Shows
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenFrom Chaos To Calm: Attachment, Trauma, And Choosing Healthy LoveThoughts or comments? Send us a text!Ever notice how a quiet room can make your heart race when you’re used to slammed doors and sharp words? We dig into why peace can feel unsafe if you grew up around chaos and how that early conditioning shapes what your nervous system calls “normal.” With Dr. Rebecca Payne, a California-based psychologist who specializes in anxiety and relationships, we translate attachment theory into everyday language and practical steps you can use right away.We break down secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment without the jargon, then connect the do...
2025-12-2327 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenExpect The Expected: Navigating Hurtful Family DynamicsThoughts or comments? Send us a text!Holiday gatherings can feel like a pressure cooker when old dynamics collide with high hopes. We open up about the quiet bargain many of us make—if we do more, maybe they’ll hurt us less—and why that bargain drains joy. Instead, we walk through a practical, compassionate shift: expect the expected. When someone’s track record reliably brings criticism or dismissal, predicting a different outcome sets us up for pain. Grounding our plans in reality doesn’t make us cold; it makes us kinder to ourselves and more present fo...
2025-12-2206 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenDating After Divorce: How to Trust Yourself to Move OnThoughts or comments? Send us a text!The hardest part of divorce isn’t signing papers; it’s deciding who you want to be next. Mary sits down with divorce recovery coach Leah Mazur to trace a path from abandonment wounds and serial monogamy to boundaries, standards, and a calmer nervous system. Together we break the old script that says your worth depends on being chosen, and replace it with a practical roadmap for choosing yourself: slowing down, noticing red flags without making excuses, and building a full, satisfying life where partnership is a bonus, not a requ...
2025-12-1847 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenReinventing Midlife: Sobriety, Solo Travel, And Self-TrustThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if the anxiety you feel is the exact compass you need? That’s the spark behind this conversation with Tina Coleman—a woman who turned a career-ending car accident, profound grief, and a tangle of old coping habits into a bold new chapter of sobriety, solo travel, and life abroad after 50. We get honest about what midlife actually looks like when you stop apologizing and start experimenting.We dive into the messy middle: how alcohol can sneak in as self-medication, why letting go of anger can be a ph...
2025-12-1640 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenFrom Resolutions To Meaning: Rethinking The Holiday SeasonThoughts or comments? Send us a text!We share a candid year-end reflection on editing, expectations, and why resolutions often miss the point. The focus shifts to simpler holidays, learning from loss, and investing time in memories, relationships, and small practices that bring meaning.• reframing failure as learning and space gained• choosing simpler traditions and shared time over gifts• noticing negative bias and balancing it with gratitude• replacing pressure with small, intentional choices• using the CALM method to reduce stress and find meaning• investing in hobbies and relationships for lasting joy
2025-12-1510 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenSomatic Therapies: Trauma, Attachment and Family SystemsThoughts or comments? Send us a text!Confrontation doesn’t have to be a fight; it can be the moment everything gets clearer. That idea becomes our entry point into a grounded, hope-filled conversation with trauma therapist Carolyn Kobylinski, LPC-S, who believes therapy should make you feel different. We trace her path through bipolar II, eating disorder recovery, caregiver grief, and the hard-won wisdom that comes from rebuilding life after it breaks. With warmth and candor, we name what most people only hint at: trust can be betrayed in therapy; labels like “bipolar” get tossed around carelessly; and no...
2025-12-1149 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenDigital Minimalism For Sanity, Focus, And Real-Life ConnectionThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if the quiet you crave is on the other side of a few simple phone boundaries? We sit down with strategist and community builder Kelsey Green to unpack digital minimalism as a values-first way to use technology without letting it use you. From the rise of anxiety and scattered attention to the illusion of connection on social media, we get honest about how the constant scroll erodes presence, creativity, and relationships—and how to take your focus back.Kelsey shares what her Screen-Free Sunday challenge reveals about co...
2025-12-0951 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenBreak Free from Anxiety and People-PleasingThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if the real path to power isn’t armor, but undressing the layers that never belonged to you in the first place? Mary sits down with Nedjma Belaid—modern priestess, mentor, former pharmacist, and clinical hypnotherapist—to trace the journey from people pleasing and anxiety to a grounded, luminous self that doesn’t bend for approval. Their conversation pulls no punches: they name the “good girl” programming, the swing into rebel isolation, and the quiet cost of building a life around other people’s comfort.Nejma shares how she steppe...
2025-12-0440 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenNavigating High-Conflict DivorceThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What happens when divorce stops being a private rupture and becomes a public war? We sit down with Lisa Johnson—co-founder of Been There Got Out, high-conflict divorce strategist, and certified domestic violence advocate—to unpack the real mechanics of legal abuse, coercive control, and the quiet power of strategic communication that stands up in court. Lisa shares how her own journey—from a shocking double life reveal to 100+ court appearances across two states—culminated in a rare pro se victory published as state case law, along with testimony that helped p...
