Middling Along

My guest this time is Helen Tomlinson - Head of Talent Development at The Adecco Group and the UK government’s first ever Menopause Employment Champion.   In this voluntary role, Helen’s focus is on encouraging employers to create more supportive environments to help women experiencing menopause to stay and progress in work.  We discuss some of the changes that Helen is hoping to enable over the n...

My guest on the podcast this time is coach and speaker Madeline McQueen. In a career which spans 35 years, she’s inspired the workforces of brands ranging from Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy to Google, Sky and Nike. If the hormone rollercoaster of midlife and perimenopause is messing with your confidence levels, buckle up - Madeline has some great advice for you!    So often when we start a new...

Join me this time as I chat to ‘recovering people pleaser’ Natalie Lue - author of The Joy of Saying No, and founder of Baggage Reclaim, one of the longest-running self-help blogs in the world.    Most of us (as with our own parents) will have been raised during The Age of Obedience - socialized (especially if we identify as women) to be good and compliant - little wonder then that so many of us e...

Joining me this time on the podcast  is Sarah Williamson, co-founder of Women Wise. Sarah is a nutritional therapist and researcher: with first hand experience of the limitations of current menopause support and after getting increasingly frustrated and worried about friends' difficult menopause experiences, she was determined to do something about it. She carried out two and half years of researc...

Join me this time as we chat to Dr Zoe Schaedel: Zoe is a GP and an accredited British Menopause Society Menopause Specialist.  She is currently a member of the British Menopause Society’s Medical Advisory Council, the Primary Care Women Health Foundation’s Education Committee and NHS England’s Menopause Improvement Programme Clinical Reference Group. She has developed a special interest in sleep...

In this episode I chat to Tracy Acock, founder of The Wellbeing Wisdom Club. Tracy retired from a career in breast cancer nursing and retrained as a women’s life coach with a focus on health and wellbeing. Whilst maybe not an obvious career pivot, she uses many of the same tools to work with her coaching clients - such as mindfulness, meditation and EFT (emotional freedom technique, or tapping).  ...

This time on the podcast I’m joined by Victoria Hardy (otherwise known as @GingeUnhinged on Instagram) as she talks us through her experience of medical and surgical menopause aged just 33, the breakdown that followed, and how she has used her experiences to help others going through the same situation feel less alone.    She has now gone one further and written a book ‘My Menopause, My Journal, M...

This time we go all in on testosterone with Dr Katie Barber. Katie is the Clinical Lead for the NHS Community Gynaecology Service in Oxfordshire where she continues to work as a Women’s Health GP and Menopause Specialist alongside her work as Clinical Director of Oxford Menopause. She’s also part of the British Menopause Society Advisory Council.   We do a deep dive on everything you might want to...

In this episode of the podcast I’m joined by New York Times bestselling author Kirsten Miller to talk about her debut adult novel The Change – described on her website as “Big Little Lies meets The Witches of Eastwick—a gloriously entertaining and knife-sharp feminist revenge fantasy about three women whose midlife crisis brings unexpected new powers—putting them on a collision course with the evi...

This time I’m joined by Steph Douglas, CEO and founder of Don’t Buy Her Flowers. I’ve been following Steph online since the early days of her blog, and then watching DBHF go from strength to strength, so was really excited to sit down with her and talk to her not just about building a business, but a whole raft of other topics.    I’m always intrigued to hear about how people launch and grow a com...

Join me this time as I chat to lovely Charlotte Ellison (aka ‘Moodswings and Other Things’ on Instagram) about the hormonal roller coaster we call perimenopause!  Charlotte (Lotti on Insta) has been assiduously documenting the physical and mental challenges of perimenopause and her mixture of vulnerability, humour, honesty and a nifty turn of phrase has won her a dedicated following over there. An...

Join me this time as I chat to Caroline Nokes, MP. Caroline is the Member of Parliament for Romsey and Southampton North and the current Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee in Parliament.   We discuss the government's lacklustre (and late!) January response to the recommendations in the WESC's report last year, why menopause training for GPs needs to be mandated, the current HRT sho...

