Twisting the Plot: Recent Episodes
Hannah Starobin and Cecilia Dintino
Plot twists don’t just happen in novels or the movies, they show up in our everyday lives, whether we want them or not. Each week Dr. Cecilia Dintino and Psychotherapist Hannah Murray Starobin will speak with women who have twisted their plots and discovered that life after 50 can be filled with imagination, inspiration, laughter, and endless possibilities.
We’re back. And still twisting our plots. Listen to our new podcast where we discuss Hannah’s latest creative project.
Pain. Do we ever really talk about it? Nobody wants to have it. Everybody wants it to go away. But what do we do when pain visits? And visit it will, to each of us. Listen to our new podcast where we consider Hannah’s recent pain and its reverberation on her life.
Join us for part two of our conversation with Ryan Backer.
Ryan Backer is an age activist striving to undo ageism within an intersectional context. They identify as a white, non-binary ‘old person in training’ and they have an undergraduate degree in Gerontology. They are a co-founder of OldSchool.info, a clearinghouse of anti-ageism resources and an international hub for age activism.
Ryan Backer is an age activist striving to undo ageism within an intersectional context. They identify as a white, non-binary ‘old person in training’ and they have an undergraduate degree in Gerontology. They are a co-founder of OldSchool.info, a clearinghouse of anti-ageism resources and an international hub for age activism.
Join us for a two-part conversation with Ryan. We talk about aging and the problem with binaries. We imagine how queering age could open possibilities for us all. Together we contemplate being old persons in training.
This week we bring back one of our most popular podcast guests, Laura Davis, to talk about the power of writing our stories. Laura, who wrote the award-winning memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars, tells us how she writes to gain perspective and make sense of her evolving life. To our delight, she shares her process in teaching students who take her classes and join her writing retreats. We love this conversation. We, like Laura Davis, believe in writing as a tool for self-awareness and transformation. But she explains it so well. Take a listen.
For more information about Laura Davis, her books and her writing retreats, visit www.lauradavis.net
Write, Travel, Transform…and Eat! Join me for a magical retreat in Tuscany in May of 2023!
www.lauradavis.net/Tuscany
Writing as a Pathway Through Grief, Loss, Uncertainty and Change: Experience the power of healing, the gift of supportive community & the profound impact guided writing can have in facing the unknown with courage. Learn more here.
Free Ebook: Writing Toward Courage: A 30-Day Practice. Click here to receive this beautiful, thought-provoking creative gift. www.lauradavis.net/courage/
Check out Laura Davis on Facebook
Check out Laura Davis on Instagram
We did not go into this conversation easily. Talking about money isn’t something we’re comfortable with. The question, what about money is important to you, is a hard one for us to answer. We don’t want to think about it. In fact, the culture of consumption, accumulation, marketing and money-making turns us off, provokes waves of nausea. And even brings up shame. But this conversation was different. Laura Rotter brought a plot twist. It was pleasant, open, hopeful and even spiritual.
Take a listen, if you can, we promise you will have fun.
Laura Rotter, CFA, CFP is the owner of True Abundance Advisors, a heart-centered, values-based financial planning firm based in New York. After a successful career managing money for institutional investors including Citicorp and Para Advisors, Laura discovered mindfulness practices and was drawn to guide professionals facing a big life change to achieve both financial security and life satisfaction. Since making her shift, she has been featured in CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Westchester Senior Voice, is on the advisory council of Impact100 Westchester, a women’s group giving organization, and volunteers with Savvy Ladies and My Money Workshop, teaching financial literacy to underserved communities.
Check Out TrueAbundanceAdvisors.com
Laura Rotter on Facebook
Laura Rotter on LinkedIn
Laura Rotter on Twitter
Laura Rotter on Instagram
Hannah and Cecilia sat down to chat recently, and found the conversation moving in an unexpected direction. We started asking, what matters now at this stage in our lives? Up until recently, our lives have been driven by external markers, jobs, degrees, partners and successes. But now there seems to be some buried impulse, more internal, emerging and wanting to take the lead. Listen to this week’s podcast as we try to figure out how to listen to ourselves in different ways and forage new paths to live by.
Sleep is not a dead space, but a doorway to a different kind of consciousness – one that is reflective and restorative, full of tangential thought and unexpected insights. In winter, we are invited into a particular mode of sleep: not a regimented eight hours, but a slow, ambulatory process in which waking thoughts merge with dreams, and space is made in the blackest hours to repair the fragmented narratives of our days.
- Katherine May from Wintering
It’s here, the pull for the long winter’s nap. Time to slow down, time to review, time to take in and make sense of all that’s been.
We crave it.
Rest.
We have a feeling we are not alone.
So much is demanded of us day in and day out. And resting isn’t baked into our cultural course. In fact, most of us feel uncomfortable, even anxious, when trying to take a break from busyness. We don’t know how to do it. We don’t know how to be still. We have forgotten how to listen to ourselves, or how to notice our dreams. We are too busy to stop and remember what’s past, to savor the moment, or imagine a future.
Still, we can try.
It’s been a full year. We’re getting older and thinking and feeling differently about things.
Listen to the Twisting the Plot podcast and learn how we want to give our plots the twist of rest and digest.
We all tell stories about our lives, some we make up, and some we inherit.
Through stories, we figure out who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re headed.
Stories grow as we grow.
Our stories about ourselves as individuals and as a collective, are not static things that once set, never evolve.
In fact, most of us encounter crossroads or thresholds of change where the past, present and the future become unclear. It is during these transitional times that our past stories must be retold, roles transformed, and feelings re-experienced and then reconfigured into a new life script.
In this way, our life story making is not just for our pleasure. It is also our work.
Life Story Work is the process of making meaning and connecting more deeply to ourselves and with others. It is the work of expanding our identities, resolving our traumas, and integrating our losses. It is the creative act of growing, personally and culturally.
It’s hard work, and it’s also the way we evolve.
On Twisting the Plot Podcast, Dr. Shoshi Keisari explains life story work as a therapy, and tells us why it is crucial to our ongoing development, especially as we age.
Take a listen.
Dr. Shoshi Keisari is a drama therapist and a lecturer at the School of Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa, Israel. She researches arts participation in aging, clinical gerontology, and the use of drama therapy in grief work and palliative care. Dr. Keisari has published numerous articles and co-authored a book, An Introduction to Psychotherapeutic Playback theatre: Hall of Mirrors on Stage
This week Twisting the Plot Podcast offers Part II of our conversation with the GenZer, Fran Dintino.
In many ways, this conversation is just getting started.
There is so much to explore, so many diverse lenses through which to look at one’s life experience. Intergenerational conversations lead to intergenerational living that is rich and expanding.
We stand on the backs of each other, one generation to the next, forever connected, always in flux. Our shared narratives twist over and over so that we can evolve, and evolve more.
Listen as Boomers Hannah and Cecilia talk with GenZer Fran about community, mental health, our bodies, and aging.
Fran concludes our musings with a call to cultivate a “radically open mind.”
We like this very much and will try our best.
Maybe you would like to join us.
We are years and years apart. There are decades between us, the Boomers and the Gen Zer’s.
Our world views are different. Our narratives do not line up.
Can we get along?
Are we able to listen to each other?
We use different language, we have varied values, we embody diverse identities. We look different, think different and feel different.
Is it possible to understand each other?
We’re not sure.
But we’ll try.
On this weeks’ podcast we talk with 21-year-old Fran Dintino about generational stereotypes, gender and the many waves of feminism.
Take a listen and join in the conversation.
We often talk about how our minds and bodies are changing as we age. But what about our spirit? Does that evolve too? And what do we mean when we speak about the spirit?
To us, spirit means that which is felt but not seen. Perspective, inner voice, energetic connection with others, gratitude, love and a mindful appreciation for the complexity of life, is what we call – spirit.
To us, this experience of spirit seems to be growing as we age.
We are not alone.
Erik Erikson and his wife Joan Erikson added a ninth stage to their eight stages of psychosocial development. They defined it as a time for self-reflection, deep life review and resolution. Abraham Maslow termed self-transcendence as a later stage in the hierarchy of human needs. Sociologist Lars Tornstam coined the term gerotranscendence, defining it as a time where we develop a more existential relationship to our lives and relationships. In gerotranscendence we are less egoic, less materialistic, more altruistic, with expanded awareness and tolerance for the whole of life.
We know it sounds a bit unpractical and not pragmatic, but we like that.
What about you? Are you noticing the edges of something cosmic beckoning to you?
We would love to hear about your twists.
Well, here we are. Another Fall. Another starting over.
Whether it’s school, work, or perspective, we (Hannah and Cecilia) find that as the seasons change, so do we. It’s supposed to be that way, right? Nothing stays the same.
Yet, as we change, we also preserve the multitudes of who we’ve been in the past. It’s quite the collection. So many years, so many selves.
Writer Anne Lamotte says, “We contain all the ages we have ever been.”
We are like living nesting dolls. Each doll holding a piece of our personal and collective histories.
But the dolls aren’t fixed. They grow too. Each doll, dwelling within, changes as we evolve.
We are not static.
We are complex.
And getting more so each day.
This week’s podcast offers a reflection on change and growth. Join us, as Hannah and Cecilia talk about ways that we are, in body, mind, and spirit, becoming more and more complex.
We couldn’t get enough.
We wanted to learn more about elderhood from our podcast guest Dr. Tracey Gendron, so we asked her back for part II.
Dr. Gendron, author of Ageism Unmasked and Chair of the Gerontology Department at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond is back this week to take a deep dive into two relevant social constructs: caregiving and retirement.
We talk about the history of caregiving, giving and getting it, and discuss how to give care more value and importance.
We tackle the concept of retirement. Is it a stage of life? Or just a withdrawal from a job?
The more we talk, the more we understand how elderhood, in order to be unburdened with ageism, takes contemplation, work and a lot of imagination.
Thank you Dr. Gendron for leading the way.
Here’s a twist for you.
We are getting tired of promoting “successful aging” and no longer want to buy into the social construct that defines aging and being old as a problem to avoid.
We don’t know about you, but we are getting old… and loving it. But not because we are staying young, or not facing losses. We love it not despite of the challenges, but because of them. We love it because we are growing and changing. We love it because there is an opportunity to create yet another purposeful stage of life.
And that’s what twisting the plot is all about.
On this week’s podcast we talk with Dr. Tracey Gendron. Dr. Gendron is the Chair of the department of Gerontology at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author of Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It. She expounds the many reasons why ageism matters to all of us. She shares how the “biomedicalization” of aging has turned it into a disease, and something we need to fight.
But what if we could conceptualize aging in a different way? What if aging, and even death, were embraced as a shared experience, instead of an individual failing? What if becoming old, was a transcendent experience that we all look forward to?
Hard to imagine? Before you dismiss it, listen as Dr. Gendron proposes Elderhood as the antidote to the ageist roadblocks to becoming:
Anti-ageism through elderhood shifts our focus from who we were to who we are in the present and who we want to become in the future. Regardless of physical ability, cognitive function, socioeconomic class, level of dependency, or a myriad of personal identifiers, we are all still becoming.
Elderhood is proposed as a stage in life that brings maturity, purpose and wisdom. Gerontologist Lars Tornstom even suggests that aging can bring a developmental shift in perspective that is more cosmic and transcendent.
We want some of that.
Dr. Gendron asks us, “How do you feel about yourselves as aging beings?
Thankfully, she is helping us figure this out.
It often feels like time is a conveyer belt, ushering us forward year after year. It moves faster and faster, sometimes at a pace that makes it hard to glance back and savor what’s been. Sometimes a lifetime moves too quickly for us to be intentional about where we are going.
We just keep moving.
On this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast, Hannah and Cecilia take a pause and consider time from a different direction, vertically instead of horizontally. In this way, time becomes more than a runaway train. Time, and our lives, can be a multi-layered, generational weave of the past, present and future.
Twisting time gives life texture.
We hope you take a listen and share your thoughts with us.
Abbe Greenberg and Maggie Sarachek have been friends since college. Throughout this time, they shared many things, even anxiety. For years they supported each other, through phobias, panic attacks and catastrophizing mindsets. As time went on, it became clear that they weren’t alone. In fact, they found that many women wanted to talk about anxiety, its perils, nuances, and the many ways to cope. So they decided to start a sisterhood, an anxiety sisterhood.
In 2017 they launched their online community which now includes more than 200,000 people worldwide. Together, Abbe and Maggie (or Abs and Mags) host a monthly podcast (The Spin Cycle) facilitate workshops and retreats and give talks about everything related to anxiety. Their blog is award winning and they recently they published The Anxiety Sisters’ Survival Guide. The book is filled with helpful information, we highly recommend it.
We loved this conversation with Abs and Mags. Somehow, they make anxiety fun, while also taking it very seriously. They speak about complex scientific findings using language that is accessible, not triggering or pathologizing. They even offer some helpful tips and advice for all.
Let’s face it, anxiety is a plot twist all its own. It takes a sisterhood to get us through.
Join us.
Check out anxietysisters.com
Join the Anxiety Sisters on Facebook
In 1988 Laura Davis coauthored The Courage to Heal, a global phenomenon. It is the go-to, permission giving, truth telling, and healing guide for victims of sexual abuse. Her most recent book, The Burning Light of Two stars: A Mother Daughter Story is a prequel and a sequel to The Courage to Heal. It chronicles the estrangement, reconciliation and care-giving relationship between Laura and her mother.
And it is about so much more.
The Burning Light of Two Stars is plot twist after plot twist, as Laura and her mother evolve, change, stay the same, and rediscover each other over and over. It’s a story of forgiveness, accountability, letting go and holding on.
We couldn’t put it down.
Laura Davis is a deep thinking, soul touching writer and person. She chronicles the ongoingness of life beyond trauma. Her understanding and wonderment about herself and others touched and inspired us.
Please Listen.
“The price I paid to keep my mother out, at first with withdrawal, later with an armed fortress, and finally, with the polite rules of détente, was love. The pure, unfettered love I longed for. The pure, unfettered love she craved.”
For TTP Listeners from Laura Davis:
You can also read the opening 5 chapters here
Direct links to buy The Burning Light of Two Stars:
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars on Amazon
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars from Elliott Bay Books
Get a signed copy of The Burning Light of Two Stars from Bookshop Santa Cruz
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars from Bookshop.org
Audiobook version of The Burning Light of Two Stars (Laura is the narrator):
Buy the audiobook of The Burning Light of Two Stars on Audible
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars audiobook on Libro.fm
Want to Order Internationally with Free Worldwide Delivery?
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars from book depository.com
If you’re a writer or want to use writing as a tool for healing or self-discovery, you can learn about Laura’s online writing workshops and in-person domestic and international retreats at www.lauradavis.net
Social media links:
thewritersjourney on Facebook
@laurasaridavis on Instagram
Twitter (which I don’t use so much) @laurasaridavis
@laurasaridavis on Pinterest
Consider the Hag.
Will You?
Most of us cringe at the mention of her.
We would just as soon keep her banished to the deep woods.
Who can blame us?
She is rot, she is ugly, she does not follow our rules. She has one foot on the other side; death.
The Hag embodies suffering, a weathering by life; she stands for oldness. She is not who we want to become.
But…Marianne Franzese sees things differently.
She challenges us to re-consider.
Marianne suggests that we could go deep into the woods of our own being to find the cast-off hag. Perhaps, says Marianne, our hag offers strength and power. She could be a container for our outrage, the keeper of the fires of social justice. She could be our biggest liberation.
Marianne says that culturally the Hag has been feared by the patriarchy and therefore demonized, degraded, and diminished to the one-dimensional. According to Marianne, the Hag is as individual as each of us. She just needs to be reimagined and reclaimed.
It’s a big plot twist.
