Drinks with the Girls®

What if the life you planned isn't the life you got… and what if that's actually a good thing? When the kids grow up, relationships change, careers shift, or the roles that once defined us no longer fit, it's easy to wonder: Who am I now? This week on Drinks With the Girls, Karen and Lisa welcome writer, editor, and book coach Carolyn Flynn for a heartfelt, funny, and refreshingly honest conversat...

Ever wonder why you keep people-pleasing, striving for perfection, or falling back into habits you know aren't helping you? What if the problem isn't a lack of willpower—but the ways you've learned to protect yourself? This week on Drinks With the Girls, Karen and Lisa sit down with Lori Montry, somatic healing practitioner, creator of The Freedom Framework, and author of You're Not the Problem, t...

If you could go back and talk to your 40-year-old self, what would you say about motherhood, marriage, finding yourself, and navigating the messy middle of life? Karen and Lisa are taking a trip down memory lane, revisiting two very different versions of life in their 40s. For Karen, it was a decade of rediscovering herself while quietly navigating a marriage that was falling apart. For Lisa, it w...

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), breast cancer risk, and menopause—why is it still so hard for women over 40 to get straight answers about their health? For Part 5 of our Celebrating the Twins series, Karen and Lisa welcome Dr. Betsy Greenleaf, a quadruple board-certified physician and women's health expert, for a candid, eye-opening conversation about hormones, breast health, and taking back co...

The hidden cost of caregiving for women goes far beyond exhaustion—and the “Daughter Tax” could be costing you more than you ever imagined. Women are still so often the default caregivers: raising kids, supporting family, caring for aging parents, managing everyone’s needs—and adjusting careers, income and retirement plans to make it all work. But when you’ve spent decades being the dependable one...

Why do friendships change so much in midlife—and how do you know which friends are safe enough to see the real you? Author Lisa Najarian joins Karen and Lisa to unpack the emotional baggage women carry, the friendships that help us put it down, and what happens when we grow into a version of ourselves that some longtime friends don’t quite understand. Lisa, author of Girl Unpack That: The Trip Tha...

Ready to stop people pleasing and start choosing yourself in midlife? For women over 40, giving yourself permission to want more can feel surprisingly uncomfortable—especially when your choices disappoint the people you love. Karen and Lisa are entering their Permission Slip Era, and they’re talking about what happens when you stop waiting for approval and start trusting yourself. From setting bou...

Exhausted, foggy, overwhelmed—and wondering if this is just what menopause and midlife feel like now? Functional medicine practitioner Dori Martin joins us to talk about midlife burnout, mineral balance, hormones, stress, and why doing all the “right” things doesn’t always make you feel better. Dori knows this territory personally. After years of caregiving, working, parenting, and carrying all th...

What really changes after 45? For women in midlife, some of the biggest life lessons aren’t about getting older—they’re about finally figuring out what deserves your time, your energy, and your very limited supply of fucks. Karen and Lisa are spilling the shizzle they’ve learned the hard way: no one is thinking about you nearly as much as you think they are, boundaries are necessary (especially wi...

Is your marriage going through a rough season—or are you quietly wondering if it might actually be over? Marriage and family therapist Dr. Becky Whetstone, author of I Think I Want Out, joins Karen and Lisa for an honest conversation about marriage crisis, emotional disconnection, separation, divorce, and whether an unhappy marriage can be saved. Dr. Becky knows this crossroads personally. After h...

Midlife trends are everywhere—but which ones are actually worth the hype for women over 40, and which ones deserve a hard pass? Karen and Lisa are taking on the trends filling our feeds and creeping onto our midlife to-do lists: embracing gray hair, protein everything, GLP-1s, pickleball, solo female travel, AI, cold plunges, and yes…even beef tallow on your face. (Some things may be a bridge too...

If you grew up in the ’80s, this nostalgic trip through ’80s music, MTV, Brat Pack movies, fashion, first concerts, and teenage crushes is about to unlock memories you didn’t even know you still had. Karen and Lisa are cracking open the Drinks With the Girls vault for a Mixtape episode that takes us straight back to the decade of Aqua Net, mixtapes, Levi’s 501s, Contempo Casuals, MTV premieres, an...