Join me this week as I talk to writer and filmmaker Kate Muir. Kate’s book - Everything you need to know about the Menopause (but were too afraid to ask) has recently been released in paperback. She is also the producer of the Channel 4 documentaries with Davina McCall: ‘Sex, Myths and the Menopause’ and ‘Sex, Mind and the Menopause’ (with another instalment due for release later in 2023).    Kate...

If you're currently going through divorce, or considering it - this episode is for you. Farhana Shahzady is a Director, Family Law Solicitor, Collaborative Lawyer and Mediator at Family Law Partners. She is ranked in Legal 500 and has practiced for over 20 years specialising in divorce, finances and children. In 2022, Farhana founded the Family Law Menopause Project, with the aim of raising awaren...

Join me this time as I chat to Abi Adams - mum of two, female health change-maker, emotional liberator, and founder of Prøject Wøman. Abi is ridiculously passionate about raising the bar on feminine health and has been on a fascinating and enriching journey to expand her skills and knowledge that has enabled her to create a unique way of living in harmony as a woman. Abi has such an infectious ent...

Join me as I chat to award-winning freelance health journalist Sarah Graham - she is the founder of the Hysterical Women blog, specializing in health, gender and feminism and writes for the i newspaper, the Telegraph, the Guardian, the BMJ and many others.  Her book, ‘Rebel Bodies - A guide to the gender health gap revolution’, was published on 5th January and it is a compelling account of all the...

Karen Newby is a registered nutritionist with over 10 years’ experience coaching women through the menopause - she’s also the author of The Natural Menopause Method, published in October 2022.  Karen’s beautifully designed and easy to read book is a comprehensive guide to nourishing our bodies and our minds at this critical stage of life. It’s the kind of book that I know I’ll keep to hand to dip...

Gemma Westall began her perimenopause journey at just 27 years old but didn't actually realize for another 12 long years. Despite repeated doctors appointments and expensive specialists trying to figure out what was wrong, Gemma finally understood that she was perimenopausal when she happened to watch an Instagram Live between Davina McCall and Caroline Hirons! Starting HRT at 39 changed her life...

Breeda Bermingham is an award-winning menopause coach on a mission to change the global story for menopausal and midlife women. Breeda coaches women individually and in group settings focusing on symptom management along with the positive aspects of menopause transition. She is a staunch believer that the taboo around menopause continues to limit and disempower women in their middle years, and nee...

If you’re listening to this close to release in December, then I invite you to step away from the hustle and bustle of holiday prep for a soothing half an hour in the company of Kate Codrington - make yourself a warm drink, grab a blanket, and nestle in!    Kate is the author of Second Spring: the self-care guide to menopause. Published by Harper Collins, it’s the first book to give a psychologica...

My guest this time is Lizzie Penny - an entrepreneur and a campaigner for ‘Workstyle’ - the freedom to choose when and where you work. She is fascinated by how new working practices can fundamentally redefine inclusion at work, whilst also improving wellbeing and step-changing productivity. She has co-authored a book on Workstyle with business partner Alex Hirst, published October 2022. Having und...

My guest this time is Amy Bennie - Amy is the chair of Daisy Network, the only charity dedicated to providing medical and psychological support for women with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency.  Amy was just 16 years old when she was told her ovaries just were not working - and for many years thought perhaps she was the only one in the country as she’d been told it was very rare. For several years,...

Join me this time as I chat to author and health coach Susan Saunders as we talk about aging well and what we can do to reduce our chances of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.   Susan's determination to age well grew out of her personal story. She spent 12 years caring for her mum, who had severe dementia. When her mum was diagnosed, Susan was 36 years old with a toddler, a new-born and a full-time...

My guest this time is Barbie Boules - a registered dietitian and certified health coach with over 22 years of experience.  Her goal is to help her clients achieve optimal wellness without the pseudoscience and unsustainable rules of faddy dieting.     She tells us about her holistic approach to wellbeing and aging well, emphasizing nourishing foods, quality sleep, daily movement, managing stress a...

Join me this time in the first of a (slightly serendipitous) series of three episodes on the topic of aging well.    Dr Nichola Conlon is a scientist specialising in the study of healthy aging.  Nichola has a passion for sharing the latest breakthroughs, with a skill for translating science in a digestible and engaging way, encouraging people to age well.     We talk about the science behind some...