Things My Mother Forgot to Mention

When did you first realize you were getting older? For Patti, it was the doctor saying "it's time for a colonoscopy" at 45. For Jan, it was turning 70 and discovering that 70 is definitely not the new 60. In this episode, we talk about aging from two very different spots on the timeline. We talk about how your calendar fills up with doctor appointments, how your skin turns into tiss...

A few episodes back, we told you about our own experiences with psychedelics, and we promised we'd bring in someone who actually does this work professionally. Meet Alissa Aune, a licensed marriage and family therapist with more than two decades of experience in developmental and relational trauma, and the founder of Embodied Journeys Collective. Alissa walks us through what medicine-assisted...

We're talking about UTIs today, and yes, we know that doesn't sound thrilling. But after Jan’s years of struggle with them and Patti’s close relatives experiencing big impacts from them, we knew this was important information to share. Here's what we get into: Why a UTI for older adults can be incredibly dangerous How common hallucinations are in older adults with UTs Why your risk...

We’ve discussed many taboo topics on this podcast, but we’ve overlooked a big one until now. Money! That’s why we brought in financial empowerment coach Briana Williams to help us get honest about it. Briana's own money story starts with $110,000 in debt and she walks us through exactly how she climbed out of it, what she'd do differently, and why she thinks most of us were never taught...

We're talking relationships today, and Jan's bringing the wisdom she's collected from 30 years as a couples therapist (plus 36 years of her own marriage). Jan shares bits of the toast she's given at both of her sons' rehearsal dinners: her four hard-won truths about what actually makes relationships work. Then we dig into Pia Mellody's three golden rules of interdepen...

This week we're talking with Jodi Brown, a life strategist who's spent decades living outside the path most of us were handed: get married, have kids, build a nest egg, retire comfortably. Jodi chose her own path that she’s loved. And now she spends her time helping women figure out what a full, connected life looks like when it doesn't follow that script, whether by choice or becau...

In this episode, we go a new direction that some people may feel uncomfortable with, but we feel is an important conversation. We talk about drugs. Specifically, psychedelics, and what they've meant for mental health, including our own. We share our personal stories, dig into some research, and have the kind of conversation we probably should have had with someone years ago. This isn't a...

We've all had a dental horror story or two, and after sharing ours in a recent episode, we figured it was time to bring in an actual expert. This week we're joined by Dr. Zakary Yermolenko, a general dentist, Army Reserve major, and owner of Vernon Valley Dentistry in New Jersey, who somehow also finds time to coach his five-year-old's soccer team. Dr. Zak has a lot to say about wha...

This week we got into something we know almost everyone has struggled with: what it actually takes to walk away from a long-term relationship. We both share our personal experiences of leaving long relationships, including the whys, the good and bad things, and the parts we felt less than proud of. Here's what we dig into: Why "just cut it off and let go" is terrible advice when you...

In this episode, we're joined by Stephanie Baker, a licensed trauma counselor, Army veteran, and EMDR therapist who knows firsthand that birth doesn't always go according to plan. What started as a near-perfect pregnancy took a sharp turn, and what followed was a crash course in things nobody had prepared her for. Jan also pulls back the curtain on her own birth story, one she rarely sha...

Teeth. The thing nobody warns you about until you're crying in the dental chair with half your face numb and a stranger drilling into your mouth for the third time that visit. This episode is Jan and Patti getting brutally honest about their dental horror stories—the bad dentists, the botched procedures, the money spent, and the hard-won lessons that came out the other side. Spoiler: we both...

Nobody sat us down and said, "Hey, one day your hips might just stop working." And yet here we are. In this episode, Jan and Patti are joined by the brilliant Nicole Grose, a retired professor, Gen X middle child, leukemia survivor, and now the proud owner of two brand-new hips. Nicole brings her background in anatomy and physiology (and a whole lot of hard-won personal experience) to a...

So Jan's basically building a new body one joint at a time, and we figured it was time to talk about it. As of recording, Jan is eight weeks out from her fourth joint replacement, a knee this time, and we got into all of it. The parts they don't put in the brochure. The stuff your surgeon forgets to mention. The real experience of living in a body that needs a little extra hardware to ke...

