She Spent 8.5 Years Caregiving for a Husband with a Brain Tumor — Then Published 3 Novels in 2 Years

She Spent 8.5 Years Caregiving for a Husband with a Brain Tumor — Then Published 3 Novels in 2 Years

In his last coherent week, after eight and a half years of a brain tumor that had stolen him one layer at a time, Gerard came back. He told his wife she had been to hell. Then he asked her to promise him two things: love again, and write the novels. She scattered his ashes in Ireland and started writing that same night. IN THIS EPISODE: * A fifth-generation Michigan girl who read every library in town — and ended up in the Reagan White House * How CEO Frank Popoff found her writing speeches that didn't sound like business speeches — and her career was never the same * Meeting Gerard Cowan in a Dublin pub — the electricity, the Tuesday Club, the triplets * Eight and a half years of a right-frontal-lobe astrocytoma: personality changes, financial devastation, seizures, a broken back, and caregiving alone * How IBM's chief medical officer got them into Sloan Kettering by Wednesday morning * Gerard's final week — the deathbed promise that unlocked everything * Three novels published in two and a half years. A fourth coming. A life that is finally full. EPISODE SUMMARY: Michelle Morris has always connected with people by telling their stories — at the White House, in journalism, across corporate boardrooms, in crisis communications on three continents. But the decade she spent caregiving for a husband whose brain tumor was slowly dismantling his personality was one she lived mostly alone — too hard to explain, too strange to fit anyone's framework. When Gerard died, he gave her a permission slip she had been waiting for her whole career: write. She came home to Michigan, walked away from her last corporate job, and in two and a half years published three novels. Her characters face what she faced — the question of whether you get back up and what you build next. Her answer, in every book and in this conversation, is yes. ABOUT MICHELLE: Novelist, former Reagan White House staffer, corporate executive, and crisis communications professional. Author of Comes Around, A Quiet Town, Fresh Water, and a forthcoming fourth novel. Based in Michigan. CONNECT: http://michellesmorris.com | Amazon: Michelle S. Morris | Facebook: Michelle S. Morris, Author | Instagram: @michelle.s.morris COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.com If this episode reminded you the story isn't over, come find your people at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

How to Stop Letting Your Own Mind Be the Handbrake on Your Life | Cindy Kohler, Mind Garage

She was made redundant on a Friday. By Monday she'd enrolled in naturopathy. She built a 5-site business, sold it in one of South Australia's largest exits, and founded Mind Garage. Now Cindy Kohler brings 40 years and 10,000 coaching hours to this conversation. In This Episode: * Cindy's own story: from biomechanics to education to a 5-site business to its sale — and now the coaching practice she was always building toward * Why the beliefs we carry into adulthood were never actually chosen — and the one question that exposes whether they're helping or holding you back * The "handbrake" metaphor: how the business owner's own mindset is the single largest obstacle to business growth * Identity-based resilience coaching: why "who am I becoming?" is a more powerful question than "what should I do?" * The three-word exercise: a practice for stepping into your future self right now, without waiting * Metacognition — the skill only humans have — and how to use it to separate threat from story * Uncomfortable is not the same as unsafe: why the brain defaults to threat and how to override it with choice * How women rebuild self-trust after years of people-pleasing and meeting everyone else's expectations * "Empty the drawer first": the Russian proverb that reframes every major life transition * Cindy's upcoming book Manifest You and what it will walk readers through About Cindy Kohler Cindy Kohler is a transformational business and life coach based in Adelaide, South Australia. With 40 years of experience in mindset coaching, 20 years in education, 25 years in business, and a background in NLP, hypnotherapy, mindfulness, and energetic medicine, she is the founder of Mind Garage and the author of the forthcoming Manifest You. She has delivered over 10,000 hours of coaching to elite professionals, business owners, and athletes. She turned 60 last year and says she has never been more excited for what comes next. Connect with Cindy Kohler * Website: mindgarage.com * Upcoming book: Manifest You (July 2026) Resources * WeCanDoItWomen.com/group — join Debra's community

Sex, Sensuality, and How Women Over 70 Reclaim Their Desire and Their Lives

She was 70 years old, running a solo business without a steady paycheck, supporting a husband in severe decline in a nursing home — a man she had already decided to divorce — and quietly hitting the lowest point of her life. By 73, she was dating men in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, writing erotica, taking university classes, and finishing a book called Sex, Sensuality and the Senior Woman. Andrea Feinberg didn't wait for circumstances to improve. She decided she was the one who was going to improve them. In This Episode: * The unexpected crisis that preceded Andrea's transformation: planning a divorce, then watching her husband have a life-changing accident and decline in a nursing home * The four changes she made at 70 that cost nothing and changed everything: university classes, a weekly discussion group, one friend per week, and dating * What she discovered on a dating website for the over-50s — and why it completely reframed how she thinks about age and desirability * The 16 reasons younger men gave her for why they specifically seek out older women (she asked every single one) * Why Andrea says there's a generation of men in their 30s, 40s, and even 20s who find older women "wildly attractive and wildly desired" * Her 10-step common sense framework for personal transformation — no investment, no unusual skills required * Writing erotica for the first time at 70+ — and why she's now expanding it toward female satisfaction specifically * The childhood story that made independence feel like her natural state About Andrea Feinberg Andrea Feinberg is the founder of Coaching Insight and a 40-year veteran of business development, strategic marketing, and entrepreneurial coaching. After a decade on Wall Street and 35 years running her own firm, Andrea made a radical personal pivot at 70 — enrolling in university, dating younger men, and writing her most personal book to date: Sex, Sensuality and the Senior Woman, a 10-step transformation guide for women ready to pursue the life society told them they couldn't have. Connect with Andrea Feinberg * Website: marketingthatrocks.com * Website: bossonthebeach.com Resources * Sex, Sensuality and the Senior Woman * WeCanDoItWomen.com — join Debra's community

