industry experience creating psychological safety, group facilitation, and compassionate communication. Mentioned in this episode: Coconu body oil and lubricant Promo code: GROWNASS Kindra bath soak Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

As we work on brand new content coming soon, I wanted to share a few of our “best of” episodes that are perfect for summer listening. Enjoy! We’ll be back soon with a whole new season. Happy Summer! In an informal poll taken in The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide group, 85% of women rated the importance of friendship a four or five, on a scale 1-5. If friendship is so important to us, why are so many women feeling disconnected and disappointed when it comes to making and deepening friendships? In this episode, meet Nina Lorez Collins who's made it her business to cultivate friendship, both online and IRL. We talk about the difficulties we face as women in friendship and share some really exciting ways we are partnering to create connection with women like you. Mentioned in this episode: Speaking of Psychology: Why is it so hard for adults to make friends?Friendship Poll in TGAWG groupConvo about making friends in TGAWG groupGolden Girls VS SATC ladiesSupport the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

As we work on brand new content coming soon, I wanted to share a few of our “best of” episodes that are perfect for summer listening. Enjoy! We’ll be back soon with a whole new season. Happy Summer! For many of us over 40, we didn’t grow up making mental health a priority, am I right? But those days are over. No one should have to white knuckle their way through life. We all deserve to feel healthy and free of the stigma and shame we used to feel when turning to mental health resources. If you haven't heard of Anna Przybylski, oh you will! Anna is the brave and totally hilarious millennial taking TikTok and Instagram by storm with her fresh, honest approach to mental health. Anna's not-so-serious tone and approach allows us all to laugh a little at the pressures we all feel. In this episode, Anna and I talk mental health and wellness, the difference in perspective we see when it comes to Gen X and millennials, and how we can begin to shed ourselves of judgement, expectations and start to heal from some of the programming we've experienced in our lives. Follow Anna on her website, Instagram and TikTok Mentioned in this episode: Anna's videos How I discovered Anna's videos Thanksgiving videoYou come first Productivity doesn't equal valueDetox your feedSupport the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

Are you more the logical, action-focused, checklist-loving kind of woman… or are you more like the aligned with the universe, manifesting, little bit woo woo type? Or maybe you’re like today’s guest — a healthy balance of both. Renee Bowen is a professional photographer & coach for creative female entrepreneurs. Her photography career has spanned over 20 years, with a speciality in branding & portrait photography. She holds a degree in Psychology as well as certifications in NLP Life Coaching, Neuro-encoding, Hypnosis & The Amen Clinics Brain Training. Renee calls her style of coaching “tried and true + dash of woo” because she integrates proven, scientific strategies with a good helping of the metaphysical. Clients often come to her for help with marketing and business coaching, but also walk away with a rewired and regulated nervous system. Connect with Renee on Instagram or online at ReneeBowen.com Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

The last time Nikki Boyer and I spoke on The Grown-Ass Woman's guide, it was March 11, 2020. We sat across from each other at a restaurant in the LA area, with pretty much no idea that would not only be the last time we’d record in a public space, but none of us would be spending time in any restaurant for a long, long time. You can hear that episode here. In that episode, Nikki talked about her podcast, Dying for Sex, a show she hosted with her best friend Molly, after Molly was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. When struck with that life-altering news, Molly decided to leave her unhappy marriage and embark on a series of sexual adventures to feel alive. 12 million listens and a Podcast of the Year award later, that podcast is something people are still talking about to this day. During the recording of Dying for Sex, Nikki met a hospital chaplain named Peggy. The two form a friendship and now host Near Death, a podcast that makes it easier — and dare I say entertaining — to talk about death in a way that not only decreases fear, but inspires conversations that we all should be having. About: Nikki Boyer is a three time Emmy® award-winning TV host, producer, actress and podcaster. She created, hosted, and is Executive Producer of the breakout Wondery podcast, Dying for Sex, which won the 2021 Ambie Award for Podcast of the Year --- and was named one of Apple’s favorite podcasts of 2020. In the midst of the global pandemic, Nikki hosted nearly 200 episodes of Wondery’s The Daily Smile, a podcast about good news, and launched Call Me Curious via Wondery+, a lighthearted investigative series delves into offbeat topics. Nikki co-hosts the popular weekly podcast, Straight Talk with Ross Mathews, which recently recorded its 450th episode. Nikki co-hosted the 2021 Ambies Awards show and was a regular guest contributor to The Wendy Williams Show for over 8 seasons. She has appeared on virtually every major television talk show, most recently as a guest on The Drew Barrymore Show, supporting the launch of Call Me Curious. Along with Kevin Sabbe, she co-created and was Co-Executive Producer of Step Girlfriends, a television concept based on her real life, optioned by CBS Studios. Nikki made her mark hosting Yahoo!’s ultra-popular Daytime in No Time, where she was the most watched host on the internet during the series five-year run. Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

