Guest: 25 September 2025

Bern Mendez is a neuroscience-based dating and relationship coach with 14 years of experience helping accomplished women thriving in midlife quickly move past subconscious emotional barriers to form deeply committed partnerships.

Today we discuss:

• How he, a man, can coach women about dating
• “Neuroscience and trauma-informed somatic approaches based on polyvagal theory”
• Some may need counselling before they get to relationship coaching
• At our age, a lot of our views about partners are learned, AND we can undo those expectations and start over
• Brain vs heart vs libido
• Meeting in real life vs online connections

As always, I ask Bern what else he would say to you, dear listener… and then I ask him to give some advice to the men out there.

Listen in!

Guest: 18 September 2025

Al Kushner is the author of Virtual Medicare – 10 Costly Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make. He offers information that’s especially helpful for Boomer women (that’s us!) who are navigating the next chapter of their lives.

Today he explains:

• The difference between Medicare and Medicaid in the US
• Different plans
• Deadlines for enrollment
• How to avoid common mistakes that can cost you
• IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts)
• How Medicare fits into the broader picture of financial security and retirement
• Use of AI in the medical system

Al has several other “tips” to help you make sure you get the Medicare that’s right for you.

Listen in!

Guest: 04 September 2025

Gila Melamed is back! Gila first joined me in 2023 to talk about her decision to adopt a nomadic life… by choice. She came back last year to update us and share how this lifestyle had helped her grow to a place of forgiveness and healing.

Today, she talks about:

• Making the best of it means being flexible, adaptable
• “Fear” – whether it’s the elements or gut feelings
• How she deals with fear – it’s not fear, it’s an opportunity to learn
• Solitude
• The dream that has grown within her as she’s traveled and talked with other ‘nomads’
• Her two books written about her travels and her growth

Gila also credits the books by others and the talks she’s listened to as important parts of her growth. It’s quite the reading list and you can find it at the bottom of her page.

Listen in!

Guest: 28 August 2025

Pat Fenner’s divorce provided a kick in the pants to deal with mental health issues such as self-image, self-worth, and imposter syndrome. Combining these skills and experiences, she helps other “mature” women find their voices and thrive in life.

Today Pat discusses:

• The changes in self over 37 years of marriage
• The challenges in starting over
• time, counsel, prayer, reading, patience
• self-image, self-worth, and imposter syndrome
• ageism, gratitude
• couple friends, adult children

Pat interjects comments throughout our conversation about her life as divorce was happening to her that so many of us will identify with. Take inspiration from how she pushed herself through and came out the other side.

Listen in!

Guest: 14 August 2025

Donna Barr has lived a life many of us dream of living. She’s trail-blazer: joining the U.S. Air Force in the 70s when few women considered the possibility and during the Viet Nam War. She’s made a difference: working in Samoa with The Peace Corp.

Today Donna describes:

• How The Peace Corp and the Air Force were early interests
• Making changes at age 57
• The Peace Corps – no age restrictions and choose your adventure
• The process of starting a project in a country
• Some insights into local governance and lifestyle
• Unexpected highlights

Donna’s love for her new life might be the impetus you’re looking for to take your giant leap. Enjoy her journey by reading her book My View From The House By The Sea.

Listen in!

Guest: 07 August 2025

Dr. Foojan Zeine has so many credentials in the Behavioral Psychology field that there is no way to write a synopsis. She founded the International Awareness Integration Institute and she co-founded the “Foojan” App, offering AIT to the public globally.

Today, Dr. Zeine explains:

• The structured, evidence-based framework called Awareness Integration Theory (AIT)
• Being intentional in being you
• How our reality is based on perception
• When interpretation of an event leads to “self-medication”
• The dominoes of change and communicating change
• Mira – when AIT and ChatGPT meet!

Foojan is so enthusiastic in her advice to our demographic that you have to pay attention!

Listen in!

Guest: 24 July 2025

Bobbi Barrington is a trans woman, but her message is not about gender – it’s about the universal challenges we all face: fear, uncertainty, and the courage to create the future we truly want.

Today she discusses:

• Spending 59 years in the wrong body
• Her advice for both men and women, given that she has lived as both
• Her two transitions: in body, and in mindset
• Great insight for people who challenge the right of trans people to exist
• Our lives are finite so we have to embrace dreams and change

Bobbi is a living, breathing embodiment of transformation – stepping into the unknown, falling down and getting back up, embracing the messiness of the journey, and proving that we are never a finished product but always learning, growing, and evolving.