But given the overturning of Roe vs Wade and the impingement on the rights of LGBTQ+ and all marginalized groups, we may need a big twist.
Marianne asks us to consider “a very personal call to break out the extreme push for older women to maintain a certain level of beauty, grace and quietness.”
Perhaps some of us are called to something different.
Listen to this podcast as Marianne discusses her reasons and plans to bring the Hag out of the woods and into our psyches as older women.
Reach out to Marianne at mfranzese333@gmail.com if you want to learn more about her Hag Project.
We couldn’t get enough.
We wanted to learn more about elderhood from our podcast guest Dr. Tracey Gendron, so we asked her back for part II.
Dr. Gendron, author of Ageism Unmasked and Chair of the Gerontology Department at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond is back this week to take a deep dive into two relevant social constructs: caregiving and retirement.
We talk about the history of caregiving, giving and getting it, and discuss how to give care more value and importance.
We tackle the concept of retirement. Is it a stage of life? Or just a withdrawal from a job?
The more we talk, the more we understand how elderhood, in order to be unburdened with ageism, takes contemplation, work and a lot of imagination.
Thank you Dr. Gendron for leading the way.
Here’s a twist for you.
We are getting tired of promoting “successful aging” and no longer want to buy into the social construct that defines aging and being old as a problem to avoid.
We don’t know about you, but we are getting old… and loving it. But not because we are staying young, or not facing losses. We love it not despite of the challenges, but because of them. We love it because we are growing and changing. We love it because there is an opportunity to create yet another purposeful stage of life.
And that’s what twisting the plot is all about.
On this week’s podcast we talk with Dr. Tracey Gendron. Dr. Gendron is the Chair of the department of Gerontology at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author of Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It. She expounds the many reasons why ageism matters to all of us. She shares how the “biomedicalization” of aging has turned it into a disease, and something we need to fight.
But what if we could conceptualize aging in a different way? What if aging, and even death, were embraced as a shared experience, instead of an individual failing? What if becoming old, was a transcendent experience that we all look forward to?
Hard to imagine? Before you dismiss it, listen as Dr. Gendron proposes Elderhood as the antidote to the ageist roadblocks to becoming:
Anti-ageism through elderhood shifts our focus from who we were to who we are in the present and who we want to become in the future. Regardless of physical ability, cognitive function, socioeconomic class, level of dependency, or a myriad of personal identifiers, we are all still becoming.
Elderhood is proposed as a stage in life that brings maturity, purpose and wisdom. Gerontologist Lars Tornstom even suggests that aging can bring a developmental shift in perspective that is more cosmic and transcendent.
We want some of that.
Dr. Gendron asks us, “How do you feel about yourselves as aging beings?
Thankfully, she is helping us figure this out.
Do you move through life on a nourishing path, or do you find yourself fighting your way along a thorny harsh path?
After years of thorns, Nadya Trytan now chooses a nourishing path.
She’d love to help you find yours.
Nadya uses a technique called guided visualization to help you relax, imagine, listen to yourself and make discoveries that connect you with your own innate wisdom. Her online program, Nourishing Path Project, offers imaginary paths for us to learn and grow by.
On this Twisting the Plot Podcast, Nadya takes us through a relaxing body scan and an experiential and imaginary voyage.
Enjoy.
Nadya Trytan, MA, RDT-BCT is the Founder of the Drama Therapy Center in Minneapolis, a place that values life-long learning and healing through connection to our deepest wisdom and creativity. Her professional services include: therapy and coaching for individuals & families; team building facilitation for organizations; and consultation & teaching for drama therapy clinicians and students. Nadya recently launched her Nourishing Path Project, a series of guided, creative meditative journeys (over zoom) to help one practice finding and walking their unique path through life.
For more info about The Nourishing Path, check out dramatherapycenter.com. Nadya is on the faculty at Midwest Drama Therapy Institute, she is past-President of the North American Drama Therapy Association and past-Chair of the National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations. She can be contacted at: nadya@dramatherapycenter.com
Sitting myself down and writing Margaret from the heart became a story about me too. Why me? Leave me out of this, I thought. But no, it was not to be. I was not allowed to write her story without writing my own because I had unburied two women. - From The Light Above by Maria Dintino
Even though she discovered a dog-eared, post-it-filled copy of Women in the Nineteenth Century on her bookshelf, Maria Dintino hadn’t remembered much about Margaret Fuller from graduate school. She was certainly captured by Margaret’s New England peers Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson. But Margaret, the nineteenth century transcendentalist, women’s rights advocate and journalist, claimed Maria’s attention decades after graduate school.
Now, Margaret has all of her attention in the form of Maria’s new memoir, The Light Above.
It’s a powerful meeting of the souls, Margaret and Maria. Their stories, lived centuries apart, collide and are shared through the heart and voice of Maria. Margaret’s story ends in tragedy, but Maria’s retelling offers redemption. In return, Maria finds a life guide, a role model, and a companion for life.
In our podcast, Maria tells us why Margaret Fuller is relevant today. We also learn how writing this book has changed Maria’s life.
It is awesome to realize how much we can learn about ourselves via the lived experience of another. We are, after all, bound to one another through history. But what a gift of transformation is the literary imagination.
Get The Light Above on Amazon
Abbe Greenberg and Maggie Sarachek have been friends since college. Throughout this time, they shared many things, even anxiety. For years they supported each other, through phobias, panic attacks and catastrophizing mindsets. As time went on, it became clear that they weren’t alone. In fact, they found that many women wanted to talk about anxiety, its perils, nuances, and the many ways to cope. So they decided to start a sisterhood, an anxiety sisterhood.
In 2017 they launched their online community which now includes more than 200,000 people worldwide. Together, Abbe and Maggie (or Abs and Mags) host a monthly podcast (The Spin Cycle) facilitate workshops and retreats and give talks about everything related to anxiety. Their blog is award winning and they recently they published The Anxiety Sisters’ Survival Guide. The book is filled with helpful information, we highly recommend it.
We loved this conversation with Abs and Mags. Somehow, they make anxiety fun, while also taking it very seriously. They speak about complex scientific findings using language that is accessible, not triggering or pathologizing. They even offer some helpful tips and advice for all.
Let’s face it, anxiety is a plot twist all its own. It takes a sisterhood to get us through.
Join us.
Check out anxietysisters.com
Join the Anxiety Sisters on Facebook
In her early twenties, Maureen Carey was called to the religious life. Her interest in the anti-war movement and civil disobedience led her to the sisterhood and years of service to others. During this time she also got her Ph.D. in social work, taught at Molloy College, and co-authored books.
Twenty-five years later, Dr. Carey twisted her plot and left the religious life. More recently, she retired from teaching. She’s had a new calling, art as a means for spiritual contemplation.
Maureen has developed a method for using watercolors, journaling, doodling and reflection as a means for spiritual growth.
Join us as Maureen shares her story. How does a woman in the 1970’s decide to join the religious life? What makes her decide to change paths after 25 years? How is doodling a channel to the soul?
We loved this conversation and the holy doodle.
Maureen E. Carey, Ph.D. is Professor Emerita of Social Work at Molloy College, Rockville Centre, NY and a practicing artist. She had taught undergraduate social work courses at Molloy College and has led many Artful Meditation Workshops both at the college and with other professional groups on Long Island.She developed a method of artful journaling using liquid watercolors, doodling and reflection for those seeking to create a pathway for their own spiritual growth. Maureen co-authored a book: The Artful Journal: A Spiritual Quest (2002) describing this artful journal method, and in another published book: Silent Presence: A Companion Through the Journey of Grief (2007).
In addition, Maureen's work has been in various exhibits on Long Island. She has also done commissioned work for several colleges and local groups. She maintains an art studio in Southold, New York and continues to give Artful Contemplative Workshops on the North Fork of Long Island.
Her work can be viewed on her website at maureencareyartist.com
A little improv…
What is creativity? Go. (frozen pause) Ummm. It’s green? Yes, and…It crawls. Yes, and… it morphs like a caterpillar into a butterfly. Yes, and… it can be venomous, like a snake.
On this week’s podcast, guest Nina Hart challenges our notions about what is art and who gets to do it. She tells us about her journey to heal what she calls her “heartbroken artist.” Nina shares how she finally freed herself from criticism, judgment and creative blocks that silenced and shamed her. She offers all of us a portal into our own spontaneous impulses, our sparks of creativity.
Nina teaches us what she calls “writing from the top of your head.” She introduces us to a writing prompt she calls “small and crappy,” a medicine for the perfectionism that inhibits us.
She also challenges each of you to participate in a small and crappy writing exercise. Give it a try and send us your results. We will make art of it.
Everything, including aging, is art, according to Nina Hart.
And there’s a plot twist we could all use.
Take a listen.
Sign up for FREE monthly creativity chats + prompts & exciting newsletters on creativity
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Check out Nina Hart's website writingfromthetopofyourhead.com
Nina Hart is a writer, performer, and creativity coach trained in the Kaizen-Muse method. She is also a certified Gateless Method writing teacher – “a method of teaching the art and craft of writing using creative brain science, ancient non-dual teachings and highly-effective craft tools…allowing writers to access the creative genius inside.” Her first collection of surreal short fictions called “Somewhere in a Town You Never Knew Existed Somewhere” was selected as a Short Stories category finalist in Foreword Reviews’ IndieFab Book of the Year Awards. She is the founder of a unique method of teaching writing called “Writing from the Top of your Head,” which combines group Creativity Coaching with creative writing. Her workshops have also been inspired by the work of Paulo Freire and his philosophy of education for liberation, and the work of Brene Brown. Nina was an original member of the experimental dance troupe Contraband, in San Francisco and, playing a purple electric bass, has recorded and performed with numerous bands.
It often feels like time is a conveyer belt, ushering us forward year after year. It moves faster and faster, sometimes at a pace that makes it hard to glance back and savor what’s been. Sometimes a lifetime moves too quickly for us to be intentional about where we are going.
We just keep moving.
On this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast, Hannah and Cecilia take a pause and consider time from a different direction, vertically instead of horizontally. In this way, time becomes more than a runaway train. Time, and our lives, can be a multi-layered, generational weave of the past, present and future.
Twisting time gives life texture.
We hope you take a listen and share your thoughts with us.
In 1988 Laura Davis coauthored The Courage to Heal, a global phenomenon. It is the go-to, permission giving, truth telling, and healing guide for victims of sexual abuse. Her most recent book, The Burning Light of Two stars: A Mother Daughter Story is a prequel and a sequel to The Courage to Heal. It chronicles the estrangement, reconciliation and care-giving relationship between Laura and her mother.
And it is about so much more.
The Burning Light of Two Stars is plot twist after plot twist, as Laura and her mother evolve, change, stay the same, and rediscover each other over and over. It’s a story of forgiveness, accountability, letting go and holding on.
We couldn’t put it down.
Laura Davis is a deep thinking, soul touching writer and person. She chronicles the ongoingness of life beyond trauma. Her understanding and wonderment about herself and others touched and inspired us.
Please Listen.
“The price I paid to keep my mother out, at first with withdrawal, later with an armed fortress, and finally, with the polite rules of détente, was love. The pure, unfettered love I longed for. The pure, unfettered love she craved.”
For TTP Listeners from Laura Davis:
You can also read the opening 5 chapters here
Direct links to buy The Burning Light of Two Stars:
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars on Amazon
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars from Elliott Bay Books
Get a signed copy of The Burning Light of Two Stars from Bookshop Santa Cruz
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars from Bookshop.org
Audiobook version of The Burning Light of Two Stars (Laura is the narrator):
Buy the audiobook of The Burning Light of Two Stars on Audible
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars audiobook on Libro.fm
Want to Order Internationally with Free Worldwide Delivery?
Buy The Burning Light of Two Stars from book depository.com
If you’re a writer or want to use writing as a tool for healing or self-discovery, you can learn about Laura’s online writing workshops and in-person domestic and international retreats at www.lauradavis.net
And if you want to go to Tuscany with Laura in June of 2022, check out some serious eye candy here!
Social media links:
thewritersjourney on Facebook
@laurasaridavis on Instagram
Twitter (which I don’t use so much) @laurasaridavis
@laurasaridavis on Pinterest
All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today. - Chinese Proverb
Una Betti has worked as a nurse and project manager for many years. At the same time, she’s nurtured a passion for gardening, and grew a deep appreciation for the value of intentional spaces. Now, at 62, Una has decided it’s time to twist the hobby into aprofession.
Her new business, Mindful Garden Designs, was created for all of us who want to embrace our spaces. Una Betti wants to show us how to design gardens that are unique, personal and enlivening. Her mission is to create peaceful spaces thatfacilitate the practice of mindfulness, foster creativity and promote health.
We have learned so much about gardens, flowers, trees, birds,and even rocks, from Una. She doesn’t believe in one-garden-fits-all. She wants each of us to dwell in a space that speaks to our unique history, imbues memory, inspires desire and deep-seated aspiration.
She is such a resource. We are both planning to consult with Una to make a space for mindful living. We know you will want her help as well.
Listen to this week’s podcast and learn how Una can help you. We all need beauty. We all deserve to bloom.
Bio
Una Betti, the creator of Mindful Garden Designs LLC, has been gardening for over 30 years. Her gardens are her passion, and she finds great inspiration in the natural world around her. Una is a Registered Nurse with a Masters in Health Informatics and is a certified Professional Project Manager (PMP). Her background in nursing and project management combines the caring components and detailed mindset to design garden spaces that come to life and thrive. Her mission statement speaks to all those who want to embrace their space; "To design gardens, to create peaceful spaces, to facilitate the practice of mindfulness, foster creativity and promote health."
Check out MindfulGardenDesigns.com
Check out Mindful Gardens on Facebook
Follow @mindfulgardens1 on Twitter
Follow Mindful Gardens on Instagram
Here it is, another year.
Are you ready?
We are.
We look forward to our new group of twelve women, and the collaboration for the next twelve months.
We want this to be a year when we embrace our lives even more fully, feel our feelings, and navigate with grace the twists.
Another year to celebrate our aging, honor our past, and look to the future with curiosity and wonder.
How do we start?
We start with a conversation with the indomitable Indrani Goradia.
On this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast, Indrani invites us to welcome what’s ahead. She challenges us to think more deeply, take more action and yes, she also makes us laugh.
It seems like the perfect place to begin 2022.
We hope you join us.
Check out indranigoradia.com
What is a creatrix, you might ask?
According to Stephanie Raffelock the word creatrix is defined as “a woman who makes or creates things.” Stephanie suggests that creatrix may be a good replacement for crone when it comes to selecting an archetype for women to age into.
We love the idea of a woman continuing to “make things” beyond the biological clock of fertility.
Stephanie Raffelock herself is a creatrix. She is a storyteller and writer who published two books after she was 50. Creatrix Rising is her latest, and we were thrilled to speak with her about it on this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast.
Listen as Stephanie shares her story, the plot twists, and the role models who inspired her along the way. There is the poet Richard Blanco, her grandmother Julia, and the magical neighbor Austin.
Relationships matter to Stephanie. And now she matters to us.
We need to remind ourselves that as with all kinds of evolution, there is no destination point, no complete, all-the-way healing, but rather more unfolding, more work to be done. We grow psychologically and spiritually until the time we die. Stephanie Raffelock, The Creatrix Rising
Learn more about Stephanie Raffelock at https://www.byline-stephanie.com/
Here’s a question to ponder. “Can you love yourself in a hostile world?”
This is the question Dr. Thema asks on this week’s podcast.
“We have to shift the individual, but we also have to shift the world in which the individual is living, so that we’re not constantly having to push back against these messages but that we can change the larger story, that we’re all worthy and deserving.”
Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis is a psychologist, a professor at Pepperdine University, a minister, a dancer, and a slam poet.
