Journey Beyond Divorce Podcast

When Divorce Tests Your Faith: Protecting Kids & Staying Strong with Top Divorce Lawyer, Bree Sullivan-Howell, JD

Divorce can rattle everything you believe in. Your sense of family, your identity, and even your understanding of God's plan for your life... And for many Christians, the place that should offer the most comfort, the church, can sometimes feel like the last place they're able to be honest about what they're going through. In this episode, Karen sits down with Bree Sullivan-Howell, divorce attorney, passionate children's advocate, and award-winning Christian author of Crush Your Divorce & Keep Your Faith and Crush Your Comeback, for a conversation that brings together sharp legal wisdom and deep spiritual grounding in a way that is rarely offered to people navigating divorce. With more than 20 years of experience in high-stakes custody litigation and family law, Bree has sat with men and women at some of the most painful and disorienting moments of their lives. What she brings to this conversation is both practical and profound, an understanding of how faith doesn't disappear in the middle of relational chaos, but can actually deepen through it. Karen and Bree explore how traditional church messaging can unintentionally shame Christian women going through divorce, how misunderstood scripture can leave people feeling pressured to stay in unhealthy or even abusive marriages, and how an eternal perspective, rooted in prayer and truth, can replace fear with clarity. Bree shares how she weaves scriptural wisdom directly into her legal strategy, encouraging clients toward dignified conduct, truthful evidence, and emotional steadiness even when everything around them feels unstable. They also speak candidly about fathers navigating custody, a dimension of divorce that often goes underserved. Bree addresses the reality that many loving, involved dads face an uphill battle to stay connected to their children, often needing to "double prove" their parenting, resist adopting a negative narrative pushed by an ex, and communicate with intention using tools like BIFF, all while continuing to simply show up for their kids, consistently and without fail. Whether you are at the beginning of this process, in the thick of it, or trying to find solid ground on the other side, this episode offers both the legal clarity and the spiritual encouragement to take your next step with confidence. God's purpose doesn't end when the marriage does, and this conversation is a powerful reminder of that. Connect with Bree: * * Free Gift: Devotional for the Divorcing - www.crushyourdivorce.com [https://www.crushyourdivorce.com] * www.sullivan-firm.com [https://www.sullivan-firm.com] * Book: https://a.co/d/0v4Iqql [https://a.co/d/0v4Iqql] * Instagram: @lawyerbree | @crushyourdivorce * TikTok - @lawyerbree

Divorce Without the Armor: The Power of Brotherhood with Todd Adams, Certified Coach through Conscious Leadership Group, Tony Robbins Core 100, and the HeartMath Institute

Most men are never taught how to fall apart. They're taught how to push through, provide, and stay in control, but not how to process loss, ask for help, or stay emotionally present when their world is coming undone. When a marriage ends, those unspoken rules about what it means to be a man don't disappear, they just get louder. And for so many men navigating divorce, the result is isolation, overwhelm, and a kind of silent struggling that nobody talks about and nobody sees. In this episode, Karen McMahon sits down with Todd Adams, men's work leader, conscious leadership facilitator, and founder of MenLiving, for a conversation about what it actually takes for men to heal. Todd has spent years helping men step out of what he calls the Man Box: the outdated version of masculinity that rewards toughness and punishes vulnerability. And what he's found, again and again, is that the thing most men are avoiding, real connection, emotional honesty, brotherhood, is the very thing that sets them free. Together, Karen and Todd unpack why going it alone doesn't work, how community accelerates healing in ways that individual effort simply can't, and what it looks like for men to rebuild, not just their lives after divorce, but their relationships with themselves, their children, and the people they love... from the inside out. Connect with Todd: * Website: menliving.org [http://menliving.org] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menlivingnfp/ [https://www.instagram.com/menlivingnfp/] * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MenLiving.org [https://www.facebook.com/MenLiving.org] Resources Mentioned in this Episode: * Book a Free Rapid Relief Call: http://rapidreliefcall.com [http://rapidreliefcall.com] * Free Divorce Support Network Gift: https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/jbdpod [https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/jbdpod]

You're Allowed to Be Angry: How to Navigate Divorce Without Shutting Down or Exploding with Michelle Farris, LMFT