Listen in!

Guest: 17 July 2025

Emily Allen is a certified alcohol-free life coach who empowers women in midlife to break free from our wine culture and create their next chapter full of confidence, clarity and true freedom.

In this episode she explains:

• “Wine-mom” culture
• Her trigger to quit and her process to stop
• Alcohol as “Self-care” and “self-medication”
• Her path from self-disappointment to becoming an Alcohol-Free Life Coach
• The 80% increase in drinking in the last 30 years
• The health risks
• What happens in our bodies with alcohol and when we cut out all alcohol

Emily’s “food for thought” for us at the end comes from her heart and is very sobering and thought-provoking.

Listen in!

Guest: 03 July 2025

Brenda Cumby McGee – aka Maxx McGee – is that fabulous dichotomy of fashion model and union carpenter. She was also a trail-blazer for women in the trades.

Today, Maxx explains:

• How those two parallel careers originated
• Her covid success story
• How things have changed for women in the trades in the last 30 years
• Women in a traditionally male environment “sisters in the brotherhood”
• “The Pant”
• The process of getting a clothing concept from idea to market
• And, of course: Ageism!

I really appreciate Maxx’s advice for us Boomer Women if dealing with a granddaughter who prefers tools and trades over more traditional “girl” careers.

Listen in!

Guest: 26 June 2025

Zulma Williams has had her share of challenges, and sometimes struggled to overcome them. But she is a warrior, and she made it her mission to inspire people to discover and honor the warrior inside themselves.

“The swearing therapist” has such energy! The past proves it was enough to get her over her own hurdles and I’m sure it becomes contagious with her clients.

In this episode she discusses:

• Her country of origin, Argentina
• Why she deals specializes in anxiety, depression, and trauma
• Why women MUST put themselves first
• The therapy technique called ART – Accelerated Resolution Therapy
• Clients who are resistant to healing
• The parameters of client confidentiality

Zulma’s enthusiasm will make you believe you can get through whatever you’re going through. I always ask the “personal question” – I’ll sum up her answer: “It’s never too late!”

Listen in!

Guest: 12 June 2025

Joelle Kaufman says “My passion is supporting cancer patients in finding their voice, taking control of their journey, and reducing the chaos and terror. As my family says, we’ve seen the movie. We know how to write a better ending.”

In this episode, Joelle explains:

• Her mother, her sister, then her story
• Cancer as a class of diseases
• To celebrate life’s events… and non-events
• Questions, Reactions and minding the joy
• “Happiness Tripwires”
• What to do for a friend who has cancer, or to ask of your friends if you get the diagnosis

Joelle is an amazing voice of strength and calm… it may not always have been so but that voice will help you navigate your journey should you get “the diagnosis”.

Listen in!

Guest: 05 June 2025

Jannette Anderson, like many of the women she works with, is #NotDoneByALongShot! She is passionate about working with maturepreneurs to identify, claim and position their value so  they can make a meaningful difference AND a magnificent living!

Today she explains:

• Why she’s so passionate about Maturepreneurs?… especially womanpreneurs
• Why this group is growing so fast
• The biggest challenges Maturepreneurs face
• What a woman should do and who she needs to BE to get results
• Her advice for getting started
• Being poly-home-erous

Jannette has a lot of statistics on the tip of her tongue… and every one of them will encourage you!

Listen in!

Guest: 22 May 2025

Dr. Bruce Chalmer is a psychologist in Vermont who has been working with couples for over thirty years. Through his teaching, consulting, writing, podcast, and videos about relationships, his ideas have helped thousands of couples and their therapists.

Today, he discusses

1. Why he chose Couples’ therapy?
2. At what stage clients come to him
3. Why grey divorce is a “thing”
4. Stability and intimacy
5. Mid-life crises… male and female
6. Stability and intimacy
7. The Oh Shit! Moments
8. Ideas, ideologies, faith

Bruce is so good at explaining the inside conversations while looking at the issues from a 10,000 ft. view.

Listen in!

