The Beauty in the Mess

What if the biggest challenges in your relationships didn't start with your relationship at all?   In this episode of The Beauty In The Mess , I'm joined by marriage and relationship coach Keith Dorscht , who has spent more than 30 years helping couples strengthen their connection and overcome deeply rooted patterns. Drawing from both his professional experience and his own personal journey t...

We all have patterns that shape how we think, respond, and move through life. But what if those patterns are keeping us stuck? In this episode of The Beauty In The Mess , Michele sits down with transformational and executive behavioral coach Debbie Longo to discuss how our behaviors, perceptions, and mindset influence everything from our relationships and careers to our emotional well-being. Debbi...

What if joy isn't something you find after life gets easier?   What if joy is something you choose in the middle of the mess?   In this powerful and deeply moving episode, I sit down with TEDx speaker, educator, storyteller, and self-proclaimed "joy bringer" Shannon Donohoe-Simpson. Shannon shares her remarkable journey through childhood trauma, breast cancer, parenting children with un...

What if the future of healing doesn't involve surgery, lengthy recovery times, or even injections?   In this fascinating conversation, I sat down with Dr. Tommy Rhee, sports chiropractor, regenerative medicine pioneer, former team chiropractor for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and author of The Future of Regenerative Medicine . Dr. Rhee has spent years working with elite athletes, helping them re...

Why is it that so many of us know exactly what we should be doing for our health, but struggle to stay consistent?   In this episode, I sat down with health and self-leadership coach, speaker, podcast host, and author Courtney Townley to explore why lasting health has so much less to do with willpower and so much more to do with self-trust, stress management, and the stories we tell ourselves...

Caregiving is one of the hardest, most emotionally exhausting roles a person can step into… and yet so many caregivers feel invisible while carrying the weight of everyone else’s needs.   In this episode, I sit down with Beth Meek, holistic nutrition and health coach, to talk about the emotional, physical, and mental toll caregiving can take… especially on midlife women who are already balanc...

What if healing doesn’t require endlessly reliving your trauma?   In this powerful and deeply thought-provoking episode, I sit down with Kristin Windsor to talk about trauma, nervous system healing, chronic illness, memory loss, and the connection between the mind and body.   After experiencing severe childhood trauma, abusive relationships, traumatic brain injuries, and more than 100 de...

What happens when your body suddenly forces you to slow down… and your entire life changes overnight?   In this episode, I sit down with Rita Honeycutt, author, ultramarathon runner, Air Force veteran, and advocate for adaptive fitness, to talk about resilience, healing, and refusing to give up on yourself.   After heart complications, a pacemaker, and a severe back injury left Rita bare...

What if the life you built looks right on the outside… but doesn’t feel right on the inside?   In this episode, I sit down with Michelle Dovey, artist and creator of The Naked Man Project , to talk about what it really means to reclaim yourself… especially in midlife.   Michelle shares her deeply personal journey through divorce, identity shifts, and learning to give herself permission t...

What would you do if your life changed in a single moment?   In this deeply emotional and eye-opening episode, I sit down with Dr. Lisa Thompson, a best-selling author, healer, and speaker, who shares her raw and powerful story of loss after discovering her husband had taken his own life, completely out of the blue.   We talk about the layers of grief that come with sudden loss, the unan...

Why do we keep ending up in the same situations… even when we want something different?   In this episode of The Beauty In The Mess , I sit down with Genea Barnes , mentor, coach, and speaker, to talk about the deeper patterns that quietly shape our lives. Patterns in relationships, work, and even how we see ourselves.   Genea’s story is not an easy one. She experienced trauma, neglect,...

Some of the hardest decisions we make are the ones we already know the answer to… but we’re not ready to face yet.   In this episode of The Beauty In The Mess , I sit down with Aimi Green , a self-love and empowerment coach who helps women raise their standards in love and fully embrace who they truly are. But her work didn’t start with confidence. It started with a six-year relationship that...

In this episode of 'The Beauty In The Mess', host Michele sits down with Celeste Mergens, a renowned author and thought leader, who shares her inspiring journey from overcoming childhood poverty to becoming a global expert in menstrual and reproductive health. Celeste discusses the profound impact of period poverty on girls and communities worldwide and introduces her organization, Days for Girls,...