She is the director of the Culture and Trauma Research Lab, and has received numerous awards and recognition for her work in the fields of trauma, human trafficking, the psychology of women and anti-racism.
She is also the President Elect of The American Psychological Association.
And the host of The Homecoming Podcast with Dr. Thema.
In this conversation Dr. Thema talks about the many plot twists in her personal and professional life. She delineates the intersection of ageism, sexism, and racism. She speaks about her calling to the ministry and her belief in the role of the arts in communal healing. Finally, she articulates her thoughts about the profession and practice of psychology.
She even gifts us with a poem.
Take a listen. We were blown away.
Follow Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Connect with Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis on LinkedIn
Learn more about Dr. Thema Thema Bryant-Davis at drthema.com
Who knew getting older could be so funny?
In the 1960’s gerontologist Robert Butler told us that thinking back over our lives is therapeutic. He termed his method of reminiscence, “Life Review”. Through a life review, experiences from the past, particularly the unresolved conflicts, can be resolved and reintegrated into our life experience.
There is also substantial research pointing to the benefits of humor. Humor has been found to lower blood pressure, increase pain threshold, and improve the immune system. Humor reduces cortisol and increases endorphins in our systems. It also helps us gain perspective, sharpen our memory, and allows us to forgive ourselves and others.
Story and laughter bring people together.
Enter, Mary Clohan, a stand-up comedian and graduate student in New York University’s program for Drama Therapy. Mary decided to combine these two healing processes. For her Masters’ thesis, she examined the process and benefits of what she calls, “Laugh Review.”
On this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast we hear from Mary and five of her actor/subjects, all residents of Penn South, “a naturally occurring retirement community” located in NYC, fondly referred to as NORC.
Take a listen and laugh along with us.
We are honored to have the following participants on this podcast: Hilda Aronson, Michael Bournas-Ney, Martin Sturm, Florence Cohen, and Harriet Kriegel.
Cast Bios:
Mary Clohan is a writer, performer, teaching artist and recent graduate of the NYU Master’s Program in Drama Therapy. She has been performing stand-up comedy and improv comedy around NYC for the past 4 years and is interested in the therapeutic potential of humor and comedy within the creative arts therapies. Reach out to Mary Clohan via email at maryclohan@gmail.com
Hilda Aronson - Hilda had her 89th birthday six months ago and, being in very poor health, or lack thereof, is very proud of her highest achievement: simply being alive. Personal and professional successes lose importance. Giving and receiving an abundance of love, that's what she identifies with. All the rest is illusion.
Michael Bournas-Ney - Michael premiered as an actor in first grade, when he played the part of a washcloth. (His friend was a bar of soap.) He loves humor and was thrilled to be part of Mary's stand-up class.
Martin Sturm - Martin is now a playwright, standup comedian, and actor. These are accomplishments that he didn't think were possible, in all his wildest dreams.
Florence Cohen - Florence is a lifelong closet comedian who always tried to keep companions amused. She is also a current abstract painter and a senior trying to keep up with a constantly changing world.
Harriet Kriegel - Harriet began as a high school English teacher, moved to health care, and became Vice President of Public Affairs, Development, and Marketing at The Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged. After retiring, she joined the Board of Penn South Social Services, which sponsors the Penn South Program for Seniors, where she has become involved with theatre and acting, discovering new talents, and doing Stand-Up Comedy. It is a thrill to discover a new skill when you are 87!
Dr. Ellen Albertson calls herself the Midlife Whisperer.
But on this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast, she speaks up loud and clear.
Dr. Albertson has “more degrees than a thermometer” and she’s confronted major plot twists in life. For years she followed all the rules and roadmaps. She had a successful career, got married, raised children, worked hard to stay thin and attractive and did a lot of people pleasing. But after life threw her a few curve balls, she devised a set of new rules to follow.
These new rules have to do with being creative, trusting herself and allowing for transformation.
Dr. Albertson has a new book titled Rock Your Midlife, 7 Steps to Transform Yourself and Make Your Next Chapter Your Best Chapter.
It’s a great read. We enjoyed our conversation with Ellen.
We think you will find her inspiring and motivating.
Take a listen.
Ellen Albertson, PhD, RDN, NBC-HWC
Dr. Ellen is a Psychologist, Registered Dietitian, National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Reiki Master, and Mindful Self-compassion Teacher. Known as The Midlife Whisperer™, she helps women raise their vibration so they have the energy, confidence, and clarity to make their next chapter their best chapter.
An author, inspirational speaker and expert on women’s wellbeing, Dr. Ellen has appeared on Extra, the Food Network and NBC World News and has been quoted in Psychology Today, Eating Well and USA Today. She has written five books and articles for SELF, Better Homes & Gardens and Good Housekeeping. Her latest book is: Rock Your Midlife: 7 Steps to Transform Yourself and Make Your Next Chapter Your Best Chapter!
She brings over 25 years of counseling, coaching, and healing experience to her holistic practice and transformational work. She lives on the Champlain Islands of Vermont with her high-tech, raw-food loving partner, Ken and her tree climbing Border Collie, Rosie.
Get Rock Your Midlife by Dr. Ellen Albertson on Amazon
Check out Dr. Ellen Albertson's website themidlifewhisperer.com
Kwavi Agbeyegbe has a mission.
She wants to make women over 50 aware of their potential and value.
As a life coach, she started by asking 50 women who were over 50, from all over the world, to describe themselves.
Over 80% of the women she talked to reported feeling invisible.
The women don’t see themselves represented in the media. They feel erased, insignificant, and not a vital to the cultural conversation.
Kwavi is out to change this narrative. She is beginning by asking questions. 50 questions.
We love this. Questions and conversation are a great launching pad to diversify the story of what it means to age.
And of course Kwavi has plans for how to twist these conversations into action.
Take a listen.
Check out Kwavi's website at www.kwavi.com
Join Kwavi's online community Flourish
Follow Kwavi on Instagram @kwavi_tv
Follow Kwavi on TikTok @kwavi_tv
Get Kwavi's book 50 Questions to Answer When You Reach 50
At 75 years of age, with life of plot twists that include physical, emotional and relational challenges, Ronda Tamerlane has decided it’s time to tell her story.
Ronda’s 12 in 12 2021 project is to write her personal memoir.
Listen to this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast as
Ronda talks with us about how writing her memoir is giving the opportunity to take on new perspectives, let go of resentments, deepen her connection to the many roles she has played, and the many lives she has led.
As a retired psychotherapist, Ronda hopes that by telling her story, she will help to normalize and give voice to the experience of depression, anxiety, and generational trauma.
No more keeping quiet for Ronda.
She is both speaking out and listening more deeply to herself through her writing.
It is a memoir to grow by.
And growing is ongoing.
Check out Twelve in Twelve on twistingtheplot.com
Ronda Tamerlane was born in 1946 in Vallejo California. She has one daughter and two grandkids. Ronda was married 3 times, the last time to her soul mate who died six years after thirty years of being together. She got a BA in 1974 in psychology and had various working situations. She was even a rural carrier for 17 years. When she was in her late 40’s, Ronda went to graduate school and began a career as a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist which lasted for 20 years. In 2020, during covid, she retired. She is now writing her memoir.
We are so often bombarded with negative messages about aging that it makes us not want to do it. We don’t want to get older.
But what if aging could be a process that’s creative, intuitive and deepening? What if getting older was a creative act?
On this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast, we speak with three 12 in 12 group members about how their experience in the year-long program has given them opportunities for flow, nourishment, and connection.
Maddi Cheers, Nadya Trytan and Aleka Artemis Munroe share about their growth and learning throughout 2021. According to these three remarkable women, the 12 in 12 provided a space for new perspective, joyful rebellion and dreams realized.
They give good testimony and recommend that you too apply for 12 in 12 2022.
Is it your turn to twist the plot?
Maddi Cheers is first and foremost a Wisdom Activist! She is a Storyteller, ceremonialist, dancer, teacher, poet and artist. She is also the founder of The Women’s Oneness Project, dedicated to bringing women together to respectfully discuss and consider our differences. At 68 Maddi has dedicated her final chapter to passing on the knowledge and teachings she has gained from indigenous elders, spiritual leaders and her own life experience.
“We must create a world where each child is honored, not labeled, where each child is educated, not indoctrinated, where each child is safe and loved and part of a caring, kind community, so that they can grow and blossom and give their gifts to the world to make it a better place for all of us. That is the basis of a world at peace.”
~Maddi Cheers
Nadya Trytan has over 20 years experience practicing as a Drama Therapist in a variety of settings including inpatient hospital, partial hospitalization, day treatment, schools and private practice. She specializes in embodied, trauma-centered work, and has experience with children, adolescents, adults and elders. Nadya has a private practice in Minneapolis, MN and she is on the core faculty of Midwest Drama Therapy Institute. Nadya is Past President of the North American Drama Therapy Association and Past Chair of the National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations.
Aleka Artemis Munroe has always needed to express herself with words. At age 10, as her father forced his narcissistic interpretation of reality on his family, she began photographing with her Papou’s Brownie camera, recording reality and writing poems expressing her perspective. Aleka’s linguistics and foreign languages education etched words into her soul. After careers in banking, training, then teaching, and raising a theatrical and musical family where words were essential tools, her fifties hit hard with the chaos of a failed adoption and multiplying autoimmune illness. Her creative and comedic family and friends, and prayer, pulled her through. Aleka believes God gives us the strength to get through pain, sorrow and suffering, to live, love, laugh, and especially to reach out to others who are struggling to choose between despair and courage, connection and disconnection. Mindfulness training sparked a renewal of using photography and words to envision alternate interpretations of scenes in her limited physical world with her camera lens and lyrical mediations. This developed into Compasspoints: maxims for clearing the chaos in our cages. Aleka is finishing a photographic book entitled “I am Water”, an allegorical tale of being the water that constantly flows on toward the unknown of the ocean, despite the obstacles in its path.
Here’s a question to ponder. “Can you love yourself in a hostile world?”
This is the question Dr. Thema asks on this week’s podcast.
“We have to shift the individual, but we also have to shift the world in which the individual is living, so that we’re not constantly having to push back against these messages but that we can change the larger story, that we’re all worthy and deserving.”
Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis is a psychologist, a professor at Pepperdine University, a minister, a dancer, and a slam poet.
She is the director of the Culture and Trauma Research Lab, and has received numerous awards and recognition for her work in the fields of trauma, human trafficking, the psychology of women and anti-racism.
She is also the President Elect of The American Psychological Association.
And the host of The Homecoming Podcast with Dr. Thema.
In this conversation Dr. Thema talks about the many plot twists in her personal and professional life. She delineates the intersection of ageism, sexism, and racism. She speaks about her calling to the ministry and her belief in the role of the arts in communal healing. Finally, she articulates her thoughts about the profession and practice of psychology.
She even gifts us with a poem.
Take a listen. We were blown away.
Follow Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Connect with Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis on LinkedIn
Learn more about Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis at drthema.com
Who am I anyway?
Twisting the Plot’s Twelve in Twelve Program asks each participant to bring all of herself to the year-long experience. Together as a group, we invite the shadow self, the wise ones, role models, inner guides, mentors, avatars, nemeses …. all are welcome.
By the time one gets to our age there are a multitude of selves to encounter. Somedays our virtual 12-member group feels like a filled stadium.
Listen to this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast where two 12 in 12 members, Christine Kilavos and Lilly Cataldi, talk about their many sides, and share about their 12 in 12 projects.
These two women are dynamic, dimensional, and complex. They defy stereotypes. They make getting older something to look forward to.
They are twisting the plot.
Lilly Cataldi is an accomplished teacher, performer, and writer, who is known not only for her musical skills, but also for her talents as an inspiring vocal coach and acting instructor. She brings 45 years of wisdom and varied experience into her sessions with clients. As a vocalist and songwriter, Lilly has performed all styles of music from classical to contemporary to original works in numerous settings and venues. Now, after years of adventures, careers, side careers, and wrangling kids, family, and other assorted aliens, Lilly’s muses pulled her out of moth balls and cobwebs and insisted she resurrect her first passion of writing and singing songs. She happily agreed and is having a blast, bringing many colorful threads to her song writing and singing tapestry. Lilly is currently working on an LP that is scheduled into be released in 2022.
Christine Kilavos is a somatic coach and visual artist. She believes the body is the container to our stories and where our experiences are held. She created an experience she calls “the art of self,” a process through which we allow our bodies to become the brushes on the canvas. Christine teaches us how to let the movement of the body bring feelings from the inside out and give voice and expression to those feelings so they can be witnessed and accepted. The artistic process helps us feel, witness, name and accept ourselves, eventually making space for something new.
“Every blemish, stain, scar, smear, dent, imperfection, misplaced hair, softened heart, gripped mind, child-like pleasure, are windows to more of our world.”
What does it mean to be resilient?
How does one overcome tough challenges and yet continue to inspire?
On today’s podcast, we hear from Aleka Artemis Munroe, who lives with serious physical disabilites.
A member of Twelve in Twelve 2021, Aleka discusses her struggles with her body, and shares the tools she uses to get through that include mindfulness, acceptance, creativity, and an incredible sense of humor.
She is the creator of Compasspoints: maxims for clearing the chaos in our cages, and is finishing her beautiful book, I Am Water, an allegorical photography and poetry story about life’s obstacles and the flow of it all.
Take a listen to Aleka and learn how she twists through her many plot twists.
Bio:
Aleka Artemis Munroe has always needed to express herself with words. At age 10, as her father forced his narcissistic interpretation of reality on his family, she began photographing with her Papou’s Brownie camera, recording reality and writing poems expressing her perspective. Aleka’s linguistics and foreign languages education etched words into her soul. After careers in banking, training, then teaching, and raising a theatrical and musical family where words were essential tools, her fifties hit hard with the chaos of a failed adoption and multiplying autoimmune illness. Her creative and comedic family and friends, and prayer, pulled her through. Aleka believes God gives us the strength to get through pain, sorrow and suffering, to live, love, laugh, and especially to reach out to others who are struggling to choose between despair and courage, connection and disconnection. Mindfulness training sparked a renewal of using photography and words to envision alternate interpretations of scenes in her limited physical world with her camera lens and lyrical mediations. This developed into Compasspoints: maxims for clearing the chaos in our cages. Aleka is finishing a photographic book entitled “I am Water”, an allegorical tale of being the water that constantly flows on toward the unknown of the ocean, despite the obstacles in its path.
Check out @AlekaArtemisAuthorPhotographer on Instagram
What is a creatrix, you might ask?
According to Stephanie Raffelock the word creatrix is defined as “a woman who makes or creates things.” Stephanie suggests that creatrix may be a good replacement for crone when it comes to selecting an archetype for women to age into.
We love the idea of a woman continuing to “make things” beyond the biological clock of fertility.
Stephanie Raffelock herself is a creatrix. She is a storyteller and writer who published two books after she was 50. Creatrix Rising is her latest, and we were thrilled to speak with her about it on this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast.
Listen as Stephanie shares her story, the plot twists, and the role models who inspired her along the way. There is the poet Richard Blanco, her grandmother Julia, and the magical neighbor Austin.
Relationships matter to Stephanie. And now she matters to us.
We need to remind ourselves that as with all kinds of evolution, there is no destination point, no complete, all-the-way healing, but rather more unfolding, more work to be done. We grow psychologically and spiritually until the time we die. Stephanie Raffelock, The Creatrix Rising
Learn more about Stephanie Raffelock at https://www.byline-stephanie.com/
Picture this: you’ve come to a crossroads. It’s time for a change. But, which way do you go? Where do you start? How do you start?
In our 12 in 12 program, twelve women meet for twelve months, with each woman starting out in a new direction. Each creates a project of her own design and begins work on it, supported by the group.