2025-12-0252 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenCALM For The Holidays: Reclaim Joy This SeasonThoughts or comments? Send us a text!The holiday lights flip on and suddenly your pulse spikes. Between crowded calendars, complicated family dynamics, and the ache of people we miss, the season can feel less like a spark of joy and more like a storm front. We built this mini to offer a calmer way through: a clear, compassionate framework called C.A.L.M.—Centering, Anchors, Logistics, and Meaning—that helps you make choices you actually feel good about.We start with centering so you can move from reflex to intention. Simple grounding practices and...
2025-12-0119 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenFrom Summits To Valleys: Grit, Grief, And Finding StrengthThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if the view you want is earned one painful step, one quiet choice, and one stubborn breath at a time? We sit down with author and endurance athlete Dianette Wells to trace the arc from a spontaneous Mount Whitney climb to seven summits, multi-day eco challenges, and the mindset that makes impossible goals workable. The conversation is raw and practical: how teams win by protecting their slowest moments, why fueling and hydration are non-negotiable, and how to switch off the inner critic without losing your edge.Dianette...
2025-11-2738 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenFrom IVF To Empowerment: Rewriting The Path To ParenthoodThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if the story you were handed about motherhood—find a partner, marry, then try for kids—was never the only way? We sit down with author and coach Cheri Bergeron to unpack how she pursued a corporate career, watched the clock get louder, and then chose a different path: IVF with donor eggs, navigating loss, and ultimately becoming a single mother by choice. The conversation is raw and generous, tracing the moments that broke her heart, the legal fight that tested her rights, and the decisions that rebuilt her life...
2025-11-2535 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenNo More People-Pleasing: Why We Stop Being "Nice" and Start Being AuthenticThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if the sudden urge to stop performing isn’t a phase, but a feature of a changing brain? We dive into the science and lived experience of “aging out of pretending,” exploring how midlife hormone shifts and synaptic pruning reshape the mental load of people pleasing. The result isn’t rudeness; it’s a recalibration of energy, attention, and honesty that can feel terrifying at first and liberating over time.We connect the dots between social conditioning—especially the training to read the room—and the decision fatigue that m...
2025-11-2417 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenChoose Yourself, Expand Your LifeThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if shrinking isn’t your personality—it’s your programming? We sit down with author Candice Shepherd to unpack the hidden codes that keep so many of us stuck in people pleasing, perfectionism, and pretending to be fine. From the moment her marriage hit a crossroads to the day she chose her truth over approval, Candice maps a path that is brave, messy, and deeply human.We explore how the nervous system reacts before the mind can catch up, why a slammed cupboard can send you straight into f...
2025-11-2042 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenTurning Tragedy and Trauma into Purpose: Step Into Your MiracleThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if the life you built—career, identity, confidence—vanished overnight? Mary sits down with Shannon Michelle, a former LA interior designer whose world changed after a near-fatal motorcycle crash and, later, a breast cancer diagnosis. The story that follows isn’t about superhuman grit; it’s about ordinary presence practiced relentlessly, and the surprising ways community, faith, and tiny decisions can carry us through the unthinkable.Shannon takes us into the ICU, the months-long coma, and the slow work of relearning everything from walking to using a phone. S...
2025-11-1836 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenIntentional Holidays: Traditions, Boundaries, And What Really MattersThoughts or comments? Send us a text!The calendar is racing, the daylight is fading, and the pressure to do it all is loud. After returning from a trip to visit a 99‑year‑old father‑in‑law, we sit down for a short, heartfelt reflection on how to navigate the holiday rush with intention. If your plans include hosting, caregiving, tight timelines, or all of the above, this conversation offers simple, human ways to slow down and reclaim what matters.We unpack the pull to recreate every tradition and every recipe “the way it’s always been...
2025-11-1705 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenEnergy & Wealth: Abundance Beyond DollarsThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if prosperity isn’t a number, but the safety and support you can count on? Mary sits down with holistic wealth coach, writer, and speaker Morgan Blackman to rethink money through the lens of energy, values, and community. We move past the spreadsheet to explore how gratitude, alignment, and resourcefulness create options—often without a dollar changing hands.Morgan shares how childhood money dynamics and cultural narratives shape our nervous systems, why many women develop hyper‑independence around finances, and how trust and teamwork can transform that armor...
