Zestful Aging

Liz O'Donnell is the founder of Working Daughter, a community for women balancing eldercare, career, and more. An award-winning writer, she recently published her second book, "Working Daughter: A Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parents While Earning A Living". A former family caregiver, she is a recognized expert on working while caregiving and has written on the topic for many outlets including "...

Suzanne Falter is proof of how human beings can rise again from the most difficult circumstances. After her college aged daughter unexpectedly died, she set out to live a whole different kind of life from the high-powered, achievement-focused she had built. Instead, she began to tune into herself and learn what really gave her joy. The author of multiple self-help books including "How Much Joy Can...

Kristin Johnson is a prize-winning poet and writer, a novelist, a ghostwriter, screenwriter and the author of "Ain't "U" Got No Manners, The Bible For Social Media". We're going to speak with her today about her book, and get some help navigating the confusing world of the world wide web, and social media dos and don'ts. Find out more about Kristin at Kristinjohnson.net and http://www.augnm.com/ ....

Jolene Hill wants to encourage families to have meaningful conversations about what really matters in life. Her campaign 'Life's short..so let's talk' is designed to recognize our intrinsic need to remember and celebrate our life and achievements and talk about our wishes for our future. She is passionate about the importance of creating a record of our life journey for future generations, and has...

Rebroadcast for the International Day of the Girl. Since 2012, 11 October has been marked as the International Day of the Girl. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights. Melissa Berton is the Academy Award winning producer for Best Documentary Short for "Period. End of Sentence." and CEO...

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially run what was then the all-male Boston Marathon, infuriating one of the event's directors who attempted to violently eject her. In one of the most iconic sports moments, Switzer escaped and finished the race. Still a college student at Syracuse University, she returned to class the next day as the photo of her at the Marathon circulated al...

Gillian Walnes Perry has dedicated her life to teaching peace and tolerance throughout the world. She is the Co-founder and Honorary Vice President of the Anne Frank Trust UK, which she set up in 1990 with family and friends of Mr Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father. After her retirement she wrote "The Legacy of Anne Frank". Find out more here: AnneFrank.com, The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect a...

What makes us truly happy throughout our lives? John Leland, columnist at The New York Times, wrote a yearlong series that became the basis for his new book: Happiness Is a Choice You Make; lessons from a year among the oldest old. The book is a NYT Book Review Editor's Choice, and Jane Brody called it "inspired and inspiring." Find out more at JohnLelandauthor.com. Find out more about the Zestful...

Stacy Feintuch was a stay at home mom with two young daughters in 2011 when her husband suddenly died from a heart attack. After a few very difficult years, she started the blog "The Widow Wears Pink" which helped her reach other widows and help them through their losses and recovery. Last year she started a website Living the Second Act with her partner Mimi Golub, which is geared towards women i...

Liz Scott is a psychologist and the author of a fascinating and unusual memoir entitled, "This Never Happened". The book describes her life with two very unhappy and difficult parents who held many secrets; Liz grew up living an Anglo-Saxon life in Connecticut, complete with church picnics and horseback riding lessons. It came as quite a shock when she learned that her family actually came from a...

Zestful Aging tours Purpose Farm, in Upstate New York, which is a unique nonprofit, hosting a free youth program for traumatized children and rescued animals. Children who have emotional trauma from abuse, neglect or being bullied, interact with animals from similar backgrounds. The Farm offers the children hope, joy, empathy and confidence. Animal mentors include horses, pigs, goats, donkeys, a v...

Melissa Berton is the Academy Award winning producer for Best Documentary Short for "Period. End of Sentence." and CEO of The Pad Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to the principle that "a period should end a sentence, not a girl's education." Berton is the recipient of the of the 2019 Eleanor Roosevelt Global Women's Rights Award and works as a English teacher in Los Angeles. "Period....

Bill Protzmann's mission is to raise awareness of the power of music as self care, especially for vulnerable populations. In addition to being a successful IT entrepreneur, Bill holds magna cum laude degrees in piano performance and creative writing, and has performed for many years with a focus on bringing music to audiences in non-traditional ways. His work was recognized by the National Council...