They decide where to start, and what comes next.
How? By constructing individual roadmaps to follow for the year. Each woman’s roadmap envisions a path as well as the inevitable obstacles she may confront along the way.
The 12 in 12 roadmaps make up the stories that each woman lives and tells.
Listen as Una Betti, Lori McAndrew and Ronda Tamerlane share their roadmaps, and discuss how the women in the 12 in 12 have become markers and grounding for each other as they embark on their individual year-long journeys.
What about you? Do you have a roadmap that you can follow?
Does your plot need a twist?
Bios
Ronda Tamerlane was born in 1946 in Vallejo California. She has one daughter and two grandkids. Ronda was married 3 times, the last time to her soul mate who died six years after thirty years of being together. She got a BA in 1974 in psychology and had various working situations. She was even a rural carrier for 17 years. When she was in her late 40’s, Ronda went to graduate school and began a career as a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist which lasted for 20 years. In 2020, during covid, she retired. She is now writing her memoir.
Una Betti, the creator of Mindful Garden Designs LLC, has been gardening for over 30 years. Her gardens are her passion, and she finds great inspiration in the natural world around her. Una is a registered nurse and a certified project management professional. Her background in nursing and project management combines both the caring components and detailed mindset to design garden spaces that will come to life and thrive. Her mission statement speaks to all those who need to embrace their space; “To design gardens to create peaceful spaces to facilitate the practice of mindfulness, foster creativity and promote health.”
Lori McAndrew is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of New York. She is pursuing a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Oregon State University and is an Adjunct clinical supervisor for the Mental Health and Wellness Center at Molloy College. Her research interests include creative pedagogy in counselor education, multicultural counseling competence, and ageism. In addition to her academic pursuits and clinical profession, Lori is a Mom, daughter, wife, sister, aunt and friend.
Lori McAndrew has been waiting for a long time.
But now she waits no more.
At 57 she is pursuing her doctoral degree which she plans to finish when she is 60.
Listen as Lori shares her journey to this point, the struggles, the obstacles, the triumphs and… the waiting…
Lori, a Twisting the Plot 12 in 12 group member, discusses her project: a dissertation on ageism.
There’s a lot to talk about, and it’s all worth the wait.
Bio
Lori McAndrew is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of New York. She is pursuing a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Oregon State University and is an Adjunct clinical supervisor for the Mental Health and Wellness Center at Molloy College. Her research interests include creative pedagogy in counselor education, multicultural counseling competence, and ageism. In addition to her academic pursuits and clinical profession, Lori is a Mom, daughter, wife, sister, aunt and friend.
Last week we talked. This week we act.
After last week’s episode, we asked ourselves, could we do this thing called psychodrama over Zoom for a podcast?
We decided to give it a try.
Listen as Cecilia participates in a psychodrama facilitated by Heidi Landis and supported by Greta Schnee, Marianne Franzese and Cara Connors.
Together we explore the technique called future projection. Yes, future. Even at our age.
Take a listen for something entirely different.
Heidi is Licensed Creative Arts therapist (LCAT) Registered Drama Therapist and Board- Certified Trainer (RDT/BCT) and a Trainer, Educator and Practitioner of Psychodrama (TEP). Specializing in trauma-informed work and the use of creative arts therapy techniques, she has a private practice and consulting business in in New York City where she sees clients and facilitates trainings nationally and internationally. She was most recently the community coordinator of mental health at an international school in the South Bronx. For 14 years Heidi worked at Creative Alternatives of New York, as Associate Executive Director of the clinical and training programs where she ran Trauma-Informed Drama Therapy groups with many different populations as well as trained staff and site partners in using creative techniques in psychotherapy and in the classroom
Heidi is an adjunct professor at New York University and Yeshiva University in NYC, Lesley University in MA, Concordia University in Montreal and on faculty of the KINT institute. She has published about her work in the books Trauma-Informed Drama Therapy: Transforming Clinics, classrooms and communities, Handbook of Child and Adolescent Group Therapy: A Practitioner’s Reference, Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents: Theory and Practice and Current Approaches in Drama Therapy as well as in peer reviewed journals.
https://www.heidilandis.org
Psychodrama, “the psyche in action,” is an experiential form of psychotherapy where our inner and outer impulses can be explored through enactment.
Heidi Landis is a trainer, educator, and practitioner of psychodrama. On this Twisting the Plot Podcast she explains that psychodrama is a kind of group therapy utilizing dramatic techniques and helps individuals understand themselves, communicate better, and imagine how else things could be.
Heidi tells us that psychodrama gives us the chance to warm up to our lives, be spontaneous and take new action.
With a good warm up, we can be more flexible, open, and more creative with what’s next.
In this conversation Heidi enlightens us about psychodrama’s origin and theory.
It’s fascinating.
Check it out.
Bio
Heidi Landis is Licensed Creative Arts therapist (LCAT) Registered Drama Therapist and Board- Certified Trainer (RDT/BCT) and a Trainer, Educator and Practitioner of Psychodrama (TEP). Specializing in trauma-informed work and the use of creative arts therapy techniques, she has a private practice and consulting business in in New York City where she sees clients and facilitates trainings nationally and internationally. She was most recently the community coordinator of mental health at an international school in the South Bronx. For 14 years Heidi worked at Creative Alternatives of New York, as Associate Executive Director of the clinical and training programs where she ran Trauma-Informed Drama Therapy groups with many different populations as well as trained staff and site partners in using creative techniques in psychotherapy and in the classroom.
Heidi is an adjunct professor at New York University and Yeshiva University in NYC, Lesley University in MA, Concordia University in Montreal and on faculty of the KINT institute. She has published about her work in the books Trauma-Informed Drama Therapy: Transforming Clinics, classrooms and communities, Handbook of Child and Adolescent Group Therapy: A Practitioner’s Reference, Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents: Theory and Practice and Current Approaches in Drama Therapy as well as in peer reviewed journals.
https://www.heidilandis.org
We are entering the last third of our 12 in 12 2021 year. Twelve women, working together for twelve months, each woman creating a project of their own choice and design.
With each other, we are learning, growing, sharing and creating. Together, we are facing our pasts, embracing obstacles and envisioning new futures. We are supporting each other. We are challenging each other. We are doing more than getting through, we are doing more than managing change, we are the change makers.
And, we are having fun.
If you want to know more about how all this happens, listen to this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast as three of our twelve group members share their project ideas and discuss their experience.
This conversation with Kim Dickinson, Heidi Michaels and Mary Condon Hobbs, is all about possibility. Theirs and ours.
It’s a collaborative and collective twist.
If you want to be more visible, get more support and reinvigorate your own life, then considering joining us.
Applications for 12 in 12 2022 are now open and available here. https://twistingtheplot.lpages.co/twelve-in-twelve/
________________________________________________________
Heidi Michaels is a personal trainer and life coach based in Westchester NY, who specializes in working with women 45+. Her knowledge and unique blend of skills and personal experience guide, motivate, and inspire women through any physical and mental obstacle. Heidi@heidimichaels.com
Mary Condon Hobbs is a licensed mental health counselor living in Corrales, New Mexico. She currently works with adults with developmental disabilities, assisting them in creating a meaningful life. Mary enjoys photographing in-between moments, riding a mountain bike on pavement, learning to play the drums and gathering with friends around the firepit all year round. Divorcing during the Pandemic made her question love and relationships, intimacy and desire. Her Podcast in the making, Famished: to Fulfilled, helps women 50+ explore their passions and stay curious about their sensual selves.
Kim Dickinson lives on the east coast of Massachusetts in Scituate. She found herself artificially retired from teaching due to Covid. She has a background in psychology and costume design and has a great love of the outdoors. She finds joy in being a wife and mother and loves working with young people. Kim believes in the power of intentional action. She also thinks we could all use more humor and play in our adult lives.
Life is filled with many twists and turns, but eventually, if you follow your heart, you find yourself exactly where you are meant to be. This week we spoke with someone who is exactly where she is meant to be; Rebecca Dudley, Children’s Book Author, Architect, and Activist.
When Rebecca and her husband moved to Chicago from Seattle, they missed going to see the North West Ballet production of The Nutcracker with costumes by the late Maurice Sendak. As a gift for her husband, Rebecca decided to re-enact the ballet using stuffed animals. Inspired by the experience, Rebecca began making elaborate diorama’s that she photographed and posted as a blog called Storywoods. This led to two whimsical, creative, and beautifully conceived books; Hank Finds an Egg and Hank Has a Dream.
Rebecca talks with us about how her experience in the theater, studying dance in college, a degree in economics, her work as an architect and activist have all played a role in her current work as a children’s book author. Listen as Rebecca explains how she uses her camera to explore the worlds she creates and discovers the story waiting to be told.
Check out Rebecca's blog Storywoods
Buy 'Hank Finds an Egg' and 'Hank Has a Dream' on Amazon.com
Every now and then, Cecilia and Hannah wonder, “are we there, have we made it, can we finally call ourselves adults?” It just seems like we’ve been waiting for decades for that certificate of achievement, or that special feeling that lets us know we’ve made the grade.
Yes, we are in our sixties and still asking ourselves, What does it mean to be an adult?
So this week on our Twisting the Plot Podcast we talk with Julie Lythcott-Haims, who wrote Your Turn: How To Be An Adult.
A former corporate lawyer, Julie became a Dean at Stanford University and then wrote a book, How to Raise an Adult. She also wrote a memoir, Real American, about growing up black and biracial in white spaces.
In her latest book, Julie has a lot to say about growing up. Her voice is direct and encouraging. She gets candid about her experience and she fills her book with stories by and about many different people navigating adulthood. Julie calls the storytelling her “commitment to inclusion.” The stories by diverse groups of storytellers confirm a very important message: being an adult is universally complex, ongoing and not easy.
We felt reassured after reading the book. It gave us a lot to think about, a lot of tips and tools. We understand that being an adult is less a destination and more an ongoing process.
Julie’s book is written for young, emerging adults but it’s good for us older adult wannabees too. Perhaps it is finally “our turn.”
Visit julielythcotthaims.com
How do you bloom? Are you an annual or a perennial? Do you bloom late? Are you still sprouting? Or are you waiting, held inside some bulb that is planted deep within the earth, for your time?
Today we talk to Yvonne Marchese, host of Late Bloomer Living Podcast.
Yvonne believes midlife can be a time to step into a new experience, learn new things and, well, bloom again.
She calls herself a “serial pivoter.” She is an actress, storyteller, photographer, wife and mother.
We are so happy to connect with Yvonne. She is a part of the cultural web of women who support others in embracing life, rebooting desire and re-finding purpose in midlife and beyond.
Take a Listen.
Check out Yvonne's websites latebloomerliving.com and yvonnemarchesephotography.com
Check out Yvonne's free workbook 5 Steps to Your Midlife Reboot
Check out Yvonne's Instagram, Facebook page, and Linkedin
Get ready for something different.
Cindy Gallop doesn’t do status quo.
After years as a leader and change-maker in the advertising business she has moved on to new projects.
At 61, Cindy shares that her life course is guided by a series of serendipitous accidents. Her current accidental mission is to help us all learn about, explore and talk about…sex.
MakeLoveNotPorn aims to help us all uncover our sexual potential. Cindy explains that there are two coincidental issues preventing us from knowing who we can be as sexual beings. First, we live in a society where sex is never discussed. Second, the porn industry is bigger and more accessible than ever. Hence, what we know about sex is taught to us by porn. It leaves most of us confused, unsatisfied, and missing out. MakeLoveNotPorn is a platform that invites real people to show real sex, in all its diversity. It aims to dispel myths, bash stereotypes, and free us all physically, emotionally and intimately.
It's a provocative topic. It’s a bold business.
Cindy shakes us up and makes us think.
It’s a plot twist for all.
Learn more about Cindy at cindygallop.com
Check out makelovenotporn.tv
When we think about women's invisibility over 50, we rarely consider women’s bodies in their purest form, naked. We have been taught to look away with shame, fear, even disgust. This week, we spoke with photographer Jocelyn Lee about her new book Sovereign.
Throughout her career, Jocelyn has been photographing women in the nude, documenting how the body and our sense of ourselves changes throughout our lives. Sovereign is a collection of portraits depicting women age 55 and up. These women, captured naked in natural settings, reveal the beauty, sensuality, and strength of older women made visible.
Listen as Jocelyn talks with us about what she has learned from her work.
Sovereign seeks to shine a bright light on the natural beauty of women of all ages and all body types. No body is deserving of invisibility and I believe this work marks a long overdue paradigm shift. It’s time we revolutionize the image world and flood it with women in real bodies, feeling sensual and wonderful in their human skin.
— Jocelyn Lee 2020
Check out Sovereign at jocelynleestudio.com
Buy Sovereign at minormattersbooks.com
Nikki Giovanni has a gift for making the everyday extraordinary.
She is an American poet, commentator, activist and educator. She has published multiple poetry anthologies, children’s books and spoken word recordings. In the 1960’s she was dubbed “the poet of the black revolution.” She was an activist in the civil rights movement and an inspiration for the Black Arts movement. She has won 7 NAACP Image awards, the Langston Hughes Medal, and was the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award.
In the 1970’s Nikki produced and made several appearances on the television program Soul!, where she engaged in a memorable dialogue with James Baldwin. She has taught writing and literature at Queens College, Rutgers and Ohio State, and is now the University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech.
We are so, so fortunate to have Nikki on our Twisting the Plot Podcast. We could have talked together for hours. Conversations with Nikki are like poetry itself. Multiple meanings exude from each word she speaks. She’s a wordsmith, a storyteller, and a wise guide. And she lets her imagination run free. She thinks growing older is a good idea.
She reads from her most recent book, Make Me Rain.
Make Me Rain
make me rain
turn me into a snowflake
let me rest
on your tongue
make me a piece of ice
so I can cool you
let me be the cloud
that embraces you
or the quilt
that gets you dry
snuggle close
listen to me sing
on the windowsill
make me rain
on you
Check out Nikki's website at www.nikki-giovanni.com
Read some more of Nikki's poems at poetryfoundation.org
Buy Make Me Rain: Poems and Prose by Nikki Giovanni on Amazon
When the pandemic hit New York City, internationally acclaimed designer Rebecca Moses turned to her art for comfort, imagination, and connection. She put a post on Instagram asking women to write about their pandemic experience, letters from the heart. In return, she would paint their portrait. And the “Stay Home Sisterhood” was born.
To date, over 410 women from all over the world have shared their stories and seen themselves through Rebecca’s eyes, a remarkable gift.
Rebecca also volunteered to paint the portraits of 50 nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in honor of “The Year of The Nurse.” A moment of kindness and love in a very dark time.
Listen to today’s Twisting the Plot Podcast as Rebecca talks about the importance of trusting your voice, finding the beauty within, and lifting women up. Rebecca also shares with us what she’s learned about “The power of the paintbrush,” and our ongoing evolution.
Visit rebeccamoses.com
Check out Rebecca Moses' Instagram @rebeccamosesofficial
Over fifty, we often feel the desire for something more, something new. But to get there, we have to clear out the weeds and thorn bushes of old beliefs, expectations, and fears so that we can make space for new possibilities.
This week we spoke with Kathy Lockhardt, founder of Flourish Farms, who did just that, both physically and metaphorically. At 59, Kathy had a dream to reclaim a long-overgrown field on the family farm and turn it into a truck garden. Her family was doubtful that it could be done, but Kathy persisted. With the help of her brother-in-law and a lot of sweat and back-breaking work, Kathy created her field of dreams.
With metaphors aplenty, Kathy shares with us what she discovered about her own strength, and about listening to one’s desires, trusting your dream, and learning when to rest.
Sign Up for the Flourish Farm Newsletter
Who knew getting older could be so funny?