Guest: 15 May 2025

Matthieu Mehuys is a Belgian landscape architect on a mission to make the world a greener, healthier place. He has traveled the globe looking at and for solutions and is keen to share his knowledge with the world.

In this episode he explains:

• How growing up on a family farm in Belgium started his journey
• The role of developers in sustainability
• How the planet is going to survive and restore itself with or without us
• The benefits of individual gardens and large farms
• “Invasive species”
• How we Boomers are so important to this mission

Matthieu also explains how his Masterclass is a Train The Trainer kind of offering that we may well want to consider.

He is also the award winning author of “12 Universal Laws Of Nature: How To Use Your Land To Its Full Potential”.

Listen in!

Guest: 01 May 2025

Lynn Banis knows grief: “It isn’t just sadness; it’s disorienting. You wake up each day feeling like you’re walking through fog, unsure if you’ll ever find your way out.” This grief counsellor finally took herself in hand and applied her knowledge and skills to herself.

In this episode, Lynn discusses:

• Her story of loss and the power of family
• We all have different paths to healing BUT don’t get stuck
• How much of life is ritual and habit
• Things you can do now to prepare to lessen the blow, the loneliness
• How world events have the potential to compound the grieving and any feelings of hopelessness
• How to support someone else in the time of grief

Lynn also explains the value of a good counsellor to help you through your grief.  You’ll want to hear about her checklists and other resources to help you prepare for an impending loss.

Listen in!

Guest: 24 April 2025

Georgi Feidler helps Baby Boomers in business navigate succession planning. Her passion is ensuring that business legacies continue successfully by equipping owners (and long-term employees) with the right strategies to transition leadership smoothly and intentionally.

Today she discusses:

• Why succession planning isn’t part of business education
• Why it’s important
• Maturepreneurs know it’s a shorter time from start to finish
• The pros and cons of “experiential knowledge”
• What to start doing now to make your business saleable… or inheritable.
• Using AI to create succession notes
• Big businesses and “moms & pops”
• Brick and mortar & online businesses

If you’re a Boomer business owner – or long-term employee – in these challenging times, you’ll appreciate Georgi’s tips and explanations.

Listen in!

Guest: 10 April 2025

Joe Curry is a Certified Financial Planner and the founder of Retirement Planning Simplified. He is also the host of the Your Retirement Planning Simplified podcast, where he helps Canadians navigate the complexities of retirement with a focus on clarity, simplicity, and purpose-driven planning.

Today he explains:

• Company stocks and pensions as sole retirement funds
• CPP and OAS, the GIS, RRSPs, TFSAs, RIFs and LIFs
• common retirement planning mistakes
• eliminating or reducing any threats to retirement
• the Retirement Navigator: goals… but values first
• transitioning from saving to spending
• the non-financial aspects of retirement

Such great information and then Joe says all the right things about feeling comfortable with your retirement/financial planner.

Listen in!

Guest: 03 April 2025

Mel Stubbs is a financial planner with over a decade of experience, specializes in helping federal employees plan for retirement. A key focus of Mel’s work is aiding clients and viewers in assessing potential future tax challenges and devising proactive strategies to fix those problems.

Today he explains:

• His advice for an American listener who is concerned about their job security
• 10 decisions you have to make at retirement
• Social Security, 401k’s, ROTHs, TSPs
• How to manage and reduce the tax hit on retirement savings
• Well-known routes and lesser-known routes to preserving retirement savings
• Long-term planning for older married employees
• Capital gains
• Advice for and about your kids

Mel is so well-versed about this subject that I was running out of questions to ask him. A lot of food for thought even if you aren’t an American federal employee.

Listen in!

Guest: 20 March 2025

Dr. Deborah Heiser is the CEO/Founder of The Mentor Project and author of The Mentorship Edge. She is a TEDx speaker and expert contributor to Psychology Today. Our conversation today is about mentorship.  Deborah explains:

• why mentorship is so powerful for Boomer women
• Ageism and the emotional trajectory
• What makes a good mentor
• A paid gig vs volunteer
• Grandparents as mentors
• wisdom meets innovation
• non-profits and philanthropy

I was quite surprised at how clearly defined the role of mentor actually was.  So much great food for thought today!

Listen in!

