Twisting the Plot

Get ready for something different. Cindy Gallop doesn't do status quo. After years as a leader and change-maker in the advertising business she has moved on to new projects. At 61, Cindy shares that her life course is guided by a series of serendipitous accidents. Her current accidental mission is to help us all learn about, explore and talk about…sex. MakeLoveNotPorn aims to help us all uncover o...

When we think about women's invisibility over 50, we rarely consider women's bodies in their purest form, naked. We have been taught to look away with shame, fear, even disgust. This week, we spoke with photographer Jocelyn Lee about her new book Sovereign . Throughout her career, Jocelyn has been photographing women in the nude, documenting how the body and our sense of ourselves changes througho...

Nikki Giovanni has a gift for making the everyday extraordinary. She is an American poet, commentator, activist and educator. She has published multiple poetry anthologies, children's books and spoken word recordings. In the 1960's she was dubbed "the poet of the black revolution." She was an activist in the civil rights movement and an inspiration for the Black Arts movement. She has won 7 NAACP...

When the pandemic hit New York City, internationally acclaimed designer Rebecca Moses turned to her art for comfort, imagination, and connection. She put a post on Instagram asking women to write about their pandemic experience, letters from the heart. In return, she would paint their portrait.  And the "Stay Home Sisterhood" was born.  To date, over 410 women from all over the world have shared t...

Over fifty, we often feel the desire for something more, something new. But to get there, we have to clear out the weeds and thorn bushes of old beliefs, expectations, and fears so that we can make space for new possibilities.  This week we spoke with Kathy Lockhardt, founder of Flourish Farms, who did just that, both physically and metaphorically. At 59, Kathy had a dream to reclaim a long-overgr...

Who knew getting older could be so funny? In the 1960's gerontologist Robert Butler told us that thinking back over our lives is therapeutic. He termed his method of reminiscence, "Life Review". Through a life review, experiences from the past, particularly the unresolved conflicts, can be resolved and reintegrated into our life experience.   There is also substantial research pointing to the bene...

Every now and then, Cecilia and Hannah wonder, "are we there, have we made it, can we finally call ourselves adults?" It just seems like we've been waiting for decades for that certificate of achievement, or that special feeling that lets us know we've made the grade.   Yes, we are in our sixties and still asking ourselves, What does it mean to be an adult? So this week on our Twisting the Plot Po...

Sometimes, the best plot twists come from reaching back into our pasts. Over 40 years ago, Hannah and Cecilia lived in New York City, in apartments on the same floor, just down the hall from each other. Our 73 rd Street apartments were tiny and close. We could even hear each other's conversations through an airshaft. Hannah lived with our dear friend Sza, and Ceil lived with our old friend Donna....

Get ready for something different.   Cindy Gallop doesn't do status quo.   After years as a leader and change-maker in the advertising business she has moved on to new projects. At 61, Cindy shares that her life course is guided by a series of serendipitous accidents. Her current accidental mission is to help us all learn about, explore and talk about…sex. MakeLoveNotPorn aims to help us all uncov...

In today's podcast Hannah and Cecilia take time to reflect on what we have learned from recent podcast guests.   One of the joys of our Twisting the Plot podcast is getting to meet some truly incredible people.   Whether they are caregivers, educators, artists, mothers, aunts, friends…they all have a story to tell. What we had not anticipated is how listening to these stories would affect us.   Th...

Nikki Giovanni has a gift for making the everyday extraordinary.   She is an American poet, commentator, activist and educator. She has published multiple poetry anthologies, children's books and spoken word recordings. In the 1960's she was dubbed "the poet of the black revolution." She was an activist in the civil rights movement and an inspiration for the Black Arts movement. She has won 7 NAAC...

When media industry executive Sally Wolf found herself navigating life with metastatic breast cancer, she had her dance teacher, Erin Pace, as a support. Erin Pace   calls herself a conscious embodiment guide.   She developed "The Responsive Body Practice" to help women realign mind-body-spirt for self-healing. With Erin's intuitive guidance, Sally found connection with, and love for her changing...

