Description

About Cindy DiTiberio: Cindy DiTiberio is an author, ghostwriter, and creator of The Mother Lode on Substack, a candid community where she writes about motherhood, divorce, and rediscovering identity in midlife. After nearly a decade of ghostwriting for others, Cindy began sharing her own story during the pandemic, sparking honest conversations about emotional labor, gender roles, and personal reinvention. Her forthcoming book explores how she lost and reclaimed herself through marriage, divorce, and self-discovery. Passionate about storytelling, Cindy helps others share their truths and believes stories connect us and make us feel less alone.

In this episode, Lisa and Cindy DiTiberio discuss:

• How the pandemic inspired Cindy’s Substack: The Mother Lode
• Motherhood, marriage, and emotional overload during lockdown
• When therapy helps and when it harms in struggling relationships
• Recognizing covert narcissism and emotional abuse
• Healing, dating, and rediscovering joy in midlife

Key Takeaways: 

• The pandemic exposed many hidden inequalities in family systems and led to what Cindy calls “pandemic divorcees.”
• Sometimes, therapy reinforces unhealthy dynamics if a partner is not open to change or accountability.
• Emotional abuse and narcissism can be difficult to recognize until long after a relationship ends.
• Healing after divorce requires deep self-awareness, boundary-setting, and the courage to choose yourself.
• Rediscovering desire and joy in midlife through dating, storytelling, or self-expression is a powerful form of rebirth.
• Life after divorce is full of possibilities; reinvention is not failure but evolution.

“We can reinvent ourselves over and over and over again. Like, literally, I think that's what we're here to do, is just evolve and shed skins that that we've outgrown and move on to the next version of us.” - Cindy DiTiberio

Connect with Cindy DiTiberio:

Website: https://cindyditiberio.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-ditiberio-b6141b5/ 

Twitter: https://x.com/CindyDT 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cindy.ditiberio 

Substack: https://substack.com/@cindyditiberio & https://cindyditiberio.substack.com/ 

Connect with Lisa Thee:

Website: https://lisathee.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/ 

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/lisa.thee.polvi 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisa_thee 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisatheepolvi/ 

Lisa’s BOOK: Go!: Reboot Your Career in 90 Days

Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.