Guest: 13 March 2025

As a young woman in the U.S., Anne Alexander-Sieder was an actress. That ended when she followed a handsome young German fellow back to Germany as his wife. Sixteen years later she made the huge decision to go back to acting… in a second language… in a foreign country… at 47. Yikes!

Today she shares:

• What prompted that decision
• The community she found
• How too many women are defined by their “roles”
• “Our curiosities are the key to unlocking our purpose on this planet”
• Reframing nervousness and fear as excitement
• The concept of curating experts
• Small intentional steps

Anne’s rekindled career in acting has included Netflix and Hallmark movies and has led to her program “Passion Project to Purpose”.

Listen in!

Guest: 27 February 2025

Teri M Brown has written 5 self-help books, a number of historical stories…  but this last one… about double butts – two mid-age people on a tandem bike cycling across the US, well, the title made me chuckle but the story caught my attention.

For Teri, it was an epic adventure.  Today she shares:

• Why, and how, an epic adventure came to pass
• Never quit on a bad day
• You get a lot of junk out through tears
• Becomes an author
• The research that goes into writing a novel set in another place and time
• Her writing process

Teri has great thoughts for us all when I ask what she wants you, dear listener, to think about.  She is a true inspiration.

Listen in!

Guest: 20 February 2025

Jack Kammer is an advocate for men’s social issues and sexism against men. He says “Important social advances around gender equality remain to be realized by understanding sexism against men and boys.”

Today, he explains:

• How men tend to see their role in the family
• The training for men 60 years ago: “don’t show emotion”, “man up”.
• His idea for a dating app.
• Making men’s issues more prominent
• The Maryland General Assembly and the Wimp Bill

Jack also discusses the possible update and republish of his book “Good Will Toward Men: Women Talk Candidly About the Balance of Power Between the Sexes”.

Listen in!

Guest: 06 February 2025

Amethysta Herrick is… or has been…  a geneticist, a chemist, a software engineer, and a manager. She is also a transgender woman. If that sounds a little outside your comfort zone, in these times it’s all the more reason to listen in.

Ami was candid and open so our conversation went long – it’s divided into two parts on her page.

In this episode, Ami discusses

• gender & identity; sex vs gender (things get sciencey!)
• non-binary, pansexual, asexual, intersexual
• dysphoria as pathology
• the two aspects of transition
• the truth behind puberty blockers and young people
• advice for Grammas,     and lots more.

Facts! and Science! are not the norm it seems these days so if you need to listen twice like I did, do it.

Listen in!

Guest: 30 January 2025

Taylor Crabill has had the privilege of representing clients against some of the largest and most formidable companies in the world. These experiences have not only honed his expertise in employment law but has also reinforced his dedication to ensuring that employees are treated fairly and lawfully.

In this episode Taylor discusses:

• The allure of employment law
• Colour, sex, disability discrimination
• Retaliation charges
• Workplace incidents and hiring concerns
• How to prepare to present to your lawyer
• What happens next
• Repercussions for employer

Taylor’s advice for you as an older employee feeling discrimination is really encouraging: times have changed since our parents were eased out of the workplace, and it costs you nothing.

Listen in!

Guest: 16 January 2025

Andra Davidson is a divorce coach.  She isn’t going to tell you whether you should or shouldn’t, she’s going to help you maintain your health and conscience and minimize conflict throughout the process.

In this episode, Andra discusses:

• The rise of grey divorce
• What coaching looks like
• Acrimony during the process
• Adult kids and long-term friends
• Collaborative approach and collaborative law

I was surprised when Andra explained the #1 question she gets asked; I was pleased with her advice to anyone going through this difficult process.

Listen in!

Guest: 09 January 2025

Paula Cobb is a patient advocate for women who have been misdiagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis.  She is a retired physical therapist who has dealt with bladder issues since the age of 5. In this episode, Paula explains so much about UTIs and IC and more that I can’t list it all!

• The bacteria and what they do to cause UTIs
• Why antibiotics can be the problem
• How a woman might suspect she has a UTI
• Why women have to be their own advocates still (how often have we heard that?)
• Castor oil! (Gramma, don’t say a word!)
• Menopause, catheterization and the elderly
• Procedures
• How we can reduce our risk of a UTI

Like so many women who face a health issue, Paula has made it her life’s work to learn as much as she can, stay informed and stay up-to-date about Urinary Tract Infections and related issues.

Listen in!