In the 1960’s gerontologist Robert Butler told us that thinking back over our lives is therapeutic. He termed his method of reminiscence, “Life Review”. Through a life review, experiences from the past, particularly the unresolved conflicts, can be resolved and reintegrated into our life experience.
There is also substantial research pointing to the benefits of humor. Humor has been found to lower blood pressure, increase pain threshold, and improve the immune system. Humor reduces cortisol and increases endorphins in our systems. It also helps us gain perspective, sharpen our memory, and allows us to forgive ourselves and others.
Story and laughter bring people together.
Enter, Mary Clohan, a stand-up comedian and graduate student in New York University’s program for Drama Therapy. Mary decided to combine these two healing processes. For her Masters’ thesis, she examined the process and benefits of what she calls, “Laugh Review.”
On this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast we hear from Mary and five of her actor/subjects, all residents of Penn South, “a naturally occurring retirement community” located in NYC, fondly referred to as NORC.
Take a listen and laugh along with us.
We are honored to have the following participants on this podcast: Hilda Aronson, Michael Bournas-Ney, Martin Sturm, Florence Cohen, and Harriet Kriegel.
Cast Bios:
Mary Clohan is a writer, performer, teaching artist and recent graduate of the NYU Master’s Program in Drama Therapy. She has been performing stand-up comedy and improv comedy around NYC for the past 4 years and is interested in the therapeutic potential of humor and comedy within the creative arts therapies. Reach out to Mary Clohan via email at maryclohan@gmail.com
Hilda Aronson - Hilda had her 89th birthday six months ago and, being in very poor health, or lack thereof, is very proud of her highest achievement: simply being alive. Personal and professional successes lose importance. Giving and receiving an abundance of love, that's what she identifies with. All the rest is illusion.
Michael Bournas-Ney - Michael premiered as an actor in first grade, when he played the part of a washcloth. (His friend was a bar of soap.) He loves humor and was thrilled to be part of Mary's stand-up class.
Martin Sturm - Martin is now a playwright, standup comedian, and actor. These are accomplishments that he didn't think were possible, in all his wildest dreams.
Florence Cohen - Florence is a lifelong closet comedian who always tried to keep companions amused. She is also a current abstract painter and a senior trying to keep up with a constantly changing world.
Harriet Kriegel - Harriet began as a high school English teacher, moved to health care, and became Vice President of Public Affairs, Development, and Marketing at The Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged. After retiring, she joined the Board of Penn South Social Services, which sponsors the Penn South Program for Seniors, where she has become involved with theatre and acting, discovering new talents, and doing Stand-Up Comedy. It is a thrill to discover a new skill when you are 87!
Every now and then, Cecilia and Hannah wonder, “are we there, have we made it, can we finally call ourselves adults?” It just seems like we’ve been waiting for decades for that certificate of achievement, or that special feeling that lets us know we’ve made the grade.
Yes, we are in our sixties and still asking ourselves, What does it mean to be an adult?
So this week on our Twisting the Plot Podcast we talk with Julie Lythcott-Haims, who wrote Your Turn: How To Be An Adult.
A former corporate lawyer, Julie became a Dean at Stanford University and then wrote a book, How to Raise an Adult. She also wrote a memoir, Real American, about growing up black and biracial in white spaces.
In her latest book, Julie has a lot to say about growing up. Her voice is direct and encouraging. She gets candid about her experience and she fills her book with stories by and about many different people navigating adulthood. Julie calls the storytelling her “commitment to inclusion.” The stories by diverse groups of storytellers confirm a very important message: being an adult is universally complex, ongoing and not easy.
We felt reassured after reading the book. It gave us a lot to think about, a lot of tips and tools. We understand that being an adult is less a destination and more an ongoing process.
Julie’s book is written for young, emerging adults but it’s good for us older adult wannabees too. Perhaps it is finally “our turn.”
Visit julielythcotthaims.com
Sometimes, the best plot twists come from reaching back into our pasts.
Over 40 years ago, Hannah and Cecilia lived in New York City, in apartments on the same floor, just down the hall from each other. Our 73rd Street apartments were tiny and close. We could even hear each other’s conversations through an airshaft. Hannah lived with our dear friend Sza, and Ceil lived with our old friend Donna.
It's been decades, but we decided to reconnect with Donna.
Take a listen to this week’s podcast where we reminisce and catch-up on marriages, smoking habits, work, values, weight fluctuations and decisions that didn’t work out.
Donna DeSanto is one of a kind. She’s a unique, nonjudgmental and very funny friend who for some reason loves us unconditionally. Friendships seem to matter even more as we get older. And reconnecting with Donna is a gift we gave ourselves.
Get ready for something different.
Cindy Gallop doesn’t do status quo.
After years as a leader and change-maker in the advertising business she has moved on to new projects.
At 61, Cindy shares that her life course is guided by a series of serendipitous accidents. Her current accidental mission is to help us all learn about, explore and talk about…sex.
MakeLoveNotPorn aims to help us all uncover our sexual potential. Cindy explains that there are two coincidental issues preventing us from knowing who we can be as sexual beings. First, we live in a society where sex is never discussed. Second, the porn industry is bigger and more accessible than ever. Hence, what we know about sex is taught to us by porn. It leaves most of us confused, unsatisfied, and missing out. MakeLoveNotPorn is a platform that invites real people to show real sex, in all its diversity. It aims to dispel myths, bash stereotypes, and free us all physically, emotionally and intimately.
It's a provocative topic. It’s a bold business.
Cindy shakes us up and makes us think.
It’s a plot twist for all.
Learn more about Cindy at cindygallop.com
Check out makelovenotporn.tv
In today’s podcast Hannah and Cecilia take time to reflect on what we have learned from recent podcast guests.
One of the joys of our Twisting the Plot podcast is getting to meet some truly incredible people. Whether they are caregivers, educators, artists, mothers, aunts, friends…they all have a story to tell.
What we had not anticipated is how listening to these stories would affect us.
This week we thought we would talk about a few recent conversations that have done just that.
First, we discuss how Maria Hodermarska, a professor at NYU, taught us about letting go and, through the process, continuing to grow. Then there was Erin Pace, an embodiment coach, who asked us, What if you are perfect just the way you are? Finally, we ponder about our conversation with Nikki Giovanni, poet, activist and teacher who leads by example, speaking her truth with honesty, grace, and dignity. Among the many things, Nikki taught us is to marvel at the granularity of life.
We also share how the women in our Twelve in Twelve Program remind us about the importance of community, and the power of being seen and heard.
Come reflect with us.
We are filled with gratitude for all the women, and all the stories.
Nikki Giovanni has a gift for making the everyday extraordinary.
She is an American poet, commentator, activist and educator. She has published multiple poetry anthologies, children’s books and spoken word recordings. In the 1960’s she was dubbed “the poet of the black revolution.” She was an activist in the civil rights movement and an inspiration for the Black Arts movement. She has won 7 NAACP Image awards, the Langston Hughes Medal, and was the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award.
In the 1970’s Nikki produced and made several appearances on the television program Soul!, where she engaged in a memorable dialogue with James Baldwin. She has taught writing and literature at Queens College, Rutgers and Ohio State, and is now the University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech.
We are so, so fortunate to have Nikki on our Twisting the Plot Podcast. We could have talked together for hours. Conversations with Nikki are like poetry itself. Multiple meanings exude from each word she speaks. She’s a wordsmith, a storyteller, and a wise guide. And she lets her imagination run free. She thinks growing older is a good idea.
She reads from her most recent book, Make Me Rain.
Make Me Rain
make me rain
turn me into a snowflake
let me rest
on your tongue
make me a piece of ice
so I can cool you
let me be the cloud
that embraces you
or the quilt
that gets you dry
snuggle close
listen to me sing
on the windowsill
make me rain
on you
Check out Nikki's website at www.nikki-giovanni.com
Read some more of Nikki's poems at poetryfoundation.org
Buy Make Me Rain: Poems and Prose by Nikki Giovanni on Amazon
When media industry executive Sally Wolf found herself navigating life with metastatic breast cancer, she had her dance teacher, Erin Pace, as a support.
Erin Pacecalls herself a conscious embodiment guide. She developed “The Responsive Body Practice” to help women realign mind-body-spirt for self-healing. With Erin’s intuitive guidance, Sally found connection with, and love for her changing body. With Erin as a healing partner, Sally has been able to dance throughout her cancer journey.
Since this podcast follows Mothers’ Day, we contemplate the many ways that women nurture and grow other women. It is our pleasure to spotlight this beautiful, generous and healing relationship that Erin and Sally share.
Take a listen as Erin describes the importance of loving the body of now, not the body of yesterday or the body of tomorrow. And take comfort in Sally’s stories of the many ways that Erin has helped her cope, stay present and grow strong.
Life is filled with plot twists, and we all need some mothering from time to time.
Erin has been gracious to provide our Twisters a special offer through August 31, 2021
Use the discount code TWISTCOMP for 1 free Bliss Body Connection or Move It! class at erinpace.com
Use the discount code TWIST10 for 10% off one private session at erinpace.com
Check out Sally Wolf's website at sallywolf.com
It’s not everyone who gets to be 63 and celebrate Mother’s Day with their Mom. For many of us Mother’s Day does not bring this kind of joy. Some of us may have lost our Moms and the day brings sadness. Some may have complicated relationships with our mothers. But Cecilia’s Mom, Nancy Dintino, is going strong and growing still.
We interviewed Nancy while Cecilia was home for a visit. A mother of six, grandmother of 13, and babysitter or stand-in mother to countless others, Nancy says it’s all about love.
She tells us how she fell in love with each of her kids and grandkids, and how grateful she is for her family. We ask how she did it with six little ones under age of 6 in the house, and she replies by staying grounded and present. It seems Nancy was mindful before mindful was the way to be. Listen as Nancy talks about the importance of acceptance and ongoing adaptation as she, at 84, continues to learns from her children and grandchildren.
When we think about personal growth and change, it can feel daunting, even scary. Some will tell you that real change is impossible. But we know otherwise. With our experience as psychotherapists working with women of all ages in many situations, we can say with confidence that change and growth are possible.
This week, we decided to pull back the curtain and talk about the work we love with our friend and colleague, Erin Olivo. Erin is an author and clinical psychologist with more than 22 years of experience treating patients dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression. She has just turned 50 herself, and recently twisted her plot. Along with her partner, Dr. Mark Wilson, she has opened a group practice, “The Center For Wise Mind Living.”
Listen as Erin explains what she defines as “wise mind living,” and the evolving role psychotherapists play in helping clients see their potential.
Center For Wise Mind Living
Hi all. Hannah and Cecilia of Twisting the Plot here. Like many, we have spent the last year focused on the demands of family, work, health, and safety. We’ve also spent a lot of time gathering the stories of our beloved clients and Plot Twisters. We realize that we seldom make the space to connect with ourselves. And one thing’s for sure, we haven’t made the time to check in with each other.
Over 40 years of friendship and there is still more to learn about each other.
So, this week we thought we would sit down and spend some time checking in.
How are we growing? How can we support each other? What can we learn about each other? What can we learn about ourselves?
What else can we laugh about
Join us.
Twisting the Plot is on Instagram
Check out our website twistingtheplot.com
Come join our Plot Twisters Facebook group
This April, we have been focused on spring, the season of awakening, growing, and blooming. It is the time of year when animals awake, the sun warms, and the earth seems to come alive. But growing isn’t just for plants. We grow children, relationships, careers, and even therapists.
This week we speak with Maria Hodermarska, Clinical Associate Professor at NYU. Maria has been growing drama therapists for over 25 years. Using theater, creativity, psychological theory, literature, and a wealth of experience and insight, Maria has nurtured a devoted community of creative arts therapists.
Maria speaks with us about the importance of curiosity, vulnerability, and connecting with her students as individuals. She shares her belief that education should employ a “mutual aid.” The teacher must be willing to learn from the students. Maria explains that “therapy is an art, an art of being with people.” Listen in as she offers her special take on a therapist’s becoming and how we can all grow up.
Check out Maria Hodermarska at NYU Steinhardt
When the pandemic hit New York City, internationally acclaimed designer Rebecca Moses turned to her art for comfort, imagination, and connection. She put a post on Instagram asking women to write about their pandemic experience, letters from the heart. In return, she would paint their portrait. And the “Stay Home Sisterhood” was born.
To date, over 410 women from all over the world have shared their stories and seen themselves through Rebecca’s eyes, a remarkable gift.
Rebecca also volunteered to paint the portraits of 50 nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in honor of “The Year of The Nurse.” A moment of kindness and love in a very dark time.
Listen to today’s Twisting the Plot Podcast as Rebecca talks about the importance of trusting your voice, finding the beauty within, and lifting women up. Rebecca also shares with us what she’s learned about “The power of the paintbrush,” and our ongoing evolution.
Visit rebeccamoses.com
Check out Rebecca Moses' Instagram @rebeccamosesofficial
Over fifty, we often feel the desire for something more, something new. But to get there, we have to clear out the weeds and thorn bushes of old beliefs, expectations, and fears so that we can make space for new possibilities.
This week we spoke with Kathy Lockhardt, founder of Flourish Farms, who did just that, both physically and metaphorically. At 59, Kathy had a dream to reclaim a long-overgrown field on the family farm and turn it into a truck garden. Her family was doubtful that it could be done, but Kathy persisted. With the help of her brother-in-law and a lot of sweat and back-breaking work, Kathy created her field of dreams.
With metaphors aplenty, Kathy shares with us what she discovered about her own strength, and about listening to one’s desires, trusting your dream, and learning when to rest.
Sign Up for the Flourish Farm Newsletter
Is there a woman from the past who you admire? What if you spent some time studying her life? What if you became versed in her story, thoughts and beliefs? What if you embodied her?
This week, in honor of Women’s History Month, we asked the women in our Plot Twisters Facebook group to share the names and stories of women they admire. We tell you about these women, a remarkable group of artists, activists, scientists, caregivers and visionaries.
Then we speak with Maria Dintino, whose new book, A Light Above (to be released later this summer), tells the story of Margaret Fuller and the role played she played in Maria’s personal transformation. Maria talks with us about how a fictive relationship with women we admire can play a role in our own evolution.
Check out the Plot Twisters Facebook group
Twistingtheplot.com
When we think about women's invisibility over 50, we rarely consider women’s bodies in their purest form, naked. We have been taught to look away with shame, fear, even disgust. This week, we spoke with photographer Jocelyn Lee about her new book Sovereign.
Throughout her career, Jocelyn has been photographing women in the nude, documenting how the body and our sense of ourselves changes throughout our lives. Sovereign is a collection of portraits depicting women age 55 and up. These women, captured naked in natural settings, reveal the beauty, sensuality, and strength of older women made visible.
Listen as Jocelyn talks with us about what she has learned from her work.
Sovereign seeks to shine a bright light on the natural beauty of women of all ages and all body types. No body is deserving of invisibility and I believe this work marks a long overdue paradigm shift. It’s time we revolutionize the image world and flood it with women in real bodies, feeling sensual and wonderful in their human skin.
— Jocelyn Lee 2020
Check out Sovereign at jocelynleestudio.com
Buy Sovereign at minormattersbooks.com
Life is filled with many twists and turns, but eventually, if you follow your heart, you find yourself exactly where you are meant to be. This week we spoke with someone who is exactly where she is meant to be; Rebecca Dudley, Children’s Book Author, Architect, and Activist.
When Rebecca and her husband moved to Chicago from Seattle, they missed going to see the North West Ballet production of The Nutcracker with costumes by the late Maurice Sendak. As a gift for her husband, Rebecca decided to re-enact the ballet using stuffed animals. Inspired by the experience, Rebecca began making elaborate diorama’s that she photographed and posted as a blog called Storywoods. This led to two whimsical, creative, and beautifully conceived books; Hank Finds an Egg and Hank Has a Dream.
