The Second Chapter

Kim Rahir has a pretty incredible story - after an exciting career as an international journalist, she faced not one, but two devastating and frightening health scares. She fought back through resistance - literal resistance - and became a champion weightlifter. Kim now helps other midlife women to get stronger, both physically and mentally. You can access a free assessment tool about your health...

We're back, BABY! In this episode, Kristin speaks with Christina Braver. Christina studied and worked in psychology, then spent many years working in healthcare technology.  Now, she’s writing sex-positive, (very) steamy books that might challenge your idea of a romance novel… especially when you take into account that she’s a practicing, lifelong Christian. You can find Christina: https://ww...

Happy 2024! I've got an amazing episode for you this week: Welcome back Jen Zwinck, Kelly Dunham, and Amanda Cupcake. Toward the end of the year, I asked some of my favorite guests and yours of 2023 to share a little bit about what they've been up to since they've been on the podcast and maybe share a bit of wisdom or thoughts that they have about this year -the year ahead. For more on this week's...

The Five Theatre Girls: five women from Doncaster, who were never professional actors but just performed on one of Great Britain's most revered stages. Sandra, Christine, Ruth, Sharon and Sally were part of The Odyssey: The Underworld at the National Theatre of Great Britain, the culmination of a project that has brought amazing change to all of their lives after 35. The Odyssey was the National T...

For Alison Wearing, experiencing a big change at age 12, her father coming out as gay in the 1970s, led to big changes in her adult life as well. Alison and Kristin talk about how Alison became a writer after failing English in school, how the dismissal of her second manuscript led to her taking the stage, and how letting go of the labels that define us can sometimes show us who we really are. For...

Amanda Rudd, aka Amanda Cupcake, started out in fashion but the fast pace and stress led to anxiety and health problems. She did something she thought she'd never do (listen to the podcast to find out what!), which has allowed her to discover that sometimes the best fashion model is a cupcake and success isn't always what we think. For more on Amanda, go to her website: www.amanda-cupcake.com Inst...

Joanne Hardcastle's unexpected midlife success as an interiors guru and content creator led to, amongst other things, her appearance on Interior Design Masters, interior design's answer to the Great British Bake-Off. Joanne's current chapter, which she's calling "the fun chapter" of her life, only happened after the ups and downs of life, love, and loss. CW: To let you know, Joanne and Kristin spe...

Despite a "having it all" life in New York City, under the surface, Amber James was anything but happy. A pandemic, two health crises, and a family death led Amber to take a risk, blow up her life, and start all over again. "I think that's why I'm sharing my story now is I want other women to be able to tell their stories, to find their voice, take that chance on themselves and find their happy be...

Christie Hayward is living in two worlds- the one that she loves to reminisce about and share with audiences in her show, Memories of the Early 1950s, and the one where she’s checking things off her bucket list, including presenting the show at her first Edinburgh Fringe at age 77.  And it’s not just performing- Christine is busy running a plant business alongside her husband, Keith, and as o...

A limb difference at birth meant Kim Hughes' confidence was shaken at an early age. Years in a career that just wasn't right for her and a lifetime struggling to settle, finally changed after a relationship catastrophe in her forties. Now 51, Kim has gone to the front of the class literally (she's a yoga teacher!) and is letting go of judgment, mainly her own. For more on Kim's Women's Health and...

PODCAST EPISODE RECOMMENDATION! This is the second half of the 100th episode of The Second Chapter, also known as episode 101. Kristin is back with the seven guests she spoke with last week, some of your listener favourites from the first 99 episodes of The Second Chapter. If you haven't listened to the first part of this conversation, it's also recommended! As a reminder, guests are Louise Pittma...

For The Second Chapter's 100th episode, Kristin is joined by not one, not two, but seven of her former guests. These seven women are some of the podcast listener's favourites - an array of exciting and insightful women who have changed their careers and/or lives after 35. Joining for this special episode are: yoga instructor (and then some) Louise Pittman, The Magnificent 5ifty founder, Taiwo Dayo...