This week, Jan connected us with Melinda Watman, a woman who has lived inside the obesity and eating disorder world since she was two and a half years old, and who somehow turned that into a career that's literally changing how pharmaceutical companies and clinical trials treat patients. We had a feeling this conversation was going to be good. We had no idea. Melinda is a patient advocacy con...

Today we’re talking about something so many women carry quietly: disordered eating and body image stuff. We get honest about our own histories (yep, both ends of the spectrum) and what actually helped us move toward peace—without shame, perfection, or “just try harder” nonsense. In this episode, we talk about: How eating disorders aren’t just anorexia and bulimia—there’s a whole range of disordere...

The conversation this week with our colleague and friend, Dr. Rick Butts, stopped us in our tracks—in the best way. Rick walked us through his grief timeline , beginning with losing his grandmother at 7, his father at 10, and later his mother at 35. What unfolded was something we hadn’t quite thought about before: grief isn’t just an event… it’s a thread that runs through your entire life. In this...

In this episode, we talk about the many faces of grief—and how it's not just about death. From heartbreak and dementia to aging bodies and old friendships, this one’s for anyone who’s had to say goodbye to something (or someone) they loved. We get into: The sneaky, shapeshifting nature of grief What “ambiguous grief” actually means How grief is deeply connected to attachment Why we need ritua...

In this episode, we sit down with the wildly talented and utterly honest Ma Sherry Glaser —actress, playwright, author, and activist. Sherry shares her harrowing (and strangely funny) journey through a stroke, a cancer diagnosis, and a kidney tumor... all discovered after avoiding the medical system for decades. This one’s about what happens when your magical thinking meets a medical emergency—and...

In this episode, we go there —into the deep, raw, and very real territory of death and dying . Sounds jolly, right? But seriously, it's the conversation no one prepared us for, and that’s exactly why we’re having it. We're getting honest about: Sudden loss and the trauma of unexpected death The weird things our brains do when we first hear someone’s gone The difference between grief and...

In this episode, we sat down with Kristy Dillon—therapist, survivor, and truth-teller—to talk about something that too many people still struggle to say out loud: sexual abuse. This conversation is raw, honest, and full of the kind of wisdom that only comes from deep healing. If you've experienced abuse—or love someone who has—this episode is for you. Here’s what we talk about: What it’s like...

In this episode, Patti shares her experience of childhood sexual abuse, what healing has looked like over the decades, and why it’s so important that we talk about the things that were buried under shame, silence, or secrecy for way too long. We’re not getting into graphic details—but we are talking honestly about the emotional toll and long-term impact of being hurt by someone who was supposed to...

This week, we’re getting real about something that hits close to home. We’re joined by Jan’s dear friend and fellow therapist Laura Williams, who bravely shares her journey through an unexpected breast cancer diagnosis. Stage zero —no symptoms, no lump, no family history. Just one routine mammogram that saved her life. In this episode, we talk about: How a mammogram caught Laura’s cancer before it...

Today we’re diving deep into skin health and cancer — not as experts, but through sharing experiences we’d like to help you avoid. In this episode we talk: How baby oil and iodine once were Jan’s “sunscreen” (yes, really) and how that misguided vibe still haunts her skin today Jan’s personal skin‑cancer story: from a spot that wouldn’t heal on her forehead to multiple cuts, stitches and scalp scar...

In this episode, we’re talking with Susan Kay, a psychiatric nurse practitioner with over 40 years of experience treating anxiety, panic, and mood disorders. Susan opens up about her own lifelong journey with anxiety—from childhood panic attacks to the hard-won wisdom that comes from facing fear head-on. Together, we explore: Why anxiety often begins early and hides behind shame The connection bet...

In this episode, we’re going deep into a topic we wish someone had warned us about: anxiety . From panic attacks to lump-in-the-throat discomfort and the reality of being “on edge” for decades—we’re talking about how trauma shapes the nervous system, and why healing isn’t just about mindset. Here’s what we cover: Patti’s real-life story of anxiety from childhood trauma to adult healing Why “calmin...