Rebecca talks with us about how her experience in the theater, studying dance in college, a degree in economics, her work as an architect and activist have all played a role in her current work as a children’s book author. Listen as Rebecca explains how she uses her camera to explore the worlds she creates and discovers the story waiting to be told.
Check out Rebecca's blog Storywoods
Buy 'Hank Finds an Egg' and 'Hank Has a Dream' on Amazon.com
The soul is not something outside of us. We carry it within and it is ours to interact with and shape and dance with.
- Theresa C. Dintino in Membranes of Hope
Theresa Dintino has made several plot twists throughout her adult years. A writer, she studied goddess culture and wrote books about matriarchal societies. Eventually she was drawn to study her own ancestral lineage and wrote a book about her great-grandmother who was an Italian strega. Her journey to connect with her Strega ancestry led her to an introduction to the West African Dagara tradition of stick divination. In a plot twist, Theresa pursued divination, a calling that has further deepened her connection to nature, elemental beings, and her ancestral past.
As a stick diviner, she listens, is advised by the elements, and prescribes rituals and actions to those seeking answers or healing. It is an intuitive ritual involving deep focus and play.
Theresa’s explorations next turned to life-systems and their membranes. In her latest book, Membranes of Hope, she considers how everything, even the smallest of molecules is “ensouled” in a membrane. Everything that is a life source is protected by a membrane that lets in, and keeps out, what it needs in order to thrive. As therapists, we refer to these as boundaries. But we like the idea of membrane. It’s more dynamic and porous, less static.
Along with the eight books that she has written, she is also the co-founder of the Weekly Newsletter Nasty Women Writers, and the founder of the Strega Tree Apothecary, an online store offering products for spiritual care needs.
Take a listen to Theresa’s story.
Learn more about Theresa's work at ritualgoddess.com
Check out the Strega Tree Apothecary at stregatree.com
Check out nastywomenwriters.com
Valerie Albarda suggests we enjoy the midlife and skip the crisis.
She has a podcast she calls Midlife-A-Go-Go, filled with interviews, stories and testaments of mid-lifers exploring their worlds, enjoying their lives and making changes that matter to us all.
Valerie recently gave a TEDxCharlotte talk titled The Invisibility Trifecta: Coming Out of the Shadows. In this talk, she discusses midlife invisibility and the intersection with aging, sexism and racism. She asks us to consider how the experience of being a black woman in midlife is different and challenging: I want people to be more aware of black and other midlife women of color in society; to make room for us at the table; to show us respect; to acknowledge the value of our life experience.
Now, Valerie faces another challenge, a diagnosis of Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
Through it all she is a storyteller, an advisor and an activist. We experienced her as both playful and formidable, a very potent mix.
Take a Listen
Check out https://www.midlifeagogo.com/
Check out Midlife-A-Go-Go on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
How do you bloom? Are you an annual or a perennial? Do you bloom late? Are you still sprouting? Or are you waiting, held inside some bulb that is planted deep within the earth, for your time?
Today we talk to Yvonne Marchese, host of Late Bloomer Living Podcast.
Yvonne believes midlife can be a time to step into a new experience, learn new things and, well, bloom again.
She calls herself a “serial pivoter.” She is an actress, storyteller, photographer, wife and mother.
We are so happy to connect with Yvonne. She is a part of the cultural web of women who support others in embracing life, rebooting desire and re-finding purpose in midlife and beyond.
Take a Listen.
Check out Yvonne's websites latebloomerliving.com and yvonnemarchesephotography.com
Check out Yvonne's free workbook 5 Steps to Your Midlife Reboot
Check out Yvonne's Instagram, Facebook page, and Linkedin
Sometimes, it’s important to seek the bigger picture in order to understand ourselves. In times like these, we need to go beyond our noses to find solace and wisdom in larger patterns. But how do we do this? One way is to start by looking at life from a decidedly different perspective.
Today, we talk with Dianna Mahiques, a Western Astrologer and certified BTB Feng Shui Master. She offers us some alternative ways to know and experience ourselves in this multidimensional world.
Since she was a child, Diana was attracted to the metaphysical aspects of our existence. She was attracted to a career in music and was successful as a rock band manager. But her love of astrology and her capacity for the intuitive eventually lead her in a different direction. She twisted her plot and stepped further and wider into her life-long passions.
Diana’s energy is captivating and wide-reaching. She’s got a lot to offer. We admit, we don’t know much about astrology or Feng Shui. But we did learn something about Saturn returning for the third time in our lives.
Find out more. Let’s explore it all.
Twisting our plots is a big job.
Diana's Instagram
Check out integrativeastrologyandfengshui.com
Email Diana at dianamahiques@gmail.com
Who we are and what we know about ourselves can turn on a dime.
On today’s Twisting the Plot Podcast, we talk to Kathleen Shea Kirstein who shares a personal plot twist.
At the age of 49, Kathleen makes a startling discovery. She learns, in accidental and unexpected fashion, that she was not actually born to her beloved parents.
She was adopted.
This changes everything.
Now, at 63, Kathleen continues to discover more of who she really is, and was, all along.
What is it like to realize the story you believe about you is riddled with secrets and lies? What is the experience of learning that the things that you thought were “off” about you, turn out to be exactly right.
We are the magical alchemy of nature and nurture. And when we have access to our whole story, much about us begins to make sense.
Recommended Facebook Groups:
NPE Only after the Discovery
Hiraeth Hope and Healing
Adoptees Only
Check out The Write Journey at thewritejourneyworkshop.com
Cecilia loves a good New Year’s resolution or twenty. She starts her new year off with several notebooks and charts, making vows and setting plans.
Hannah’s given up resolutions since most of hers have historically been linked to self-improvement with a negative underlying theme of “not good enough.” But she still expects to grow, and she does have goals.
What’s the difference between a resolution and a goal?
Resolution has a firmness, an all or nothing, do or don’t do, a command. A goal suggests a process, a direction with intention. Resolutions are often about stopping something that is wrong with us, whereas goals are more aligned with our sense of purpose. Resolutions replay the past, and goals direct the future.
What if the new year with all its promise was about becoming, an unfolding of our identity and experience? And what if, as we age, we could package our goals into practices that invoke pleasure, ease and play?
Join us in this week’s Twisting the Plot podcast as we ponder these questions.
As a bonus, Hannah reads an essay from her Dad, Donald Murray’s column from the Boston Globe in 1995.
Don Murray always had goals. He was a striver and a doer until his last day. But along the way, he also savored the passage.
It’s a beautiful piece.
Change is hard. Resolutions fail, goals recede. And yet, we grow.
Hannah and Cecilia discuss the year and the feelings they shared in this twisting 2020.
If you want to be inspired and get some clarity about what it can mean to age wisely, this is a must-listen podcast.
Chip Conley, the strategic inspiration behind Airbnb, is also a best-selling author with a new and compelling message.
According to Chip, the first half of our lives is all about accumulating. We accumulate identities, knowledge and experience. But in order to move fully into our next passage, we have to stop accumulating, and instead, edit. We must let go of baggage and make room for what’s next.
And what’s next according to Chip?
Wisdom.
Wisdom that is harvested. Wisdom that is not taught but shared. Wisdom that is regenerative.
Wisdom requires that we shift our operating system from ego to soul.
He is the founder of the Modern Elder Academy, with a mission to grow regenerative communities that make use of our longevity by giving it vision and purpose.
It’s the perfect plot twist. And a most wonderful conversation to wrap up our year.
Take a listen.
New York Times bestselling author Chip Conley is the hospitality maverick who helped Airbnb's founders turn their fast-growing tech start-up into a global hospitality brand. In Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder he shares his unexpected journey at midlife — from CEO to intern — learning about technology as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, while also mentoring CEO Brian Chesky. Chip is the founder of the Modern Elder Academy, where a new roadmap for midlife is offered at a beautiful oceanfront campus in Baja California Sur, Mexico. He serves on the board of Encore.org and the advisory board for the Stanford Center for Longevity. www.ChipConley.com
In these closing comments from three group members,
Robin Snow shares her metaphors and reminds us that change is an art.
Jane Emmer is making paper plate awards that speak to each participant’s role in supporting the group.
Laura Preiser describes the Stone Soup ritual where everyone brings their own ingredients to the pot.
It’s been a year to remember, so much silliness, so many heartaches, lots of outrage and lasting creativity and growth.
We are beyond grateful.
Three more days for you to apply.
Check out 12 in 12 at TwistingThePlot.com
Emilie Ward and Deb Yeager joined 12 in 12 2020 with specific missions and intentions.
Then, 2020 had its way with them.
Emilie suffered for weeks with severe symptoms of the coronavirus. Deb, a disaster expert, left her cozy home in New Hampshire to work in Brooklyn at the height of the coronavirus crisis in New York City.
Next, both women faced job loss and financial challenges.
And eventually, both women became caretakers of their mothers.
It’s a lot.
A lot of obstacles. A lot of pain.
Nevertheless, they persist. Their projects are alive.
These are two women filled with humor, love, creativity and determination.
Take a listen.
We will be taking applications for our 12 in 12 2021 until December 18th. Apply Now
A couple of years ago Therese Shechter posted a survey on Facebook that started with the sentence: Tell me about your experience not having children.
It went viral.
Women wanted their stories to be heard.
On today’s podcast, we talk to Therese Shechter, award winning filmmaker and founder of the feminist production company, Trixie Films.
Therese, 58 years-old, knew about her preference to live childfree since she was a young girl. It wasn’t easy to follow her heart. In fact, for years she assumed that she didn’t have this choice. It’s tricky to live outside of the usual expectations. It’s not always easy to have access to options.
Listen in on this important discussion with Therese, who claims she likes to “disturb what is sacred about womanhood.” She does this for the sake of diversity, choice and freedom.
Then be on the lookout for Trixie Films’ new documentary coming out in 2021 titled, “My So-Called Selfish Life.” A documentary film that examines what it means to say no to motherhood, and investigates who gets to make this choice
We are so happy to know Therese Shechter, a woman who celebrates plot twists and gives us all the opportunity to explore who else and what else we can be.
Learn more about Trixie Films at trixiefilms.com
Learn more about My Selfish Life at myselfishlife.com
Selfish Facebook Community
@trixiefilms on Instagram
Check out 12 in 12 at TwistingThePlot.com
Join us for another conversation with two of our 12 in 12 members.
Lauri Landry and Stephanie Omens talk about finding their voice and speaking their truth.
They discuss the cost of holding secrets and share the shame and confusion that secrets breed.
Lauri shares tells us how her 12 in 12 project transformed over the course of the year, starting as a verbatim theatre project about resilience and turning into a performance piece giving voice to stories that included her own.
Stephanie discusses her experience in completing the draft of her book, No White Lies, a book helping children, and their adults, face the difficult truths we confront in life.
They each read from their work.
So much wisdom.
So much truth telling.
Take a listen.
Check out 12 in 12 at TwistingThePlot.com
We were thrilled to sit down virtually with David Stewart, founder of AGEIST. AGEIST is a platform that offers research, advise and inspiration for an over-50 lifestyle that is cutting edge and emerging.
David Stewart likes to say that AGEIST offers options.
We loved this conversation with David. He's smart, fun and engaging.
And yes, he’s a man. He has something to say about that too.
Take a listen to this stimulating discussion and learn what David Stewart has to say about aging in today’s culture.
You should listen. Because he gives us options. And, we could all use options.
https://www.weareageist.com/author/davidagei-st/
David Harry Stewart is the founder and face of the AGEIST. He is a passionate champion and leading authority on the modern 50+ lifestyle, and the mindset and aspirations that drive this influential demographic. An influential thought leader and magnetic speaker, he is called upon frequently to share his expertise and insight at important venues and forums around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, CNN, NYTimes, Monocle, Esquire. He recently keynoted the Global Wellness Summit in Singapore. Prior to launching AGEIST, Stewart enjoyed an award-winning career as a photographer specializing in people-oriented advertising that combined his engineer’s precision with a high level of design and visual aesthetic.
Check out 12 in 12 at TwistingThePlot.com
Dr. Leslie M. Faerstein and La-Verna Fountain didn’t get the memo that it’s time to go invisible. Instead, they decided that being a woman in her 60’s and 70’s means it’s time to speak up, have influence and inspire change.
They call themselves thought leaders. And we would agree.
Leslie works intergenerationally to help women take charge of their body image and regain embodied power. La-Verna listens deeply to our social woes and provides a much-needed bridge between what we each know and what we have to learn.
They are writers, speakers, and activists offering compassion, wisdom, and vision to all of us.
Listen to this week’s podcast to see what we mean.
It’s possible to lead despite disability. It’s possible to lead as women of color. It’s possible to lead no matter what age.
https://twistingtheplot.com/12-in-12/
We are, like you, struggling with anticipation, fear and uncertainty today.
We are also psychotherapists and have some tips to help us all get through.
Take a listen to today’s podcast. We hope it helps.
And then join our Facebook group, Plot Twisters, and share with us how you will survive this twister day.
A couple of years ago we attended a Next Tribe Event in NYC. The title for the evening was “Screw Invisibility,” and it was a gathering for women over 40. When we entered the loft space we were blown away. The room was packed. Filled. Brimming with women in their 40’s, 50’s 60’s and 70’s. The energy was electric. The messages from the speakers were inspiring and motivating.
It was then that we realized Jeannie Ralston was on to something.
Jeannie co-founded Next Tribe as a digital magazine. As a former journalist and editor, she knew how to get good writers to write about interesting topics. She wanted to explore the issues, stories and possibilities for women over 40. Her online magazine soon morphed into a lifestyle network offering workshops, travel opportunities and countless ways to connect with like-minded women.
It’s an exciting time to be a woman in midlife and beyond. Next Tribe’s Jeannie Ralston is a role model for us all.
Take a Listen.
Check out NextTribe
Check out 12 in 12 at TwistingThePlot.com
Marianne Franzese and Maria Dintino, members of Twisting the Plot’s 12 in 12 2020, believe in the magic of transformation. They also know that change is hard work.
Despite plot twists that have come their way, both Marianne and Maria are committed to the evolution of their future selves. Now they are ready to guide the rest of us along our way.
Maria will be teaching us how to reawaken our creativity. Marianne will invite us to speak from the heart.
They have each elevated our 12 in 12 group all year. Listen to this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast and let them inspire you.
https://twistingtheplot.com/work-with-us/
We invited Noreen Sumpter to join our Facebook group, Plot Twisters, a gathering for women over 50 to share, discuss and diversify the trajectory for all of us. Before she joined, Noreen reached out with a question about plot twisters. Are there black, brown and women of color represented in this group?
Reflexively, our response was, “of course.” But then, we stepped back and got curious. How many of our members in Twisting the Plot are women of color? Have we done enough to ensure that all women’s voices and faces are represented? We had to check our white privilege, note our white fragility, and acknowledge our hidden biases and lack of awareness.
We realize that we have to continue to listen and learn.
So, we invited Noreen to join us for this week’s Twisting the Plot Podcast.
We are glad we did. She has a lot to say.
Noreen Sumpter is a force. She is a life coach and a business leader who encourages us all to create courageous spaces where we can talk honestly, allow vulnerability, grow and make change.
Take a listen.
Then, join us in Plot Twisters on Facebook and give us your thoughts.
https://www.noreensumptercoach.com
Sydney Price and Laura Dintino joined our 12 in 12 program in January 2020 with one major thing in common: they were both still in the middle of big time plot twists. Each of them was navigating a messy divorce. Both were trying to find ways to work and support themselves and their children on their own. Laura needed to sell her house and move. Sydney was closing down her business and trying to figure out her next career pursuit. Mostly, they were both struggling with the big identity question: Who am I now? And the uncertainty question: What do I do next?
