Coming Out & Beyond | Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality

In this very special Part 1 episode of Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal speaks with identical twins Ronda Landers and Jonda Valentine, both later-in-life lesbians and founders of Nashville's iconic bar, The Lipstick Lounge. Ronda and Jonda's stories reflect their remarkable journeys, beginning with growing up with their dad, a closeted preacher, moving to Nashville...

Therapist Dr. Andreya Jones and sex and relationship coach Angie Zimmerman are kink-aware practitioners whose work is centered on helping individuals have more rewarding relationships and fulfilling sex lives. Deconstructing from conservative religion, overcoming history of sexual abuse, finding acceptance in community, exploring polyamory, and finding purpose are themes throug...

This week on CO&B, host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes somatic embodiment and sex coach, Ayce Kypton. Ayce's story relates a journey of coming into his authentic gender, embracing transmasculine identity, emerging from conservative faith tradition, and stepping into his sexuality after decades of celibacy. His story is also one of perseverance, as Ayce experienced profound losses of family, f...

Ann Russo is a licensed clinical social worker, sex-positive therapist and founder of AMR Therapy. A therapist with over 20 years of experienced, she specializes in servicing marginalized communities, particularly in areas of sex positivity, queer issues, and religious trauma. Ann is a dedicated advocate for modern women's sexuality and is the author of the upcoming book, 'Her Own Terms: Navigatin...

Struggling with the decision of whether to leave your marriage? This week on the Coming Out & Beyond podcast, host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes back producer Barb Rowlandson to talk about divorce as you're coming out. Many of the clients Anne-Marie and Barb work with have the challenge of untangling long-term marriages, and the process can be fraught with difficulties. Anne-Marie and Barb a...

This week on the CO&B podcast, host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes later-in-life lesbian and adventurer, Jill Holiday. Jill's story is one of remarkable perseverance and personal discovery. After becoming a teen mom, years of home schooling and a heteronormative life, Jill took a bold step out of her comfort zone and spent months hiking the Appalachian Trail. Despite adversities she met along the...

"The Messy Middle" is the term coming out coaches use to describe the process of transformation from a straight life to life as an LGBTQIA+ person. In this episode Anne-Marie Zanzal invites her producer and fellow coming out coach, Barbara Rowlandson, do discuss the ins and outs and best practices for navigating this challenging time. Tune in for some great advice and a few laughs!

This week on Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal interviews queer author, playwright, abuse survivor, and former pastor, Trent Clifford. Trent's debut book, Reclaiming Faith, is a tender yet practical approach to uniting the spirituality you love with the religion you've lost. After surviving marital abuse and religious discrimination, Trent reconciled his sexual...

In this episode, host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes back psychotherapist and later-in-life lesbian Miriam Grace to talk about parenting and relationships with young adult children. With the strong trend of 'grey' divorces (divorces after age 50), many people find their grown children have a difficult time with changes to their parents' relationship. Anne-Marie and Miriam chat about a number of things...

Dubbed "the Godfather of Gay Diversity Training" by the New York Times, Brian McNaught is considered on of the world's leading corporate diversity consultants dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues in the workplace. In this lively discussion, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and Brian McNaught talk about his coming out story, how he approaches LGBTQIA+ topics when speaking wi...

Nancy Shadlock is a missionary-kid-turned-youth-pastor-turned-spiritual-director-turned-coming out coach. When Nancy discovered that she didn't have to divorce her spirituality to embrace her sexuality, she started creating the life she always dreamed of but feared would never be possible. Now, as the founder of Centered Counseling and Coaching and host of the Coming Out Chronicles podcast, she de...

Erika and Layla Quinones are an married couple who started an annual Pride celebration in their small town of Pulaski, TN. What began as a plan to welcome about 40 people to a potluck with a few vendors turned out to be an event that drew over 1300 visitors to the community. Pulaski has the dubious distinction of being the community where the KKK, a far-right terrorist organization, was formed in...