When a woman steps into the most grown-ass version of herself — she becomes absolutely unstoppable. On the Grown-Ass Woman's Guide, you'll hear stories from women who’ve faced the fear. Who’ve taken leaps. And who are ready to share their unique challenges, victories, lessons and strategies that have helped them carve their own path and take ownership of their own lives. Listen to The Grown-Ass Woman’s Guide wherever you get your podcasts or at grownasswoman.guide. Special thanks to Alex Perry, Wendi Aarons, Lauren Makk and Emme. COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

Jenny Ketchepaw is VP of Talent Engagement in the banking industry, and a dynamic certified Clifton strengths coach. When I first heard Jenny speak about strengths, my mind was blown. She helped me understand where I should be targeting my efforts, and what I needed to do to take my career to the next level. And now she wants to help you too! Join Jenny and me for a Strengths workshop, happening June 12, 2023 at noon ET/9am PT. It's going to be a lot of fun, we'll learn a ton and you'll leave empowered to take your strengths and do incredible things. REGISTER HERE About the workshop: Strengths-based principles focus on the natural talents that lie within us and how, by capitalizing on these strengths, we become more effective and successful. Learning your strengths, focusing on your talents, and utilizing strategies for applying your strengths will change the way you lead. Grown-Ass Creative is a podcast management and marketing agency that provides career and professional development opportunities to women over 40. COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

Back in 2011, and still in my early 30s, I launched my very first podcast. I was a co-host of a show called Broadcast that tackled pop culture and current events, but always through the lens of a woman. One of the things I loved about doing that show was having someone else to chat with and bounce ideas off of. Sometimes we interviewed newsmakers, but sometimes we just talked candidly about what was on our minds. That’s why I’ve opened up to the idea of occasional co-hosted episodes here at TGAWG. In fact, if you’re listening now and thinking YES! I would love to do that, here's the application. My co-host today is Jen Vertanen. You’re going to love her. She’s honest, vulnerable and really funny. We talk everything from relationships to losing loved ones to life coaching — and we’ve got some opinions on that one. To connect with all things Jen, visit JenVertanen.com About: Jen Vertanen is a mentor for ambitious women who mostly have their shit together but feel bored and unfulfilled even though they’ve checked all the boxes and done everything “right”. She helps them go from wanting more (happiness, fulfillment, etc.) to F*CK YEAH I love my life without having to Eat, Pray, Love or Thelma & Louise. Using her signature candor and humor, Jen wants the world to know it’s never too late and you're never too old but you do kind of need to get going. COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

Guadalupe Hirt is a four-time entrepreneur, pro-aging advocate, speaker, blogger, and middlescence life strategist. Most recently, she was the co-founder and CCO of SecondActWomen, a pro-age global community for women 40 & 50+. Through education, events, membership, and community, she helped shift ageists perspectives, inspired bold thinking, and created age-inclusive spaces that rallied women over 40 to excel in business, career, and life. Now, Lupe has taken a long overdue sabbatical, focusing on her own mental health. What she’s learned during this time can help us all prioritize our own selves. And, if a self-imposed break is not something you can (or want to) do right now (I’m with you there), Lupe offers some small everyday actions we can take to bring more joy, balance and peace into our lives. Connect with Guadalupe: LinkedIn Instagram COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

Imagine this: You're in an airport bathroom in Reno, Nevada. You're feeling crampy and cranky because it's that time of the month, so you reach for a maxi pad. What you see when you open the package angers you, enrages you really; so much so that you decide to stop and write an open letter to the company that made said maxi pad. That's pretty much what happened to Wendi Aarons. And it was the very thing to begin to change the trajectory of her life. The award winning humorist, writer, opinionated tweeter and self-proclaimed Fanilow is now a published author (her first two books written when she was 54). Her book I'm Wearing Tunics Now: On Growing Older, Wiser and a Hell of a Lot Louder is a stroll down memory lane for any Gen X woman finding her way -- and herself. About: Wendi Aarons is a writer and award-winning humorist whose work has frequently appeared in outlets like McSweeney’s and The New Yorker, among many others. She is the author of the middle-grade novel Ginger Mancino, Kid Comedian, SOCKS from Chronicle Books, and a contributor to the Listen to Your Mother: What She Said Then, What We’re Saying Now and Keep Scrolling Til You Feel Something anthologies. She is a popular speaker and teacher on humor, and lives in Austin with her family. And her tunics. The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is supported by... COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

