Drinks with the Girls®

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...

Somewhere between raising kids, managing careers, caregiving, and holding everyone else together… a lot of women wake up in midlife wondering: Who am I now? Karen and Lisa unpack the identity shifts nobody prepares women for after 40 — the quiet grief of outgrowing old roles, the pressure to stay “relevant,” and the exhausting feeling of disappearing inside everyone else’s needs. Through raw conve...

They were our anchors… and somehow, we’re learning how to stand on our own. This Mother’s Day conversation is honest, funny, and unexpectedly healing—about the women who raised us, the relationships that shaped us, and the versions of ourselves we’ve grown into along the way. Lisa and Karen share what it’s like to move from daughter to friend, to grieve what was, and to finally understand the less...

The word was “clusterf*ck”… and honestly? It only gets more real from there. This is the conversation every educator—and every midlife woman holding it all together—has been having behind closed doors. Karen and Lisa sit down with returning guest Amanda to pull back the curtain on the toxic reality of education today—where passion collides with burnout, boundaries disappear, and the job that once...

Ever feel like saving the planet is just… too much? Between the plastic at the dentist, the endless Amazon boxes, and the constant noise of “do more,” it’s easy to slip into that quiet midlife question: does anything I do even matter? In this honest and often hilarious Earth Day conversation, Karen and Lisa  unpack the overwhelm, the guilt, and the small but meaningful ways we can reconnect—with t...

Your body is reacting… and you don’t even know why. One text, one look, one moment—and suddenly you’re spiraling, shutting down, or ready to run. Karen and Lisa get real about those “where did that come from?” reactions in relationships—and the answer might be trauma. The kind that quietly shapes how we love, communicate, trust, and show up… especially in midlife. With trauma therapists Alex and A...

Something feels off… and you can’t quite explain it. You’re forgetting things you never used to forget. Questioning yourself in rooms you used to own. Wondering, quietly, “What is happening to me?” This conversation goes straight into that moment—the one where confidence starts slipping, identity feels shaky, and you barely recognize yourself anymore. And here’s the truth that hits hard: it’s not...

The world feels heavy… and sometimes you just need something that makes you laugh, escape, or feel like yourself again. This week, Karen and Lisa are sharing the binge-worthy shows, movies, books, and music they turn to when life feels overwhelming—from laugh-until-you-snort favorites like Ted Lasso and Derry Girls to darker, can’t-look-away British mysteries and true crime escapes. But this isn’t...

Twenty years later, Eat, Pray, Love still hits a nerve—and this conversation goes way beyond pasta and passports. Karen and Lisa unpack why so many women saw themselves in one woman’s breaking point… and what it really means to admit, “This life isn’t working anymore.” From impulsively driving away just to breathe for a few hours to memories of mothers who quietly chose themselves, this episode is...

The Winter Olympics gave us more than medals this year—it gave us a powerful reminder that women don’t come with an expiration date. From the fearless comeback of Lindsey Vonn to Olympic moms racing, skating, and competing at the highest level while raising young kids, this conversation dives into the real stories behind women who refuse to age out, shrink back, or follow the timeline society hand...

Moving abroad in midlife sounds romantic… until the real transformation begins. In Part 2 of our conversation with women who left the U.S. to build lives in places like Italy, Belize, and the Caribbean, the fantasy gives way to something deeper: identity shifts, unexpected loneliness, freedom, and the courage to start again. Our guests share the honest, unfiltered side of creating a life overseas...

The patriarchy isn’t just politics or headlines — it’s the air midlife women have been breathing for decades. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Karen and Lisa pull back the curtain on the quiet, insidious ways the patriarchy shapes women’s lives — from being told to be “likable” and low-maintenance, to carrying the emotional load at home, to shrinking our ambition so everyone else stays com...

You still love to dance — you just don’t want to stay out until 2AM. Somewhere between raising kids, caregiving, running businesses, and rebuilding ourselves, joy started coming with a curfew. But what if midlife fun didn’t have to mean exhaustion the next day? This conversation dives into the magic of the Early Bird’s Club — a women-centered dance movement created for those of us with real respon...

You look in the mirror and think, When did I disappear? Somewhere between raising kids, managing relationships, building careers, and being the “low maintenance” one, you stopped centering yourself. You became productive. Reliable. Easy. And now? You’re not so sure who you are anymore. This Valentine’s week, Karen and Lisa get real about what self-love actually means for women in midlife — and it’...

America feels louder, harsher, and more unsteady than ever — and midlife women are carrying the weight of it all. The fear. The anger. The exhaustion. The constant question of how much more can we hold? Karen and Lisa pull up their chairs for a raw, honest conversation about what it actually feels like to live through this moment in the U.S. as women in our 40s, 50s, and 60s. No debating. No talki...

Speaking your truth after 40 often feels like breaking rules you were praised for following your entire life. In this episode of Drinks With the Girls, Karen and Lisa unpack the unspoken expectations midlife women are finally questioning — from people-pleasing and emotional labor to staying comfortable instead of honest. This conversation explores midlife reinvention, gaslighting ourselves into st...

Why does money feel so complicated, especially in midlife? Because it is. And yet, as Karen Van Voorhis gently reminds us in this episode, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible—or that we’re behind. If you’ve ever stared at your pay stub, shrugged at your 401k, or avoided eye contact with your Fidelity login like it’s an ex at the grocery store… this episode is your financial permission slip to get cu...

When Jane Fonda tells you to get your shit together—you listen. That’s exactly how Chelsea Handler’s latest book kicks off, and trust us, it only gets juicier from there. This week, Karen and Lisa crack open I'll Have What She's Having and find way more than celebrity gossip or comedy—they find a woman doing the deep, uncomfortable, glorious work of coming home to herself. From therapy breakthroug...