Resiliency is the theme of this week's episode as host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes speaker and author, Marcie Macari. Marcie's life story has been a master class in resiliency, as she has faced numerous extraordinary challenges, which includes being abandoned and stranded in South Africa with her infant daughter after being shunned by her ex-husband and Christian ministry. Marcie's coming out and a...

Over a quarter of adults are estranged from their parents. One of the greatest concerns that people face when coming out later in life is estrangement from their children. In this week's episode of Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes back guest Miriam Grace for a vulnerable discussion on parent/child estrangement - an often untalked about subject. This is a m...

Krista Oakes is a certified yoga and meditation teacher specializing in working with beginners and seniors. She teaches gentle and chair yoga classes in Daytona Beach, Florida and nationally, online.  Krista leads group wellness retreats and teaches yoga and meditations to corporations. Her classes focus on safety, proper body alignment, mindfulness, and trusting oneself. Krista's approa...

Fellow later-in-lifer and Philadelphia-based therapist Mallory Hanfling is our special guest on this episode of CO&B. Her practice, Courage to Grow Counseling, caters to the Queer community, working with individuals and couples, specializing in identity development, coming out, communication skills, and connecting with one's most authentic self. Mallory is a doctoral student at the Califo...

Lesbian dating – specifically when a long-time out lesbian dates a newly out lesbian – is the topic of this week's episode, featuring guest conversationalist, Tonda McKay. In addition to being an award-winning photographer and community advocate, Tonda holds a very special role of distinction: she is wife to podcast host, Anne-Marie Zanzal! Tonda and Anne-Marie met just as Anne-Marie was...

Nita Agustin is a Queer and gender affirming clinical counselor based in Burnaby, B.C., Canada. Their jam is helping Queer youth and young adults find alignment within themselves so they can feel confident showing up in their own skin. This is accomplished by finding words to name their experiences and discover ways to live on their own terms. In this episode, Nita describes coming out in the pres...

This week on Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, we introduce you to media PR expert, April Mason. April is the President of Violet PR, a busy agency that utilizes new and traditional media tools to craft powerful stories for their clients that shine a spotlight, attract new business, and enhance their public identity. April is also a later-in-life lesbian who learned to embrace all facets...

In this episode of Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal speaks with transgender advocate and educator, Ben Greene. Ben is a sought after speaker who has spoken at international events and conferences about topics surrounding transgender inclusion. After coming out in 2015 living in a small town in Connecticut and givng a popular TEDx talk at Brandeis University, Ben ha...

This week, we welcome back psychotherapist Miriam Grace to the podcast! Miriam first joined us in Season 2 to discuss catalyst lesbian relationships and recovering from the end of a first lesbian relationship. Miriam has over 30 years of experience as a humanistic therapist and primarily works with women to tackle life problems associated with sexuality, the end of relationships, empty nest,...

CiCi Reagan is a published author and copywriter who found her calling in message strategy and alignment for all types of businesses, from entrepreneurs to billion dollar corporations. She's also an international advocate for addiction and domestic abuse survivors, covered in Newsweek, Metro, and several award-winning podcasts. CiCi uses their vast life experience, cultivated writing talent,...

This week, host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes Dr. Roxy Manning and Sarah Peyton to the show.  Dr. Manning is a clinical psychologist and a certified Centre for Nonviolent Communication trainer. She brings decades of experience to her work, interruping explicitly and implicitly oppressive attitudes and culture norms. Dr. Manning has provided consultation and training across the U.S. and...

For years Michael "Tate" Barkley lived his life in shame—of living in poverty, of alcoholism and addiction, of being a closeted gay man. His story may sound familiar to anyone who struggles with feeling “less than.” Now sober through Alcoholics Anonymous, he wants to share his story in the hopes that it will help others to leave their shame behind and discover the peace that they deserve. His memo...

Author Melissa Giberson was a suburban housewife and mother of two who always felt something was missing in her life but couldn't define what that missing piece was. Her catalyst relationship experience caused her to stop and have a head-spinning revelation that she never expected – that she was, in fact, a lesbian. Melissa's incredible journey forced her to consider how much she was willing to ri...