2025-11-1352 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenWhy Chasing “The Right Guy” Keeps You Stuck And How To Build The Partnership You DeserveThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if “finding the right guy” is the very thing keeping you stuck? We open up about how self-sufficiency without vulnerability can mask red flags, and why the path to a steady, equal partnership begins with radical honesty about your needs. Licensed social worker and relationship coach Chaya Garcia joins Mary Rothwell to break down codependency as an addiction, the dopamine cycles that keep us chasing crumbs, and the quiet power of choosing yourself before you choose anyone else.Together we map out clear, practical signals: when to leav...
2025-11-1141 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenBelonging: Finding the Zone Where You ThriveThoughts or comments? Send us a text!A simple move can surface a big truth: belonging shapes everything. We share why we left a very rural home for a small city and unpack how that decision revealed a practical framework for fit and flourishing. Drawing on plant wisdom from my forthcoming book, Nature Knows: Growing and Thriving Through the Wisdom of Plants, we translate climate zones into a human “thrivability zone” you can use to assess work, relationships, and place.If a tropical plant can’t overwinter in a hard frost, it doesn’t mean the plan...
2025-11-1007 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenFrom Complaints to Confidence: Keys to Positive MindsetThoughts or comments? Send us a text!The quiet voice in our head can be a coach or a critic—and most days, it’s the critic with a megaphone. Mary sits down with Cheryl Fischer, host of the Mind Your Midlife Podcast and a certified life and mindset coach, to unpack how subtle habits like constant complaining, reflexive apologies, and comparison keep us stuck. We share real stories about catching a negative loop in the moment, the surprising power of neutral language in close relationships, and why glimmers—tiny flashes of joy like perfect evening air or tha...
2025-11-0636 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenEmpowered Women: Bridging Divides through Connection & Interracial SisterhoodThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if the shortest path from fear to trust is a conversation you’ve been avoiding? Mary sits down with anti-racism educator and Interracial Sisterhood Coalition founder Karen Fleshman to explore how intentional, story-driven friendship across race can heal divides, strengthen workplaces, and change what power feels like between women. We begin with honesty—Mary naming her background, blind spots, and worries—and move into the systems that keep us apart: redlining and “greenlining,” segregated social networks, and the profit motive behind polarization. Karen shares her pivot from preparing young adults of...
2025-11-0458 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenBubbly Water and City Life: Exploring What You Never Thought You'd WantThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What if the thing you’ve sworn off is the door you need to walk through next? That’s the spark behind a candid reflection on moving from quiet country life to a small city with more diversity, more community, and more ways to serve. I share how an unexpected love of bubbly water on a trip to Germany softened a lifelong certainty, and how that tiny shift opened space for a much bigger one: choosing a place that aligns with my values and offers real opportunities to volunteer, connect, and...
2025-11-0309 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenRescuing Yourself: Breaking the Firstborn Daughter CycleThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What happens when your entire identity is built around taking care of others? For Adaku Mbagwu, the journey from family provider to self-discovery required hitting rock bottom before she could rebuild her life on her own terms.Born in Nigeria and moving to London at age six, Adaku witnessed her family's financial collapse firsthand. The moment she saw her mother with rain seeping through holes in her shoes became the catalyst for assuming a parentified role at just eight years old. As she explains, "I signed away my...
2025-10-3049 min
Direct LineDirect Line / Mary Rothwell & Kim CorleyGreg and Stephanie welcomed back Mary Rothwell and Kim Corley to Direct Line radio this week. Mary talked about her experience hiking the Camino pilgrimage Trail in Spain! Kim shared about her experience in Spain as well. Stephanie also talked about her hospice experience on Friday and Greg shared his experience being back at Second Church on Sunday, as well as the importance of religious liberty and freedom in 2025. Check it out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2025-10-2949 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenYou're Already Whole: Healing from Shame and PerfectionismThoughts or comments? Send us a text!What happens when generations of emotional suppression collide with childhood trauma? For therapist Malisa Hepner, it created the perfect storm of perfectionism, people-pleasing, and eventual burnout that forced her to completely reimagine her approach to healing.Born to parents struggling with addiction and raised in an environment of chaos and neglect, Malisa developed coping mechanisms that initially helped her survive but eventually left her feeling perpetually broken. Despite outward success as the "golden child," she carried deep wounds from both obvious traumas and the more insidious damage of...
2025-10-2854 min
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for WomenUnconventional Gratitude: How Setbacks Fuel Growth and ConnectionThoughts or comments? Send us a text!Gratitude gets tossed around like a seasonal slogan, but the real magic happens when you follow the thread from a hard moment to an unexpected opening. I share how a rough exit from school counseling set off a chain reaction that led to higher education roles, new mentors, a brush with doctoral study, and eventually a beloved position I never saw coming. And when that final chapter ended in early retirement—heartbreaking, identity-shaking—it turned out to be the doorway to reinvention.You’ll hear the unpolished version of gro...
2025-10-2706 min