Surfing the Quicksand

When aging parents need more support, family relationships can become strained quickly. Siblings disagree about caregiving, parents resist difficult conversations, emotions run high, and important decisions become harder to make.  Most people know elder law attorneys exist, but few have heard of elder mediation, a growing field designed to help families navigate conflict before it turns into litig...

What happens when life piles multiple challenges on top of each other before you've had time to process the first one?  In this deeply personal conversation, Kathy sits down with digital productivity coach and entrepreneur Deb Lee to talk about navigating a season filled with grief, caregiving, unexpected trauma, and personal growth.  Deb shares what it's like to live in a multicultural, m...

What happens when the hobby you pick up as an empty nester unexpectedly becomes the foundation for an entirely new chapter of your life?  When Janis Daly’s youngest son was preparing to graduate from college, she started wondering what she would do with the time that had once been filled with parenting, work, and weekends traveling to her sons’ sporting events. A longtime history lover, Janis deci...

Preparing a teenager for life after high school has become one of the most stressful milestones many families face. Questions about college, careers, student debt, AI, gap years, and an uncertain future can leave both parents and teens feeling overwhelmed.  In this episode, Kathy talks with Shellee Howard, founder of College Ready and an award-winning college strategist with nearly two decades of...

After a summer spent meeting new people, recording new conversations, and thinking about what I want this next season to be, I’m excited to be back in your ears and on your screens for another “school year” together.  This season, we’ll continue exploring the challenges, transitions, and possibilities of midlife, with conversations about reinvention, resilience, caregiving, relationships, work, le...

Season One may be wrapping up, but the conversation is just getting started.  After forty episodes of honest conversations with inspiring women, Kathy steps back to reflect on the themes that emerged again and again throughout the season. From reinvention and resilience to community, courage, and the power of taking one small step, these conversations revealed that getting unstuck isn't about...

Most of us think of grief as something that happens after a death. But grief shows up in many forms throughout our lives: during caregiving, health challenges, major transitions, changing identities, estranged relationships, unrealized dreams, and even positive life changes.  In this episode of Surfing the Quicksand, Kathy talks with Dr. Larey Swanson, an integrative health and wellness coach, phy...

In this deeply informative and compassionate conversation, Kathy sits down with gerontologist, educator, and advocate Donna Fedus to talk about aging, dementia, caregiving, and the emotional realities families face as loved ones experience cognitive change. Donna helps unpack the often-confusing language around dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, and caregiving, while offerin...

What happens when the life you carefully built suddenly no longer fits?  This week on  Surfing the Quicksand , Kathy talks with novelist Lindsey Goldstein about reinvention, creativity, and the courage to start over in midlife. Lindsey’s debut novel,  The Gap Year , follows Jane, a 46-year-old woman whose life unravels almost overnight: her daughter leaves for a traditional gap year abroad, her hu...

What happens when your “dream life” stops feeling like your  right  life?  In this episode of  Surfing the Quicksand , Kathy sits down with Danielle Frank, whose career path reads like a movie script: Hollywood publicity at Miramax, global travel, hobnobbing with celebrities.   But beneath the glamour were pivotal moments of clarity: a toxic job that triggered daily dread, a relationship that look...

In this solo episode, Kathy reflects on the difference between a bold midlife leap and the quieter, more common reality: the  midlife pivot . Drawing from her work as a career coach and resume writer, she walks listeners through how to rethink the future of work in their 40s and 50s without blowing up their entire life.  Kathy introduces three powerful pathways for designing what comes next: niche...

In this deeply reflective conversation, Kathy sits down with therapist Meredith Wakelyn to explore what it means to navigate multiple identity shifts at once in midlife. From unexpected health changes to the emotional complexity of empty nesting and evolving relationships with adult children, Meredith shares her experience of learning to listen to her body, release long-held habits, and redefine h...

Episode Summary:  “When women feel well, everything changes.” That simple statement becomes the foundation for a powerful and eye-opening conversation with family nurse practitioner and menopause specialist Magen Price.  In this episode, Kathy and Magen break down the realities of perimenopause and menopause, from the hormonal shifts happening in the body to the emotional and identity-level impact...