Sam Mitchell joins me today. Sam was diagnosed at the age of 4 with high-functioning Autism. Sam wants people to know that he is not broken, and he doesn’t need to be fixed. He also wants people to know that there is no normal in this world. He embraces who he is and wants the same for everyone else. Period.   Sam is a successful podcaster, an advocate for Autism, a motivational speaker, entr...

In this insightful episode, Michele welcomes Star Hansen, a certified professional organizer and author, to discuss the emotional and psychological dimensions of clutter. Starr shares her expertise on how clutter impacts our lives, the types of clutter, and practical tips for overcoming it. The conversation dives deep into personal stories, ancestral clutter, and actionable strategies for managing...

The Art of Parenting Adult Children with Lori Badry   Many of us have children who are now adults or will be before we know it. There is a difference in how you parent your children when they are minors versus how you parent them as adults. The role you play in their lives, whether we like it or not, changes. It must change. I’m joined by Lori Badry, who is a Christian woman with a wonderful...

Sometimes the Biggest Loser is the Biggest Winner with Megan Hoffman   Today’s special guest is Megan Hoffman from the USA’s Biggest Loser. She was the At-Home Winner of the show’s reboot season in 2020. She is a model, Keynote Motivational Speaker, and Author who primarily focuses on Personal Development, Health & Wellness, and Body Positivity. She has been a leader in the Fitness Indust...

Parenthood rarely looks the way we imagine it will. For Jennifer Celeste Briggs, that realization came when her daughter Sarah began missing developmental milestones and was later diagnosed with autism. What followed was a journey filled with uncertainty, grief, resilience, and ultimately deep transformation.   In this honest and hopeful conversation, Jennifer shares how she discovered the So...

What happens when homeschooling doesn’t just change your child’s education… but exposes your own wounds?   In this powerful conversation, Julieta Duvall shares how what began as a chaotic homeschooling decision during the pandemic turned into a deep personal reckoning. She opens up about anger, control, guilt, perfectionism, and the painful realization that she wasn’t showing up as the safe s...

Progress doesn’t always look like momentum. Sometimes it looks like losing everything you thought defined you. Starting over. Rebuilding quietly while questioning your own direction, identity, and worth.   In this episode of The Beauty In The Mess , I sit down with Sofia Pedroso , founder of Shiffully. Sofia works with entrepreneurs to address the emotional and nervous-system patterns that of...

Some of the people who help us most are the ones who have walked through the darkest things themselves.   In this episode of The Beauty In The Mess , I sit down with Stacy Schaffer, MA, LPC , a children’s therapist with over 20 years of experience working with grief, trauma, and anxiety. Stacy is also a survivor of childhood trauma, and she brings that lived wisdom into every conversation she...

Courage doesn’t always look like heroics. Most of the time it looks like ordinary people choosing to do the right thing when it’s risky, uncomfortable, or unpopular.   In this episode, I sit down with John Graham, Executive Director of the Giraffe Heroes Project and known to many online as Badass Granddad. John has lived a life shaped by extremes: war zones, revolutions, a catastrophic shipwr...

Would you help your Ex if they needed support?   It’s a question that creates an immediate reaction in people,  discomfort, curiosity, or a quiet “I don’t know… maybe.” And yet almost no one talks about it publicly.   Today’s guest, Elizabeth Verwey , spent years researching this question and discovered that caring for an ex is more common than most people realize. Through surveys i...

Most of us learned as kids what was “real” and what wasn’t. We were taught how to behave, how to fit in, and where the limits of possibility lived. But what if those limits were never real to begin with?   In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Deborah Ann Baker , a researcher, artist, and author whose work explores the intersection of neuroscience, creativity, consciousness, and childhood develo...

Most people imagine PTSD as something tied to combat or emergency work. What often gets overlooked are the quieter stories. The ones with the survivors who walk back into ordinary life with extraordinary wounds no one can see. In this episode, Christiane Scarpino , author of Missing Pieces, shares her experience surviving a terrorist bombing at 21, the aftermath of FBI and NYPD interrogation, and...