Parenting a transgender child can bring up love, fear, questions, and unexpected growth—and these honest stories from three moms of transgender kids remind us that none of us has to navigate life's biggest moments alone. Karen and Lisa sit down with three remarkable mothers who share the deeply personal journeys of supporting their transgender children with honesty, vulnerability, and unwavering l...

The manosphere is shaping conversations about relationships, masculinity, and feminism in ways many midlife women may not even realize. Karen and Lisa unpack the rise of this online movement with curiosity, compassion, and honesty—exploring how loneliness, social media algorithms, and outdated gender expectations are influencing young men and impacting all of us. This isn't about bashing men or fu...

Naomi Watts' Dare I Say It book review shines a light on the menopause conversation so many women have been waiting for. Karen and Lisa share an honest, heartfelt discussion about the fear, shame, identity shifts, and surprising freedom that can come with midlife, inspired by Naomi Watts' deeply personal story of navigating early menopause while living in the public eye. With laughter, vulnerabili...

There comes a moment in midlife when you look around at the beautiful life you've built and quietly wonder, Where did I go? Artist and retreat host Anna Beij joins Karen and Lisa for a deeply honest conversation about losing yourself while caring for everyone else—and the unexpected power of creativity, travel, and giving yourself permission to come home to who you've always been. Through heartfel...

Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference. From beauty products we swear by and travel hacks that save our sanity to kitchen gadgets, wellness favorites, and the purchases we wish we'd discovered years ago, Karen and Lisa are sharing the everyday finds that have made midlife a little easier—and a lot more fun. Along the way, they laugh about chickens becoming beloved pets,...

Two years. Countless laughs, honest tears, unforgettable conversations—and we're just getting started. 🍸 This special anniversary episode is a heartfelt celebration of everything Drinks With the Girls® has become: a place where women in midlife can laugh, learn, question, and remember they never have to figure it all out alone. Karen and Lisa reflect on the conversations that challenged them, the...

She didn't leave overnight—and chances are, neither do most women. The walk-away wife phenomenon isn't about one fight or one bad day. It's about years of emotional labor, feeling unheard, carrying the invisible weight of a relationship, and quietly grieving long before anyone else notices. Karen Shatafian and Lisa Corricello-McDowell unpack why so many women in midlife reach a breaking point afte...

Feeling stuck, overlooked, or unsure what's next? The answer may be hiding in plain sight. Career and entrepreneur coach Patricia Drain joins Karen and Lisa for a powerful conversation about the gifts women often underestimate, the confidence we lose along the way, and why it's never too late to begin a new chapter. Through personal stories, surprising insights, and one simple question that could...

A Kentucky Derby upset. A female NHL coach. A Super Bowl-winning team owned by a woman. The game is changing—and women are leading the charge. We dive into the inspiring stories of women breaking barriers in sports leadership and explore why these victories matter far beyond the playing field. From female coaches and team owners to trailblazers rewriting the rules, this conversation is really abou...

Grief doesn't just take the person you love—it changes the person you are.  After losing her mother suddenly and, less than two years later, losing her son, Marie Crews found herself navigating the kind of heartbreak most of us can't imagine. Yet through the fog of loss, she discovered something powerful: healing isn't about "moving on"—it's about learning how to live alongside grief. In this deep...

You did everything "right"—built a life you love, raised the kids, made the big changes, maybe even reinvented yourself. So why does midlife still feel lonely sometimes? Karen and Lisa dive into the surprising difference between friendship and community, and why so many women over 40 find themselves craving deeper connection after divorce, empty nesting, relocation, career shifts, or simply outgro...

Trying to squeeze into old jeans while quietly grieving the woman you used to be? Same. This honest, funny, and deeply relatable conversation about midlife fashion dives into what happens when your body changes, your lifestyle shifts, and suddenly nothing in your closet feels like you anymore. Karen and Lisa are joined by fashion-loving educator Kate LaPlaunt, who brings warmth, humor, and zero ju...

Karen and Lisa are celebrating 100 episodes of Drinks With the Girls — and the truth behind the milestone is way messier, funnier, and more emotional than anyone sees on social media. From recording through grief, burnout, parenting chaos, tech disasters, and “life lifing,” they share the real story of what it takes to keep showing up in midlife when everything feels hard. This conversation is a l...