What happens when you leave a career you love, not because you’re burned out, but because another opportunity keeps whispering,  “What if?”   In this Midlife Leap episode, Kathy talks with former middle school teacher Julie Thomas, who spent 16 years teaching seventh-grade English before stepping away from her dream job to explore an unexpected entrepreneurial path.  What began as a side investmen...

In this episode, Kathy sits down with stylist, entrepreneur, and founder of Dressing Well, Mary Lou Andre, to talk about what it really takes to reinvent yourself, again and again, over a decades-long career.  Mary Lou shares the story of how the pandemic forced her to rethink nearly every aspect of her business. As corporate speaking engagements and in-person services disappeared overnight, she p...

Midlife brings a lot of changes to our bodies, and our skin is no exception. But how do we know what’s normal, what’s preventable, and what might actually require a doctor’s attention?  In this episode, Kathy talks with dermatology Physician Assistant Amy Akland about the realities of skin health in midlife. From identifying warning signs of skin cancer to understanding hair loss, collagen loss, a...

What happens when a long-buried idea resurfaces decades later, and you finally decide to act on it?  In this episode, Kathy talks with Angela Burk, author of  The Real Girl’s Guide to Midlife , about the winding road that led her from a successful corporate marketing career to writing a deeply personal book about identity, reinvention, and reclaiming your voice.  Angela shares how a forgotten red...

Supporting kids with organization, motivation, and follow-through isn’t about creating perfect systems; it’s about understanding development, executive function, and  who the child actually is .  In this episode of  Surfing the Quicksand , Kathy Vines talks with Tiffany Blassingame, educator, professional organizer, and academic life coach, about how families can move beyond power struggles and ri...

So many of us say,  “There just isn’t enough time.”  But what if the real issue isn’t time at all but how easily it slips away when we don’t have the right structures in place?  In this episode, Kathy Vines is joined by productivity and focus expert Sarah Tetlow of Firm Focus for a practical, compassionate conversation about time, routines, and why even the most capable people struggle to stay on...

Letting go of collections is rarely about “the stuff.”  In this episode, Kathy Vines talks with Stephanie Denson, founder of Spirit and Space, about the emotional, logistical, and relational realities of downsizing, especially later in life. Drawing on her work as a professional organizer and collectibles advisor, Stephanie explains why collections are so deeply tied to identity, relationships, an...

Many families don’t learn about hospice or palliative care until they’re already in crisis, often believing hospice means “giving up” or that it’s only for the very last days of life. In this episode of  Surfing the Quicksand , Kathy Vines is joined by Lori Reese, whose own personal experience with hospice care and loved ones led her to discover her passion for being an ambassador for the value an...

In this episode of Surfing the Quicksand , Kathy Vines chats with Reanna Evoy, a branding and creative professional, about the transformative journey through perimenopause and menopause. Reanna shares how she navigates this life stage with authenticity, creativity, and humor, highlighting the importance of self-expression, community, and redefining midlife.  They explore how societal expectations...

In this episode of Surfing the Quicksand , Kathy Vines talks with Susan Miele, author and identity researcher, about the ways midlife changes, whether menopause, career transitions, or life disruptions, affect identity and personal agency. Drawing from her own experiences as a former C-suite executive and her journey through career transitions, Susan explores how major life events (loss, grief, an...

What happens when the systems meant to support family life quietly become a source of overwhelm?  In this episode of Surfing the Quicksand , Kathy Vines is joined by Certified Professional Organizer Ellen Delap to unpack the hidden dynamics behind family management, overcommitment, and burnout, especially for households navigating neurodiversity, caregiving, and competing priorities across generat...

In this episode of Surfing the Quicksand , Kathy Vines is joined by leadership coach and writer Gina des Cognets for a thoughtful conversation about redefining success, navigating values conflict, and letting go of expectations that no longer fit our lives.  Together, they explore how many high-achieving women were rewarded for overgiving earlier in their careers, and how those same behaviors can...