In this episode, Karen explores a powerful and often misunderstood emotion: anger—and how to navigate it during divorce without shutting down or exploding. Anger is a natural and expected part of divorce, yet many people were never taught how to work with it in a healthy way. Instead, they may react impulsively, suppress their feelings to avoid conflict, or carry lingering resentment long after the divorce is final. Karen is joined by Michelle Farris, a psychotherapist, codependency expert, and anger management specialist, for a grounded and insightful conversation about the role anger plays during divorce. Together, they unpack why so many people feel ashamed of their anger, how people-pleasing and codependency complicate emotional expression, and the critical difference between feeling anger and acting from it. This episode reframes anger not as something to fear or avoid, but as a valuable source of information—one that, when understood and processed effectively, can lead to greater clarity, stronger boundaries, and meaningful healing. Listeners will gain practical tools to help process anger without escalating conflict, honor their emotions without losing themselves, and shift from reactive patterns into more intentional responses. Connect with Michelle Farris: * Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MichelleFarrismft [https://www.youtube.com/@MichelleFarrismft] * Instagram: https://instagram.com/counseling_recovery/ [https://instagram.com/counseling_recovery/] * Website: www.counselingrecovery.com [https://www.counselingrecovery.com] * Free Gift: Blueprint for Taming Relationship Triggers - https://counselingrecovery.lpages.co/relationship-triggers-guide [https://counselingrecovery.lpages.co/relationship-triggers-guide] Resources Mentioned in this Episode: * Free Hot Seat Coaching - May 11th @1pm EST: https://www.jbddivorcesupport.com/free-live-divorce-coaching [https://www.jbddivorcesupport.com/free-live-divorce-coaching] * Book a Free Rapid Relief Call: http://rapidreliefcall.com * Free Divorce Support Network Gift: https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/jbdpod [https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/jbdpod] * Boundary Bootcamp: https://www.jbddivorcesupport.com/boundarybootcamp [https://www.jbddivorcesupport.com/boundarybootcamp]

How to Stop Divorce Overwhelm and Think Clearly Again

If your mind won't stop spinning during divorce... replaying conversations, jumping from fear to fear, or waking up at 3AM with urgency... you're not alone. And more importantly… you're not thinking clearly. In this episode, Karen McMahon breaks down what's really happening when you spiral during divorce, and why it can lead to the very decisions you'll later regret. When your nervous system is overwhelmed, your brain shifts into survival mode, making it nearly impossible to respond calmly, communicate effectively, or make grounded choices. You'll learn how to interrupt the spiral in real time, regulate your nervous system, and return to a place of clarity, confidence, and self-trust. This isn't about stopping your thoughts, it's about stopping the spiral from leading. Follow the show, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more people find calm and clarity during divorce. Resources Mentioned in this Episode: * Follow JBD on Instagram: @journey_beyond_divorce * Book a Free Rapid Relief Call: http://rapidreliefcall.com [http://rapidreliefcall.com] * Free Divorce Support Network Gift: https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/jbdpod [https://divorcesupportnetwork.com/jbdpod]

How to Know If It's Time to Divorce (Clear Signs You Can Trust)

If you've been going back and forth on the "should I stay or should I go" question, you already know how exhausting it is. You try to think your way to an answer. You second-guess yourself. And still — you feel stuck. In this episode, Karen McMahon is going to help you begin to find real clarity — not just talk you through the feelings, but give you a different way of looking at what's actually happening in your marriage and inside yourself. Because spinning in your head isn't working. And you're tired. After years of guiding men and women through this exact place, Karen has seen what keeps people stuck — and what finally helps them move forward with confidence. She walks you through why patterns over time, not isolated moments, are what tell the real story of your relationship, and the signals worth paying attention to: the exhaustion, the emotional depletion, the feeling of being unseen or unheard, of living in survival mode rather than real partnership. Karen also challenges something that might be hard to hear — that what feels like confusion is often fear in disguise. Fear about finances, your kids, being alone, or living with regret someday. She'll help you name those fears, look at the patterns honestly, and start weighing actions against promises rather than hopes against history. This episode includes some powerful reflective questions too — including what your children are really learning from watching your relationship, and how love has actually felt over the last two years. And if you're waiting to feel completely certain before you take a step forward, Karen offers you this: certainty may never come, but your next right step absolutely can. Resources Mentioned in this Episode: * Follow JBD on Instagram: @journey_beyond_divorce * Book a Free Rapid Relief Call: http://rapidreliefcall.com * Free Mend or End Curated Podcast Playlist: https://www.jbddivorcesupport.com/mend-or-end-your-divorce-free-gift [https://www.jbddivorcesupport.com/mend-or-end-your-divorce-free-gift] * Free Just Started Curated Podcast Playlist: https://www.jbddivorcesupport.com/juststartedfreegift