What became obvious to us was that they both are amazing women. They came loaded with strengths, many interests and talents. Most impressive is they are both intent on contributing to others and their communities. Sydney, through composting (yes, composting) and Laura via her work with non-English speaking immigrants and citizens.
Listen in and hear them share what they’ve experienced as members of the 12 in 12 program. It’s a thought-provoking conversation during which they candidly share the lessons they have learned, the feedback they received and the next steps they plan to take.
Sydney’s and Laura’s lives, like compost, are rich with potential and soon to sprout new blooms.
Interested in our 12 in12 program 2021? Reach out and get your application at Twistingtheplot.com
Don’t miss our guide to an exciting and meaningful life, Twelve Twists to Evolve Your Plot. Get it here: https://www.twistingtheplot.com/12twists
Mary Ellen (ME) Macri may be a sixty-year old math teacher, but she’s not old school.
ME talks about how the twist of Covid 19 may have changed everything, yet didn’t change enough. Perhaps the opportunity to rethink and explore new ways of learning is hindered by adherence to tradition in education. It’s possible we may have missed an opportunity to better prepare children for our ever-changing world. ME admits that all change brings the possibility of failure. And most of us are unwilling to fail. Still, failure is a part of learning and a necessary ingredient to problem solving skills in mathematics and in life-long learning.
ME credits her background in theatre for her exceptional problem-solving skills. She sees life like putting on a play. There is always a way to make it work.
We think Ms. Mac should rule the world. She’s smart in a linear way, and brilliant in the artist way.
She’s also filled with grace.
And plot twisting takes grace.
Follow Mari Ellen Macri on Twitter @macrimaryellen
London’s Rachel Lankester calls herself the Magnificent Midlife Mentor. She is the founder of The Magnificent Midlife Movement, an online hub and global community celebrating and inspiring women over 40 to live the lives that they really want.
This week we bring Rachel back to the Twisting the Plot Podcast to talk about her program, Who Am I Now? Rachel shares her thoughts about what women in midlife need and who we can become as we age.
Do you know what you want? Do you know how to figure that out? Rachel has some tips that just might help.
We also talk about Rachel’s role models, Täo-Porchon-Lynch and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, two women who defied stereotypes and “isms,” making things seem more possible for all of us.
Check Out magnificentmidlife.com
"Who Am I Now?" Waitlist at magnificentmidlife.com
The Mutton Club from Magnificent Midlife
Email Rachel at magnificentmidlife.com
Click here to listen to the Magnificent Midlife Podcast
In 2018, Britain’s Wunderman Thompson Innovation Group put forth the notion of The Elastic Generation.
Elastic Generation women are living according to how they feel rather than how they ought, whether that means divorcing or dating, travelling or starting a business. As decision-makers, entrepreneurs, caregivers and creators, Elastic Generation women continue to push the boundaries and upend the status quo. Ever the generation of rebels, they are reinventing life past fifty, as they forge the path others will follow.
We at Twisting The Plot are in full agreement.
But… what do you do when your back goes out? Or you lose your job? Or someone you love gets ill? Or everything you thought you’d do, or be, is changed?
The answer? You work to get more elastic.
How?
We will tell you.
On this week’s podcast, Cecilia and Hannah talk about the bends in the road (and in Hannah’s back) that they have confronted, and share ways to flex and stretch….literally and figuratively.
Take a listen. And look forward to more innovative, inspiring and informative podcasts from Twisting the Plot.
This week we sat down with a true powerhouse, Indrani Goradia. Indrani is a philanthropist and advocate for women’s health and empowerment. As a victim of severe childhood abuse, she createdIndrani’s Light Foundation, an organization committed to caring for survivors of domestic violence. Her mission is to stop generational abuse and empower women to change their lives. With her warmth, humor and honesty, Indrani shares with us how she felt lost and unsure of her purpose in midlife when she was asked a simple question: “What can only you do?” This question and her answer startedher on a path that includes a TED Talk, a partnership with the global health organization PSI, an address to the World Women’s Health and Development Forum at the United Nations and a life filled with meaningful direction.
http://indranislight.org
TedX
Talk Indrani Goradia addresses the United Nations
This week, we had the distinct pleasure to speak with Ashton Applewhite, activist and author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. In this podcast, we engage in aconsciousness raising conversation about aging and the other implicit biases in our culture. Applewhite asserts: “When we work against any form of oppression, we chip away at the fear and ignorance that underlie them all.” Please join us. Listen to this inspirational activist on the front lines of changing how we look at aging. It’s a conversation that’s right for today, a plot twist for all of us.
Thischairrocks.com
Oldschool.info
Today we take a break from coronavirus and talk instead about:
Menopause.
Jeanne Chung’s career experience has ranged from engineer to investment banker to yoga instructor and wellness entrepreneur. But when she encountered a painful side effect of menopause, she discovered that the medical community had no answers for her, and so she found her next purpose. Jeanne took her love of science, knowledge of business and passion for helping others and transformed it all into an exciting new venture, Mighty Menopause. Mighty Menopause offers cutting edge information and natural supplements to educate and elevate women. It is Jeanne’s mission to bring menopause into the 21st century and give it a new face. Maybe even her own.
Click here to check out Mighty Menopause at mighty-menopause.com
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
Twisting the plot is about dreaming big, having faith, and knowing your truth. This week, we had the great pleasure to sit down with the multi-talented Mary Testa; actress, singer, and three-time Tony Award nominee. Turning 65 this year, Mary asks, what’s next? She wonders, how big can a woman in her 60’s dream? Is it possible to create a narrative that is bigger than what you are? We look forward to the future Mary, a woman who always pushes boundaries and delivers creativity and performances with creativity that takes us outside the box of expectation. Enjoy.
Listen to Unravel/If I Loved You from the album Have Faith.
Order Have Faith on CD from Sh-K-Boom or Barnes & Noble, or buy as a download from iTunes or Amazon.
Order the Queen of the Mist (Original Cast Recording) on CD from Sh-K-Boom or Barnes & Noble, or buy as a download from iTunes or Amazon.
What is Intersectionality? And why is it important? We learn from Britton Williams about social-cultural identity, biases and how our multiple identities influence the way we age. Britton is an educator, a creative arts therapist and a writer. She is willing to enter these conversations with openness and curiosity. She is also a wonderful storyteller. So much fun, and so much wisdom. Enjoy.
http://www.thehealingstage.com
Amid the lockdown, hanging out on her stoop, Marj Kleinman had a realization. Stoops are where people sit, talk, and share stories and they are a perfect six feet from top to bottom. So Marj created Stoop Stories, a community portrait project documenting how Brooklynites are coping with the Coronavirus pandemic and racial injustice.
Marj, photographer, award winning children’s content producer, and visual storyteller, with her team have curated over seventy features of families, essential workers, and small businesses. These stories have appeared in The New York Times, Time Out New York, PIX11 News and News 12.
Marj also has a story of her own. Her life has been filled with many twists and turns and lots of loss. At 50, she thought her future was dimming, but Stoop Stories has given her life new purpose and direction. Marj shares a quote that her late beloved father used to recite and that she finds relevant to all plot twisters:
I thought my fire was out, and stirred the ashes…I burnt my fingers. ~ Antonio Machado
Stoop Stories on www.marjkleinman.com
@stoop.stories on Instagram
Stoop Stories on Facebook
Did you know that you have a story?
Do you realize that your story is fluid, complex, and even inspirational?
Bella tells the story of her trauma. She tells it over and over again. It was a story of abuse, pain, and helplessness. And the story always ended with Bella on the floor.
Until Hannah asked her this question: “What happens next?”
Psychologists, anthropologists, and scientists all agree; we are a storytelling animal. But what many of us don’t realize is that we are both the protagonist and the narrator of our own story. That story can have many perspectives and transform many times. It all depends on where we focus, how we see it, and who we are when we tell it.
We have noticed that most of us choose to tell only part of our story. We often tend to leave a lot out. Sometimes we leave things out for so long that we don’t even recall them. Our identities get formed around the stories we tell, and these stories are often incomplete.
Psychologist Dan McAdams studies the stories we tell and identifies what he terms “redemptive stories.” His research indicates that life stories that include our strengths and triumphs predict health and wellbeing.
What happens when we leave out the redemptive portion of our story?
We get stuck.
Bella started to tell the story of how she got up from the bathroom floor. The new story was still filled with pain, but also revealed the thriving parts of Bella.
Now Bella’s story is complex and transformative; it’s truer to Bella’s evolution.
This week Hannah and Cecilia talk about the power of telling and retelling your story. When we explore our story, really listen, and delve into the complexity, we can loosen the grip of a narrative that no longer fits.
This is the first step to becoming the writer of a new and artful future.
Up until 50, most women have been going along following the rules and living their lives according to a preset roadmap. We took our cues from families, social media, and cultural role models. Then we turn 50, and the roadmaps stop. The direction becomes vague, and the cues fade.
We get hit with negative biases about aging, disdain for older bodies, and hints to our irrelevance. We learn that we have lost our edge, our beauty, and our value. Sometimes we even feel like we are losing ourselves. We go invisible to the world and to ourselves.
What’s complicated is that during this time of the fading self, a lot happens. Transitions are multifold. Husbands leave, jobs end, career paths dim, loved ones get ill or die, some of us get ill, children leave, our appearance changes and menopause happens.
This week we explore the impact feeling lost can have on our individual and collective stories. We explore how re-finding ourselves can be difficult, and sometimes painful. Listen as we share how to start the process of getting unlost.
Listen as Laura Dintino describes her surprise and shock when her husband of 29 years suddenly announced he was interested in a younger woman and ready to move on. It was a plot twist that turned the world she had built and the life she had known completely upside down. She had not only lost her partnership; she lost her identity. Who was she now? How can a woman in her 60’s remake herself?
Laura, a member of our 12 in 12 program, shares how she got reacquainted with herself. With the help of therapist, friends and family, she rediscovers her feisty, ambitious self and is channeling that energy into her new career. For her 12 in 12 project, Laura is working on creating a method that captures immigrants’ and refugees’ individual stories as well as their strengths, interests, and experience. Her goal is to use this information to help them find work in the community that better reflects their passions and abilities. Laura’s own story of loss, acceptance and reinvention has fueled her commitment to help her students write a new chapter in their own stories.
Recently, Laura left the house that she had shared with her ex-husband and moved into her own new home. She’s back in the driver’s seat. Her strength and courage impressed her daughter who refers to her Mom as a badass.
Lets be clear, when you are a 60-something woman and called badass by a millennial, you have successfully twisted your plot.
Go forward Laura. For all of us.
When Ana Maria Seligmann moved from Panama to Houston, Texas, she focused on helping her children acclimate to a new school and a different culture. When everyone was settled, she began thinking about her next challenge. What new purpose would she seek in her new country? For guidance, Ana turned to her religious practice and what came through loud and clear was her innate desire to help people. Ana set out on a path of introspection and self-discovery. She began to look at her life with fresh eyes and a new perspective. She trained in integrative nutrition and now helps other women regain their energy and focus.
Join us to hear more about how Ana discovered her new purpose and twisted her plot in a new country.
seligmannanamaria@gmail.com
With my camera, I document the joy and the light of her last years of life – the ways that she circles back home, even as she is leaving. Cheryle St. Onge in the New York Times, Sunday June 28, 2020.
Photographer Cheryle St. Onge’s plot twisted when her mother was diagnosed with vascular dementia. Her mother began to disappear, and Cheryle grew increasingly depressed. Her friends suggested that she make art instead of complain. So she picked up her iPhone and took a picture of her mother. This led to an exquisite collection of photographs, Calling The Birds Home. Cheryle describes the experience as “a silent conversation with her Mom in the process of making art.”
Cheryle St. Onge was named one of the Top 50 Photographers in the country by TIME Magazine. Her work has been exhibited at London’s National Portrait Gallery, Princeton University, Griffin Museum, University of Rhode Island, Massachusetts College of Art, Rick Wester Fine Arts, and with the American Institute of Architects traveling exhibition. She has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the 2009 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship.
Listen as Cheryle talks with us about the creative process with her mother and what she’s learned about herself, her art, aging, and living.
Click here to see her work at Cheryle St.Onge.com
Follow Cheryle St. Onge on Instagram
New York Times: Photographing the Beauty of My Mother's Decline
As a little girl Charisse Brown would scoot across the floor on her belly to listen to the family stories told behind closed doors. Today, as an adult, she’s made a career of listening and holding the stories of others.
Charisse is a professional actor and a teaching artist. When she was 50 she started graduate school and became a drama therapist. She currently works with youth who are detained in the criminal justice system. They are children in trouble, children who have witnessed and experienced violence, children who have been neglected and deprived.
They are children whose stories often go unheard, and never told.
But Charisse hears them all. She keeps them inside of her heart and alive on her tongue. She has learned how to create safe spaces for the children to share what they know. She is currently helping them create a time capsule to capture their lived experiences and unmet dreams. The time capsule will hold the fragments of history that may otherwise be overlooked and misunderstood.
Some people are born to be artists. Some artists are chosen to bear truths most of us prefer to take distance from. Some artists are then moved to share with the rest of us and help us evolve. Charisse Brown is overflowing with stories, and lots of feelings. She will be performing a one-woman show as soon as our theaters reopen.
We can’t wait to sit in her audience to witness her wisdom and share some of her burden.
Bring it on, Charisse. We will listen.
Charisse's Email - charbrow7@gmail.com
Marianne Franzese reacted to the murder of George Floyd with horror, grief and sadness. It literally made her cry. When her grown children saw this, they called her out.
“Stop crying. What are you doing about it?”
Indeed.
Most of us were raised to feel the feelings, have empathy, and care for others. But we were not encouraged to get angry, speak out, or disrupt the status quo.
Luckily we still have time to grow. But, we have to be willing to be called out by others, especially our children.
So this week we sat down with Marianne Franzese and her daughter Lili Chasen to have an inter-generational conversation about our role in the fight against racism.
According to Lili, our number one task is to get uncomfortable. This is not easy for us. The pull for equilibrium and people pleasing is strong. But for too long we have been silent and complicit in a racial system that deprives and oppresses black men and women.
As Lili states, “white silence kills.”
It’s time to grow a thicker skin, move past our social conditioning, and build stamina for disruption. It’s time to have those difficult conversations.
Evolution is intergenerational. We need to know our history and the history of our ancestors. We have to be challenged on our present day perspectives by the generations that follow us. And then we collectively step forward into a new future, with new leaders, new roles and new rules.
Kids today. They’ll save us all.
Twisting the plot.
The ideas and suggestions that Lili shares on this podcast are informed by the following black leaders:
Ericka Hart
Monique Melton
Rachel Cargle
Robin DiAngelo
Please follow them and educate yourselves.
La-Verna Fountain has spent decades listening. She is a practitioner and teacher of Kingian and Gandhian methods for conflict resolution. The one thing she knows for sure is that we all have answers inside of us. On this week’s podcast, Hannah, Cecilia, La-Verna and Victoria Benitez, two black and two white sixty something women, talk. La-Verna asks each of us to answer the question: What do you know?
Then we consider what we still have to learn.
www.MeaningfulCommunicationsMatter.com
Maryann Plunkett is a woman in her sixties who is not invisible, although she regularly portrays women who are. This past year, the Tony award-winning actor was seen in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and as Mrs. Rogers in A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood with Tom Hanks.
Originally, we wanted to talk to Maryann about her experience performing in the recent online production of What Do We Need To Talk About, produced by the Public Theatre in which the audience witnesses a Zoom call with the Apple family as they grapple with life during COVID-19.