Aging Is Not the Problem. Ageism Is. Ashton Applewhite Makes the Case That Changes Everything.

She found out that two-thirds of divorces are initiated by women — and was stunned. Then she found out that almost everything she believed about aging was equally wrong. That same question — why don't we know this? — made Ashton Applewhite the world's leading voice on ageism. IN THIS EPISODE: * Why "old" should be a neutral word — and the shame we attach to it is the problem, not the age * The U-curve of happiness: people are happiest at life's beginning and end — and why * Only 2.5% of people over 65 are in nursing homes — and dementia rates keep dropping * Yale research: your attitudes toward aging affect your health at the cellular level * Elder speak — what it is, why everyone hates it, and how to avoid it * Why "aging successfully" is ableist and sets us all up to fail * The single greatest predictor of a good old age: not health, not wealth — your social network * The shoe test for age diversity — and why making one older or younger friend is an anti-ageist act * Free resources: Old School Hub, Wednesday office hours, "Aging Is Living" artwork EPISODE SUMMARY: Ashton Applewhite is entirely self-taught. She didn't start writing until her 40s or discover ageism until her mid-50s. Her TED Talk, her manifesto This Chair Rocks, and the Old School Hub she co-founded are the product of a researcher's rigor and a deep suspicion that cultural forces keep women in the dark on purpose. Under capitalism and in a sexist, ageist society, fear of aging is profitable. The facts are not. The facts: the U-curve proves people are happiest at life's beginning and end. Yale psychologist Becca Levy's research shows people with positive views of aging live 7.5 years longer. Loneliness rates are higher in young people than old. And discrimination, not age itself, is the problem. When you learn to see ageism in yourself, a veil lifts — and then you can do something about it. ABOUT ASHTON: Author of This Chair Rocks, TED speaker, co-founder of Old School Hub. Recognized by the United Nations, WHO, PBS Next Avenue, NYT, and NPR as an expert on ageism. CONNECT: thisChairRocks.com | oldschool.info | Wednesday office hours 1:30 ET COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.com If this episode lifted a veil, go to oldschool.info and join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

Could Your Brain Fog, Sleeplessness, and Emotional Swings Be Perimenopause? A 20-Year Expert Answers.

She was mid-sentence in a business meeting when her brain froze. It kept happening. She stopped speaking in meetings. She couldn't sleep. She was convinced she had early dementia. A retired gynecologist at a dinner party changed everything: you're in perimenopause, Ellen. That moment became a 20-year mission. IN THIS EPISODE: * The brain freeze, insomnia, and emotional chaos nobody warned Ellen about — and what was actually happening * The three stages: perimenopause (6–10 years of symptoms), menopause (one single day), and post-menopause * The 2002 WHI study that scared women off hormone therapy — and the 2024 study of 10 million Medicare women that reversed everything * Why heart disease kills more women than cancer — and how estrogen therapy reduces that risk * UTIs and vaginal health after 60: why this becomes a life-threatening issue and how to prevent it * How to find a certified menopause specialist at menopause.org — step by step * Why only one-third of gynecologists have menopause training * Ellen's free symptom tracker, Menopause Mondays blog, and Fearless Vagina course EPISODE SUMMARY: Ellen didn't plan this career. She hand-wrote a book on her living room floor, her son put it on a Word doc, menopause specialists vetted it, and a Disney ABC imprint bought it after Rachael Ray's producer found it first. Her Menopause Mondays blog has run every Monday for 20 years. Now her Fearless Vagina course delivers five 20-minute modules on everything women need to know — from perimenopause to post-menopause, hormones to heart health. The medical facts she shares are backed by two decades of interviewing the top scientists: the 2024 study of 10 million Medicare women proved that women who stayed on hormones had better outcomes in heart, bone, brain, and cancer protection. The conversation women deserved for decades is here. Ellen has been leading it the whole time. ABOUT ELLEN: Menopause advocate, bestselling author, and creator of Menopause Mondays and the Fearless Vagina course. Featured on CBS Sunday Morning, Today, Rachel Ray, NPR, and Oprah Radio. CONNECT: ellendolgen.com | menopause.org for a specialist near you COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.com If this episode gave you something you didn't know you needed, share it with every woman in your life. Then join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.