There’s a chance at this point of your life, you might know someone with kidney disease, maybe someone who has needed a kidney transplant — or maybe you even someone who has made the decision to donate their kidney. March is National Kidney Month. Last week, I introduced you to Kari Kirkland, a living kidney donor who not only made that incredibly courageous decision to donate her kidney to a friendly acquaintance, but who just last week climbed Mt Kilimanjaro to spread awareness, reaching the summit on World Kidney Day. This week is the second episode in our two-part series. I speak with Dr Martha Pavlakis, the medical director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. In just an hour of your life, Dr Pavlakis will help us all understand kidney transplants and donations in a whole new way, as she busts some very common myths about the process that people continue to spread every day. About: Dr. Martha Pavlakis is the medical director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where she has held that position since 1999. She is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Co-director of the BIDMC Kidney Transplant Fellowship. Dr. Pavlakis has written and spoken extensively about kidney and pancreas transplantation and is the current Chair of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Kidney Committee. She has led the OPTN effort to eliminate the use of race in eGFR formulas used for listing patients for kidney transplantation and the current restorative justice project to award more wait time to Black and African American transplant candidates whose wait time was impacted by the race variable. She also leads the development of a continuous distribution system for kidney transplant allocation. She is a former chair of the education committee for the American Society of Transplantation (AST) and on the IDEAL committee (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access to Life). Resources: National Kidney Foundation Living Donor Assistance UNOS National Kidney Registry OPTN COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

While you’re listening to this episode, there’s a good chance today’s guest, Kari Kirkland, is getting close to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro — highest mountain in the world, standing at 19,341 feet. She’s joining dozens of others, some also kidney donors, organ recipients and advocates to bring awareness to the importance of living organ donation. The group is expected to reach the top on March 9, 2023, also known as World Kidney Day. This episode is part of a series during March which National Kidney Month, a topic that’s very personal to me. My middle son is 17 years old and in the process of being added to the kidney transplant list, something that surprised us, and yet has been a long time coming. Since the moment we were told this was necessary, I’ve spent hours reading and researching, and have learned so much about not only what he’ll have to go through, but what being a kidney donor looks like, and what it may entail. And I have to tell you, it’s eye opening. Approximately 100,000 people are on the kidney transplant list, 13 die each day waiting for an organ. Knowledge is power and when we’re educated, it not only helps decrease the amount of medical disinformation that’s out there in the world, but we can best support the donors and recipients in our lives, relatives, friends, co-workers and community members in a more impactful way. And there’s nothing more grown-ass than that. Guest: Kari Kirkland is a living kidney donor who's lived a life of adventure -- artist, performer, wedding / event planner, private chef, flying trapeze artist and coach, Ironman triathlete... She's lived in 4 countries on 3 continents, and has traveled the world. Now she's climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to bring awareness to living donation, reaching the summit on World Kidney Day on March 9, 2023. "This climb presents the opportunity to realize that even as a living organ donor, we can still accomplish incredible physical and mental feats! I look forward to watching the sunrise on the top of Kili, surrounded by living donors and advocates, and being a strong example of what is possible after living organ donation." Support Kari and the others: Visit LivingDonorAdventures.com Follow the group on Facebook and Instagram Mentioned in this episode: UNOS Donate Life COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

Jessica Ashley is a Certified Divorce Coach who helps women thrive through transitions with grace, creativity, and maybe some cussing. On TikTok and Instagram, Jessica posts videos daily to a rapidly growing audience of women seeking community and clarity. But she’s also getting some unwanted attention from an extremely opinionated and outspoken political commentator who recently blasted Jessica on his YouTube page, followed by millions, “canceling” her and garnering thousands of comments, which in turn encouraged some of those followers to harass her online through her social channels and website. You don’t have to be divorced or even considering it to appreciate that there are men out there trying to silence women from sharing their personal experiences and using those experiences to help others — and make a living. But we are grown-ass women who will not be silenced. In fact, it’s the reason I chose to invite Jessica here today — to give her a platform for sharing her story, and to support her in sharing her voice, which in turn could support you in using your own. Connect with Jessica: Website Instagram TikTok COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

Michelle Simmonds spent 18 years in Human Resources before she took a giant leap of faith, left her job and launched the Bee BRAVE movement. Bee BRAVE is a platform to inspire and encourage people who want to do something about racism to actually do something, by way of practical tools and tips. Mentioned in this episode: BeeBraveMovement.com WeWil Collaborative Join Michelle, me and WeWil Collaborative at our first live event on 3/8/23! COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!

I took several months off the second half of 2022. And when I came back, I realized there are a lot of new listeners. Who've been tuning into the show who don't know anything about me -- and I don't know you. So today we're going to fix that. Mentioned: LinkedIn Post Visit GrownAssWoman.Guide/creative COCONU: Get 15% off with promo code: GROWNASS at grownasswoman.guide/coconu Support the showLet's Connect! The Grown-Ass Woman's Guide is on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, consider buying me a coffee!