It's not everyone who gets to be 63 and celebrate Mother's Day with their Mom. For many of us Mother's Day does not bring this kind of joy. Some of us may have lost our Moms and the day brings sadness. Some may have complicated relationships with our mothers. But Cecilia's Mom, Nancy Dintino, is going strong and growing still. We interviewed Nancy while Cecilia was home for a visit. A mother of si...

When we think about personal growth and change, it can feel daunting, even scary. Some will tell you that real change is impossible. But we know otherwise.  With our experience as psychotherapists working with women of all ages in many situations, we can say with confidence that change and growth are possible.  This week, we decided to pull back the curtain and talk about the work we love with our...

Hi all. Hannah and Cecilia of Twisting the Plot here. Like many, we have spent the last year focused on the demands of family, work, health, and safety. We've also spent a lot of time gathering the stories of our beloved clients and Plot Twisters. We realize that we seldom make the space to connect with ourselves. And one thing's for sure, we haven't made the time to check in with each other.  Ove...

This April, we have been focused on spring, the season of awakening, growing, and blooming. It is the time of year when animals awake, the sun warms, and the earth seems to come alive. But growing isn't just for plants. We grow children, relationships, careers, and even therapists. This week we speak with Maria Hodermarska, Clinical Associate Professor at NYU. Maria has been growing drama therapis...

When the pandemic hit New York City, internationally acclaimed designer Rebecca Moses turned to her art for comfort, imagination, and connection. She put a post on Instagram asking women to write about their pandemic experience, letters from the heart. In return, she would paint their portrait.  And the "Stay Home Sisterhood" was born.  To date, over 410 women from all over the world have shared t...

Over fifty, we often feel the desire for something more, something new. But to get there, we have to clear out the weeds and thorn bushes of old beliefs, expectations, and fears so that we can make space for new possibilities.  This week we spoke with Kathy Lockhardt, founder of Flourish Farms, who did just that, both physically and metaphorically. At 59, Kathy had a dream to reclaim a long-overgr...

Is there a woman from the past who you admire? What if you spent some time studying her life? What if you became versed in her story, thoughts and beliefs? What if you embodied her?  This week, in honor of Women's History Month, we asked the women in our Plot Twisters Facebook group to share the names and stories of women they admire.   We tell you about these women, a remarkable group of artists,...

When we think about women's invisibility over 50, we rarely consider women's bodies in their purest form, naked. We have been taught to look away with shame, fear, even disgust. This week, we spoke with photographer Jocelyn Lee about her new book Sovereign . Throughout her career, Jocelyn has been photographing women in the nude, documenting how the body and our sense of ourselves changes througho...

Life is filled with many twists and turns, but eventually, if you follow your heart, you find yourself exactly where you are meant to be. This week we spoke with someone who is exactly where she is meant to be; Rebecca Dudley, Children's Book Author, Architect, and Activist.  When Rebecca and her husband moved to Chicago from Seattle, they missed going to see the North West Ballet production of Th...

The soul is not something outside of us.   We carry it within and it is ours to interact with and shape and dance with. - Theresa C. Dintino in Membranes of Hope   Theresa Dintino has made several plot twists throughout her adult years.   A writer, she studied goddess culture and wrote books about matriarchal societies.   Eventually she was drawn to study her own ancestral lineage and wrote a book...

Valerie Albarda suggests we enjoy the midlife and skip the crisis.    She has a podcast she calls Midlife-A-Go-Go, filled with interviews, stories and testaments of mid-lifers exploring their worlds, enjoying their lives and making changes that matter to us all.   Valerie recently gave a TEDxCharlotte talk titled The Invisibility Trifecta:   Coming Out of the Shadows .   In this talk, she discusse...

How do you bloom?   Are you an annual or a perennial?   Do you bloom late? Are you still sprouting?   Or are you waiting, held inside some bulb that is planted deep within the earth, for your time? Today we talk to Yvonne Marchese, host of Late Bloomer Living Podcast. Yvonne believes midlife can be a time to step into a new experience, learn new things and, well, bloom again. She calls herself a "...

Sometimes, it's important to seek the bigger picture in order to understand ourselves.   In times like these, we need to go beyond our noses to find solace and wisdom in larger patterns.   But how do we do this?   One way is to start by looking at life from a decidedly different perspective. Today, we talk with Dianna Mahiques, a Western Astrologer and certified BTB Feng Shui Master.   She offers...