Gyata Stormon is an accomplished tennis player, a US and Canadian tennis coach, and three time Canadian senior doubles champion. Her brand new book, "On the Ball: Doubles Tennis Tactics for Recreational Players" began as notes prepared for her students. Eventually she had so many drafts for different level students, and so many pages she still wanted to write, it was time to put it together in one...

Colleen Wietmarschen evolved from introverted child to successful business woman to triathlete at 50. Colleen faces challenges with an open mind. She wears many hats, including professional publishing consultant. Whether it's a blog, a memoir or an article you want to submit to your favorite magazine, she knows how to help shape an idea into a finished product. Check out her work at: YourLiteraryP...

James Baraz has been teaching mindfulness meditation for over four decades. He is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California. He is co-author of two award-winning books: "Awakening Joy" and "Awakening Joy for Kids". Since 2003, James has been leading the online course Awakening Joy taken by more than 20,000 people. He serves as an advisor to One Earth Sangha, https:...

Irene Frances Olson is the author of "Requiem for the Status Quo", a fictional account that doesn't hold any punches when it comes to describing the toll Alzheimer's takes on families. Irene spent a year trying to get her book published, suffering more than a hundred rejections in the process. The book she wrote to honor her father was finally published when Irene was sixty-three-years-old. She is...

Perley-Ann calls herself "the happy cat." She's originally from Ottawa, Canada, but lives most of the year on Koh Lanta, a small remote island in southern Thailand. A survivor of an aggressive type of cancer, she believes happiness is a choice we make even in the face of adversity. Find out more about her at TheHappyCat.ca. Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at NicoleChristina.com, and...

Sheila Applegate's Guided Meditation CD "Enchanted One" was awarded the NAMMY, which is the Native American equivalent of a GRAMMY. She's developed her own Meditation Technique, known as conscious meditation, which is designed to bring more joy into our daily lives. Find out more at: SheilaApplegate.com. Find out more about the Zestful Aging Podcast at NicoleChristina.com, and become a patron at P...

Marianne Sciucco is the author of several books in Contemporary, Women's, and Young Adult fiction. She's also a registered nurse and combines her love of words with insight gained from her nursing career, including such themes as Alzheimer's and dementia, PTSD, opioid addiction, and chronic pain. Her titles include "Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story", "Christmas at Blue Hydrangeas", and "...

Kathy Elkins and her husband Steve are the owners of three businesses in the handknitting space. For the last 16 years they have been the second-generation owners of WEBS - America's Yarn Store. Last year they acquired String Yarns, a luxury yarn store located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Prior to her foray into the world of yarn, Kathy managed and directed the marketing efforts for several con...

Margaret Zhao is an author, poet and teacher of Chinese traditional healing arts. Her award-winning memoir, "Really Enough: A True Story of Tyranny, Courage and Comedy", charts her daunting struggle for survival, freedom and forbidden love, as Enemy of the State under Chairman Mao. Her natural sense of humor has led her to be a Standup Comedian and Motivational Speaker applauded by audiences of al...

Gary Glazner is a poet, founder and Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Poetry Project. Gary is an internationally recognized speaker and expert on using poetry with people living with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. NBC's "Today" show, and NPR's "All Things Considered" have featured segments on Glazner's work. Glazner was recently published in "JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Associ...

Judy Banker has dedicated over 4 decades to the field of eating disorders, entering the field in its nascent years and pioneering treatment and education efforts here in the U.S. and around the globe during her term as President of the "International Academy for Eating Disorders". However, music, in particular playing the guitar and singing folk and roots music, has always been a part of her life;...

Michael Hebb is the founder of Death Over Dinner.org and the author of "Let's Talk about Death (over Dinner): An Invitation and Guide to Life's Most Important Conversation". He's also the founder of Convivium, a creative agency that specializes in the ability to shift culture through the use of thoughtful food and discourse-based gatherings. Convivium has worked closely with thought/cultural leade...