Meaning and Moxie After 50

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie sits down with life coach and author Lisa Taylor to discuss her new book, It All Begins With You , and the deeply personal experiences that inspired it. Lisa shares how a series of life-altering events—including an unexpected move, becoming the primary caregiver for her six-year-old niece after a family crisis, and the eventual end of her marr...

In this episode, Leslie sits down with somatic healing practitioner Lori Montry to explore why so many people feel stuck despite years of self-help, positive thinking, or traditional talk therapy. Lori explains that lasting change requires more than changing our thoughts—it requires working with the body and nervous system, which often hold onto past experiences and keep us in survival mode. Toget...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50, Leslie talks with professional organizer, author, and entrepreneur Lisa Woodruff about how getting organized is about much more than having a tidy closet—it’s about reducing stress, gaining control, and creating a life that feels more manageable. Lisa shares her own journey of approaching age 40 feeling overwhelmed, reactive, and stuck, before decidin...

In this solo episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie explores why so many women over 50 feel stuck in a constant state of stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion. Drawing on her background as a certified stress management coach and longtime yoga teacher, she explains the science behind nervous system regulation and shares a powerful message: you cannot think your way out of a stressed body—you mu...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie talks with psychotherapist and certified sex therapist Brooke Bralove about dating, intimacy, and relationships after 50. Brooke explains that many women in the Baby Boomer and Gen X generations grew up with limited or negative messages about sex, leaving them without accurate information about their bodies, pleasure, and intimacy. She discuss...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie talks with Sena Wheeler, a fifth-generation Alaskan fisherwoman, entrepreneur, and co-owner of a family-run salmon business. Sena shares the rich history of her family's fishing roots, which stretch back through generations in Norway before her grandfather immigrated to the United States. She describes fishing not simply as a profession,...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Lauren Henkin joins Leslie Maloney for a thought-provoking conversation about curiosity, lifelong learning, and wellness. Lauren shares her unique background as both a professional artist and wellness industry leader, explaining how she noticed a missing piece in traditional wellness conversations: awe, wonder, creativity, and intellectual exploratio...

In this solo episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50, Leslie Maloney explores why so many women in midlife and beyond lose touch with fun, joy, and playfulness after decades of caregiving, achievement, and responsibility. She reflects on how women are often conditioned from a young age to prioritize productivity and other people’s needs over their own happiness, leaving many asking, “I don’t even kn...

In this episode of Kimberly Frey’s conversation with me, we talked about what it really means to grow into leadership, purpose, and reinvention over time. Kim shared how a mentor she lovingly called her “adopted dad” helped her recognize her natural leadership gifts early on and challenged her to use them to positively impact others. From her years in education and leadership roles to eventually s...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie speaks with functional health coach Anu Simh about her personal journey from chronic gut issues and unanswered medical questions to discovering the powerful connection between the gut, brain, stress, and overall wellness. Anu shares how years of rushing, living on convenience foods, and carrying overwhelming stress—especially while trying to h...

This early conversation with Kimberly Smith is a powerful reminder that creativity, purpose, and business don’t have to follow a perfect path—they just require a willingness to start. Kimberly shares how her upbringing blended creativity and entrepreneurship, eventually leading her to build a thriving crafting business and online community. What stands out most isn’t just her success, but how she...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , guest Annalee Kruger, founder of Care Right Inc., shares a refreshing perspective on aging that shifts the focus from anxiety to empowerment. Rather than waiting for a crisis, she encourages families to engage in proactive "aging planning," which transforms what could be a heavy, stressful process into a thoughtful, collaborative journey. K...

This episode features a powerful conversation with Bonnie Strati on resilience, reinvention, and what it truly means to become “whole again.” She shares how an unexpected job loss became the catalyst for writing her book Built Stronger: The Art of Becoming Whole Again . What started as a painful and disorienting moment evolved into a period of deep reflection, where writing became her outlet for p...

This conversation centers on Monica Rodgers’ concept of the “trance of unworthiness,” a deeply ingrained mindset many women develop over time through subtle but constant societal messaging. She describes it as a “slow drip” of criticism, expectations, and cultural conditioning that gradually shapes how women see themselves—often leading them to internalize feelings of inadequacy just as they reach...

This conversation with Dr. Torkil Færø is a powerful blend of science, storytelling, and lived experience. Drawing from his work as a physician, global traveler, and author, Torkil breaks down the concept of heart rate variability (HRV) and what it reveals about our stress, recovery, and overall health. He explains how many of us are living in a constant low-grade stress state—often without realiz...

This conversation centers around Michelle Petties’ journey with food addiction and the deeper emotional, psychological, and societal layers that surround it. Through discussing her book Leaving Large: The Stories of a Food Addict , Michelle reframes overeating not as a simple lack of discipline, but as a complex and often misunderstood addiction rooted in pain, coping, and learned behaviors. The d...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie speaks with Elsa Weill , who joins the conversation from Lyon . Elsa shares the story behind her project Coffee with Strangers , an initiative where she meets a new person every week for coffee—sometimes in person and sometimes online with people from around the world. After living in eight different countries over 25 years, Elsa created the p...

In this heartfelt reunion episode, Leslie reconnects with her childhood friend Andrea, someone who knew her back in their middle school days in South Florida—long before careers, families, and all the twists of adult life. What begins as a fun catch-up between old friends quickly becomes a powerful conversation about purpose and reinvention. Andrea shares stories from her 38-year career as a neona...

In this conversation, Leslie sits down with Tamara Hill to explore what it really means to carry our stories into midlife and beyond. Together, they talk about the quiet weight many women hold—unspoken grief, anxiety that lingers beneath the surface, complicated family dynamics, and the lifelong habit of being “the strong one.” Drawing from her memoir in poems, Threads of Becoming, Tamara shares h...

In this rich and reflective conversation, Sandy Hammond shares her experiences walking two different routes of the Camino de Santiago — first the Camino del Norte and later the Portuguese route from Porto — describing how what began as a carefully planned, mileage-focused adventure slowly transformed into something much deeper. As a self-proclaimed “Type A planner,” Sandy arrived with spreadsheets...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Kerry Fink shares how a career that began in media and broadcasting — including work connected to The Music of Your Life — naturally evolved into a deeper mission of serving seniors and the families who support them. What started as connecting audiences through music and storytelling became something much bigger: helping communities better understand...

Juli Ford shares how multi-generational living is rapidly shifting from a niche lifestyle choice to a practical solution for two major realities families are facing at the same time: an aging population needing more support and younger generations struggling with housing affordability. Drawing from both her real estate expertise and her own 10-year experience living with her 82-year-old mother, Ju...

Americans spend decades preparing for retirement financially, yet arrive completely unprepared for the emotional and social shift that comes with it. In this solo episode, Leslie explores why retirement in America earns a solid D—not because people failed, but because the system never taught us how to transition from productivity to purpose. When work ends, identity, structure, connection, and mea...

We like to believe that if we’re careful, if we’re smart, if we trust our instincts, we’ll be fine. That scams happen to “other people.” But the truth is, many of the people who get scammed are thoughtful, responsible, and paying attention. And what really trips us up isn’t ignorance—it’s emotion, timing, and a few assumptions we don’t even realize we’re making. Today’s conversation is about learn...

Caregiving has a way of slowly filling the space around your life until it feels like there’s little room left for you. In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , I talk with Barbara Stratte about what happens when caring for someone you love becomes a long-term reality, not just a temporary role. Barbara shares her story of navigating caregiving while balancing the rest of her life, and the...