Judy Foreman's life changes have happened through her journey from childhood abuse to empowerment. After an abusive childhood, Judy discovered the unyielding spirit that led her to peace. In Judy's latest book, Let The More Loving One Be Me , she takes us through a journey over 70 years covering her growth, deep fulfilment, rewarding work, and most wonderfully love. Through the power of emotional...

Jennifer Andrews was a speech therapist ready for something different. A gift from a young client provided the spark and led Jennifer to using her love of connection to found treppie.com Treppie is an online e-commerce marketplace for girls and young women, ages nine to 25 (or so) to sell their unique handcrafted products in a community-based and mentored environment. But it's also much more. They...

Matilda Leyser is the author of No Season but the Summer, a novel that combines the Greek Persephone myth with modern day England, climate change, and, ultimately, a story about mother-daughter relationships. But being a novelist is just one of her second chapter stories, after running away from words to join the circus (amongst other things!) Matilda is a theatre-maker, writer and artistic direct...

In this, my last episode of season nine, I'm speaking with Patricia Stallworth. The subject of money is one that many of us are uncomfortable discussing, which is why I loved having Patricia as a guest! After her own divorce, which led to some painful money realisations, Patricia now helps others, especially women, plan for their financial futures. Patricia made talking about financial planning fu...

'Traumatic overload' destroyed Marci Warhaft’s self-esteem and left her grasping for control - leading to years of eating disorders, promiscuity and doing things that she wasn’t proud of to survive. In her book, The Good Stripper , Marci chronicles a double- or even triple- life: mother of two by day, stripper by night, and obsessed fitness fanatic in between. By taking back and owning her own sto...

Absinthia Vermut's love for art history and unusual parties led her to an event in 1996, where she tried absinthe (illegally) for the first time. Fast-forward to the legalisation of absinthe in the US and Absinthia is channeling her passion for the notorious "Green Fairy" into making award-winning small batch absinthe. But she's also doing things her own way, proudly striving for kindness and empa...

Kelli Dunham is a standup comic, a registered nurse, an author, a storyteller, and... wait for it... an ex nun. Kelli's website says, "I don't know how all of this came together on a resume", but I've done my best to find out, though there is so much beyond what we got to speak about*! Having lost two partners between the ages of 38 and 43, Kelli is an expert on the intersections of art, grief and...

This week I’m speaking with pizza artist, Miriam Weiskind. Formerly a graphic designer... ahem, brand strategist... Miriam found a way to combine two of her greatest loves, running and pizza, in a way she never expected. It led to a totally new life of pizza tours, pizza paying it forward and pizza making, getting her through a bad break-up and the pandemic and leading to articles in the New York...

Lyn Yeowart has been a writer for most of her career, but decided to go back for a creative writing master's degree some 30 years after graduating with an education degree. But Lyn's biggest change may have been something that was less to do with writing and career, and more to do with self and worth. Lyn is the author of The Silent Listener. Propelling the reader back and forth between the 1940s,...

Jane Griffin is a former BBC and ITN television and radio news reporter with over 25 years of combined experience in journalism, corporate communication, B2B PR, and crisis communication. Thanks, in part, to a nudge from a former manager, Jane launched her own PR business, Positive Story - not just putting a positive spin on business-to-business PR but actively seeking companies who promote sustai...

Kim Carpenter is a keynote speaker, executive coach, author, creator of World Changing Women and founder and CEO of People at the Center. Much of Kim's job is taking a stand for good business and making the workplace more humane but before she could help others align their own lives and values, she had to align her own -- something that required selling all of her things, traveling the world and f...

Widowed in a brutal fashion at 35, Jen Zwinck took some unusual steps to start her second chapter - steps that included moving with her two-year-old to a small Caribbean island. Now Jen has found her "why" through Widow 180 podcast and the Widow Squad- working with other widows to come together, learn new ways to travel the path through grief and uplift each other on the journey to rediscovering a...

Like so many previous The Second Chapter guests, Liz Bieler followed the path she was told to follow, and for a long time, gave up a creative life she craved. Since letting her creativity flow -- and boy did it flow! -- she's become a jazz singer, a voiceover actor, and now an author with Alice in Condoland now available, and more books coming soon. For more on Liz, go to her website (after listen...