We were hoping to hear Maryann’s thoughts about life during the pandemic, as well as the shutdown of live theater. We were planning to discuss the importance of story, and contemplate the role of theatre in fostering a culture of growth.
As it turned out, our discussion took place just after the brutal murder of George Floyd. We hadn’t previously spoken together about how this might change our plan. As we started to talk, we hit the record button and decided to let it be what it is: three white sixty something women engaged in a conversation about what has been happening in the world. We ask ourselves, what is our role? Should we shut up or do we speak up? How do we move forward?
In a 2016 New Yorker profile, Maryann is described as a “radiant everywoman.” What now for Maryann? What now for all of us?
We don’t have answers. All we know is that we must listen. We must learn. And we must figure out how to serve.
Ok, listen up. Our number one mission is to help women over 50 evolve by imagining who it is we can be, both as individuals and as a grand collective.
One of the ways we do this by listening to a Gen Z influencer.
Why?
Because our futures require our creative participation and it starts with a loosening of our limited beliefs. Things have to change in order to be new.
We begin by letting go of our ageist confines and freeing ourselves from identities that no longer serve or excite us.
This week, we start to imagine ourselves differently by talking to fashion designer and social activist Madeline Dintino.
Madeline, a 2020 fashion design graduate of Marist College, views fashion as an opportunity for radical empowerment and inclusivity. She designs clothing that offers gender fluidity, playfulness and a witty glittery repurposing of norms. Madeline uses her voice as a designer to deconstruct binaries and reconstruct clothing that inspires freedom and joy.
She also shares with us her honors thesis project, a zine she titled Modern Gender. Her zine (think short magazine) is a resource for navigating modern gender terms and expressions. It’s a colorful, informative invitation to celebrate inclusivity.
Madeline even encourages us to explore how fashion can expand our identities. She suggests we stop hiding and celebrate our bodies and images. Maybe, she declares, you could think additive, instead of covering up. After all, she says, “You’ve spent years earning your looks.”
There is so much to gain from intergenerational sharing.
Join us please.
Zine:
Check out Modern Gender: Navigating the Fluid Revolution
Website:
Madeline Dintino Portfolio
For the Record Article:
Read about Madeline Dintino in FOR THE RECORD
We love it when we connect with like-minded women who share our realization that women over 50 deserve attention.
When friends Marijo and April turned 50, things felt different. They had questions about their bodies, relationships, careers, and fashion. Not sure where to turn, they decided to take the bull by the horns and created HELLO 50 IT’S MY TIME a place dedicated to supporting women as they continue to learn, find purpose and get more empowered with every passing year.
Listen as these fellowtwisters talk how they are helping other women 50, 60, and beyond face life with joy, enthusiasm, and adventure.
Click here to check out Hello50.com
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Emilie Ward joined our 12 in 12 in December, when the agency where she had worked for 24 years shut its doors without warning. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of a disheartening whirlwind including a global pandemic, her need to take on a caretaker role for her ill mother, the withdrawal of state funding for her independent business, and her personal battle with Covid 19. But she refused to let it stop her. Emilie, a drama therapist also certified in positive psychology, talks about her decision to focus on staying curious, how she takes a deep breath and asks, how else can I look at this? Instead of “Oh my god,” she says, “How fascinating.” Emilie is a creative, resourceful role model of resilience. Listen and laugh with us. As Emilie says, “The only thing you have control over is your mindset and having a sense of humor.”
For questions about Dramatic Stages contact Emilie Ward at eward@dramaticstages.com
My hope is that this is a moment when women can stop knocking at the door of a system that was set up by men and for men.
So says Lesley Jane Seymour, our special guest on this week’s Twisting the Plot podcast.
Lesley has had her finger on the pulse of the collective imagination of what it means to be a woman for decades. As editor in chief for More Magazine she brought possibility and visibility for women over 40. We all remember grabbing the latest edition of More from the newsstands and opening it with eager anticipation. We were hungry for vision, solutions and novel ideas for who we are becoming.
Lesley is a media entrepreneur and one of the industry's most respected leaders. Besides More Magazine, she served as editor in chief for Marie Claire, Redbook, and YM. She was the beauty director for Glamour, and senior editor at Vogue. She is an influencer and has spearheaded numerous efforts to introduce her readers to the big issues that we should confront. Under Lesley’s leadership, generations of women were educated and invited to be activists regarding crucial causes, such as breast cancer awareness, domestic violence and aging.
Today, Lesley continues her mission to engage, inform and envision life for women. She is Founder and CEO of Covey Club. She calls it a virtual meeting place for life long learners. She’s also the host of the Reinvent Yourself Podcast where she interviews global change makers and visionaries.
Listen as Lesley shares with us how she got into magazine publishing, her decision to get a masters in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, how she started Covey Club, and her decision to start a new life in “The Big Easy.”
She is a powerhouse of creativity, generosity, reinvention and just plain fun.
Visit CoveyClub
Listen to my podcast Reinvent Yourself with Lesley Jane Seymour
Follow me: Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook
Follow CoveyClub: Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook
We are all living in the middle of a global pandemic, but each person’s experience is individual. This week we spoke with Zeneida Disla, a frontline worker who each day makes her way from Harlem to the Bronx where she cares for some of the city’s most vulnerable people. Zeneida, the only child of immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic, talks with us about the difficulty of finding your voice in the face of racism, sexism, ageism and classism. Listen as she shares her story of growing up in the South Bronx, her mothers’ push for her to get an education and finding her passion for story. At 52, Zeneida is not done yet. Instead she is dreaming big, exploring her passions and looking forward to her next plot twist.
Sleep. We talk about it. We worry about it. We long for it. This has long been true for most menopausal women, but now it’s an issue for everyone in this time of uncertainty. So, we called NYC Sleep Doctor, Janet Kennedy, PhD, to find out why we can’t sleep and what we can do about it. Janet explains the difference between physiologic and psychologic sleep disorders and discusses the role estrogen and progesterone play in our slumber. Most of all she teaches us to let go of expectations of sleep. Instead, we need to learn to let go, trust our bodies, and trust that sleep will come.
Look for Dr. Kennedy’s soon to be released podcast The Sleep Tune-Up where she will be working with individuals, walking them through some simple solutions so listeners can learn how these various interventions can make a big difference.
If you want to be a guest on The Sleep Tune-Up Podcast contact Dr. Kennedy at thesleeptuneup@gmail.com
For more information about Dr. Janet Kennedy's sleep coaching check out her website nycsleepdoctor.com
The Good Sleeper: The Essential Guide to Sleep for Your Baby--and You by Janet Krone Kennedy, PhD on Amazon
Connect with Dr. Janet Kennedy on Twitter @nycsleepdoctor
Connect with Dr. Janet Kennedy on Instagram @nycsleepdoctor
Join NYCSleepDoctor on Facebook
The way we communicate with children about difficult things plays a role in how they process what is happening around them. Building emotional literacy is vital to building resilience. This is the extraordinary work of Stephanie Omens, licensed creative arts therapist, certified child life specialist and member of our 12 in 12. At this time, we need her unique ability to integrate playfulness and storytelling in her work with children. In fact, Stephanie created an animated video on how to talk to children about the Coronavirus that has been viewed around the world and translated and dubbed in Chinese, Cantonese, and Taiwanese. She also wrote an ebook, Truth Telling To Kids During A Global Pandemic that provides facts for older children (and grown ups too). As a part of our 12 in 12 group, Stephanie shares how the experience has helped her step into her role as clinician and leader with more confidence and ease.
https://nowhitelies.com
NoWhiteLies Video - Talking to kids about COVID-19
Truth Telling To Kids During A Global Pandemic ebook Stephanie Omens
Do you want to meditate but find it difficult to do? Do you want to practice mindfulness but just can’t figure out how to make it work for you?
In light of the anxiety, isolation, and grief brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to reach out to a former guest, Kathy Hayes-Bloch. Kathy is a psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and co-founder of The Trauma Healing Project CT. She shares with us her new (and very timely) twist on mindfulness practices. Kathy incorporates David Treleaven’s trauma-sensitive techniques into an approach that can help us in these troubling times. This new method includes the senses, the imagination, and taking breaks whenever we need them.
Kathy explains the value of a mindfulness practice for women over 50, and shares some simple steps that we can take right now. She even guides us through a short exercise to access our inner wisdom. Sit back, listen and enjoy.
Kathy Hayes-Bloch,LCSW
Psychotherapist, Meditation teacher,
Co-Founder: The Trauma Healing Project_CT
FOLLOW US: @Thetraumahealingproject_CT
Dedicated Practitioner of Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness:
Approved Consultant: Clinical Hypnosis
khblochmsw@gmail.com
Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Events & Courses
In our upside-down world of social isolation, anxiety, grief, fear, and virtual gatherings we thought we would twist our own plot. This week we invited Amelia Good, Coach and Founder of Unique Abilities to interview us no how we are doing in the midst of the Coronavirus.
Check out Amelia on Instagram: @unique_abilities
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
Plot twists can happen at any time, at any age. This week we spoke with Amelia Good, Coach and Founder of Unique Abilities. Amelia had just graduated college and was beginning her adult life when she was faced with a major health twist. Amelia shares with us what she has learned about herself and how she now helps others to discover and harness their own unique abilities.
Check out Amelia on Instagram: @unique_abilities
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
As we all shelter in place and work to flatten the curve of Corona Virus, we think it is important to stay curious and connected. With that in mind, this week we spoke with our friend and guest from last summer, writer John Thompson who is currently quarantined in Peru. John talks with us about his experience in Peru, staying creative, and the importance of finding purpose in the midst of chaos. John also gives us an inside look at how Peru is dealing with the crisis.
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
Today we take a break from coronavirus and talk instead about:
Menopause.
Jeanne Chung’s career experience has ranged from engineer to investment banker to yoga instructor and wellness entrepreneur. But when she encountered a painful side effect of menopause, she discovered that the medical community had no answers for her, and so she found her next purpose. Jeanne took her love of science, knowledge of business and passion for helping others and transformed it all into an exciting new venture, Mighty Menopause. Mighty Menopause offers cutting edge information and natural supplements to educate and elevate women. It is Jeanne’s mission to bring menopause into the 21st century and give it a new face. Maybe even her own.
Click here to check out Mighty Menopause at mighty-menopause.com
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
In today’s 12 in 12 podcast, Laura Preiser tells us the story of her many twists and turns, including law school, divorce, parenting atypical children, and caring for her father. She talks about the joy found in the role of parent and dispels the myths of caretaking that often leave caregivers isolated. Laura reminds us, “The beauty of being over 50 is life starts to make sense as all the puzzle pieces begin to fit together.” We can’t wait to see what Laura does when all the pieces are finally in place.
Read more about Laura Preiser at her website, caringstrength.com
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
We are all ready for a great do-over.
That’s why we decided to talk to Deb Boulanger.
She is a master of reinvention and a wise resource for self-care.
As the president of The Great Do-Over Inc, host of Life After Corporate Podcast, and founder of The Launch Lab for women entrepreneurs, Deb is experienced in twisting adversity into a creative opportunity for growth.
“This pandemic has forced us to rethink what we do and how we do it. There is opportunity here for women to solve new problems in innovative ways, however, anxiety and creativity can't exist in the same mind at the same time.”
Join us as Deb advises that we all find ways to go into a “self-retreat,” and create space to connect and process all that we are facing and feeling.
In times like this, we are called upon to listen to ourselves, own our skills, and become a part of the solution.
What does your do-over look like?
We were inspired and restored by this conversation with Deb. We hope you will be too.
Click here to check out thegreatdoover.com
Click here to check out the Life After Corporate podcast
Click here to go to the Launch Lab for Women Entrepreneurs Facebook group
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
What does it mean to be resilient? The Webster Dictionary says this:
- The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
- The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
They both sound important to us. Especially now.
This week we hear thoughts from one of our 12 in 12 women who is devising a verbatim theatre project.
Verbatim theatre is a form of documented theatre in which plays are constructed from the precise words spoken by people interviewed about a particular event or topic.
Actor Lauri Landry’s topic is resilience.
It’s a kind of arts-based research. And for Lauri, it’s a journey of self-discovery.
Listen as Lauri Landry describes her creative process and discusses the benefits of our group.
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
Are you walking in circles? Having trouble focusing? Eating an entire cake in one sitting? We are, so we called Blair Glaser for help.
We asked her, is it possible to maintain your own self-authority even during this time of distress and panic? Blair says yes, even if it means authorizing your own personal meltdown. Own it and make it a good one.
Listen to our very helpful and playful conversation with Blair, a leadership mentor, executive consultant and creative problem solver. She gives us several creative ways to manage anxiety and uncertainty. And she offers us tools to find solace and inner strength when we feel scared and alone.
Tough times. Tough women.
We are happy to share this conversation, and Blair, with you.
Blair's Blog
Blair's Website
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
When the world is filled with uncertainty, worry, and fear, how do we decrease our anxiety and boost our immune system? The best way we know is with laughter. So this week we sat down with our “humor-muse” Kevin LaChapelle to talk about humor, friendship, and the joys of laughter. Now, more than ever, we need to connect, laugh, play, and love. Join us!
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot
In these uncertain times, the one thing we know is that it is vital that we stay connected and creative. Here are some resources that we hope will help you engage in the community and spark your creativity.
Take a virtual museum tour
- Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch at Travelandleisure.com
- Virtual museum tours enjoy new relevance in the age of COVID-19 at Archinect.com
Music events
- You Can Now Watch the Metropolitan Opera Online for Free at Purewow.com
- Berlin Philharmonic's library will be free for the next month
- Follow your favorite contemporary artists on Instagram – some are offering free concerts online
Art
Free art lessons online – here are some examples:
- https://www.artyfactory.com
- https://www.artistsnetwork.com/free-art-instruction/
- LUNCH DOODLES with Mo Willems! - Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at Home
Physical Exercise and Dance
- https://www.danceplug.com/class/free
- http://Obefitness.com
Learn by Taking a Class
- https://www.classcentral.com
Send us your ideas, suggestions and art we will post them on social media. Let’s stay connected!
Listen up. Rochelle Weitzner wants to talk about menopause. It all started with a trip to the beach. Rochelle had a flash that led her on a path to changing the way we think about beauty and aging. Her company, Pause Well-Aging, offers skin care products designed especially for women in all three stages of menopause. But it hasn’t been an easy road. Rochelle has come up against a lot of resistance from an industry that has always believed beauty and beauty products are for the young. The good news is that Rochelle is determined and her mission is catching on. “Pause is more than just skincare. It’s a movement affirming that beauty gets better with age.”
That’s a plot twist we’ve long been waiting for.
https://pausewellaging.com
Join us for today’s 12 in12 podcast and learn about Dr. Leslie’s mission to influence the way women think about and treat their aging bodies. She believes that we view our bodies through the gaze of society and culture. Her goal is to get the world to consider aging differently. With a new perspective, we just may be able to make peace, at long last, with our own bodies.
It’s a big goal. It’s an important job. Let’s be on the lookout for talks, blogs and lessons from Dr. Leslie. We are ready for her to help us twist this plot.
After she turned 50, Randi Levin started asking herself, What’s next? She also began to wonder about legacy. What is it exactly? Can everyone have one? She decided that legacy is more than just something we leave behind. Instead, we can have an impact right here and right now. With a desire to help others she decided to become a life coach. On the day she was signing up for her coaching certification, a receptionist gave her two words of advice, “just start.” She took that advice and hasn’t stopped since. Randi calls herself a Transitional Life Strategist who guides others through the process of change. She insists we can all become legends in our own lives. We just have to start.
https://randilevincoaching.com
Get the free PDF 10 Essential Questions Every Woman Needs to Ask Herself Now at Randilevincoaching.com/questions
Click here to learn more about Twisting the Plot