Joy Found Here

What happens when a cat-pee rug becomes the last straw, and one exhausted woman decides to invoice the world for everything nobody notices? In episode 284 of Joy Found Here, Lisa Virginia Anderson shares how a breaking point led her to build InvisiBILL, an app that turns unappreciated labor into satirical invoices. For Lisa, it’s not about keeping score. It’s about making the invisible visible.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(5:17) Lisa’s path from Lifetime TV to Planned Parenthood to tech founder

(8:35) What “invisible relational labor” is and why it has dollar...

What if a hospital bed showed you what your strength was worth? In episode 283 of Joy Found Here, Jeanne Phares shares how leukemia at 55 turned a CPA and lifelong lifter into a woman on a mission. She champions strength training as the habit that lets midlife women age on their own terms, with small daily moves that keep you lifting your suitcase for decades.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(4:13) How leukemia at 55 sent a CPA and lifelong lifter on a new mission

(8:44) A stem cell donor, an experimental drug, and a...

What if showing up online with integrity starts with the peace you carry inside? In episode 282 of Joy Found Here, visibility strategist Elizabeth Honeycutt shares how a childhood of heavy responsibility, years of self-sacrifice, and fifteen years of meditation taught her that peace is a daily practice. For Elizabeth, inner calm keeps visibility honest and shapes how she handles hard emotions, online criticism, and the courage women need to share their stories.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(04:51) Why integrity in visibility starts with inner peace

(10:11) How a Texas work ethic had...

What if your body has been blocking what you keep asking the universe for? In episode 281 of Joy Found Here, somatic coach and author Ani Anderson shares how a longing for deeper conversation led her to love, and how a passing comment on her couch became Manifestation for Dummies within 24 hours. For Ani, manifestation is a partnership with the universe, rooted in the nervous system, the subconscious, and the courage to act and treat life like a lab.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(5:04) How Ani manifested a friendship that became her marriage

What do you do when the career that defined you leaves you running on empty and your body says enough? In episode 280 of Joy Found Here, coach Erin Dougherty shares how burnout and a tough perimenopause pushed her out of an 18-year teaching career, into clinical research, then coaching midlife women. She covers whole-person health, finding comfort in Reiki after loss, building a community of 100+ women, and swapping rigid goals for flexible focus.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

3:50 Burning out, quitting teaching with no plan B, and finding clinical research

11:55 Why...

What happens when a near-death childbirth experience becomes the wake-up call that launches a six-figure wellness empire? In episode 279 of Joy Found Here, Cassandra Sonma Ukaobi, known as Cass UK, shares how an emergency C-section and postpartum depression pushed her to leave a stable NHS career and go all-in on Tolicious, her wellness brand. For Cass, the journey wasn't about waiting until things felt safe. It was about trusting that self-care isn't selfish, it's survival.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

03:39 Cass Uk joins the conversation

04:54 Growing up in Nigeria with a...

What happens when trauma gets distilled into fifty-five letters to a mother who couldn't hear them? In episode 278, Kim Cook shares how a shelf collapse and old records cracked open years of grief, unlocking the letters behind her memoir, What Remains Is Love. For Kim, healing meant compassion for an imperfect mother and choosing joy at every age.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(03:34) How Kim's story began in a small farming town before her mother's bold move to Berkeley

(07:14) Growing up immersed in a multicultural community and the gift of lived...

What if the only difference between a listener and a published author is hitting record? In episode 277, Michelle Glogovac, THE Podcast Matchmaker®, shares how a 2018 layoff pushed her from corporate aviation into a career built on other people's stories — one nudge, one ask at a time, into a business, a book, and a following she never saw coming.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:13) Introducing Michelle Glogovac, THE Podcast Matchmaker®

(05:14) From Corporate Aviation to a 2018 Layoff That Changed Everything

(06:00) How a Life Coach's Podcast Sparked an Unexpected Career Pitch

(1...

What if the loudest truths in your life have been arriving as whispers all along? In episode 276 of Joy Found Here, transformational mindset coach Kathleen Huebner shares how a difficult divorce and a mysterious moment on a walk in the woods led her to write her bestselling book, Whispers Within Us. For Kathleen, the real work isn't chasing constant noise or forcing outcomes—it's learning to slow down, get quiet, and trust the signs, synchronicities, and inner nudges that have been trying to reach us the whole time.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(03:27) We...

What if the biggest obstacle to becoming who you're meant to be isn't outside circumstances, but the boxes you've been checking your whole life? In episode 275, executive coach and bestselling author Tori DaCosta shares how a pause in her corporate career led her to write No Name Bastard—and reclaim ownership over the one thing she could truly control: herself.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(05:11) From Executive MBA to a Career-Defining Pause

(07:08) Life as a Primary Caregiver and the Question That Changed Everything

(10:45) Naming All the Hats: The Exercise Th...

What happens when a search for identity across continents ends in healing an old childhood wound? In episode 274, singer-songwriter and educator Machan Taylor shares how a culture-straddling upbringing fueled a music career alongside Sting, Pink Floyd, and Foreigner—and became the seed of her memoir, Naked Out Loud. For Machan, it's the journey from never belonging to finally feeling whole.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(03:54) Machan's unconventional path into sharing her story with the world

(04:05) Her birth in Japan, her musical family roots, and the move to America

(06:30) Growing up...

What happens when your body starts speaking in symptoms—and it takes rock bottom to finally listen? In episode 273, Amber Romaniuk, Emotional Eating, Digestive and Hormone Expert, shares her battle with binge eating that had her gaining and losing over 1,000 pounds. For Amber, healing wasn't willpower or a quick-fix diet—it was uncovering the hormone imbalances, gut issues, and emotional wounds driving her self-sabotage.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:12) Introduction to Amber Romaniuk and The No Sugar Coating Podcast

(06:29) Amber's Childhood: Bullying, Grief, and the Roots of Emotional Eating

(15:19) The...

What if what you call self-sabotage is really your nervous system doing what it learned to keep you safe? In episode 272 of Joy Found Here, somatic healing practitioner Lori Montry explains why mindset and willpower alone can't create lasting change, and why the body must be part of the process. Drawing on her own journey out of high-achieving overwhelm, she introduces her Freedom Formula and makes the case that real transformation starts with safety, not discipline.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:12) Welcome to Joy Found Here and Introducing Lori Montry

(05:12) From...

What happens when a storyteller who's lived on five continents realizes reinvention is a skill, not something that happens to you? In episode 269, Laura G. Patac joins Stephanie to unpack how our own stories and unconscious strengths quietly shape the ceilings we hit in life. For Laura, the answer isn't more credentials, but recognizing your patterns and repositioning what you already have.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:12) Welcome to Joy Found Here and Meeting Laura G. Patac

(06:15) Life Across Five Continents: Home Between Romania and Dubai

(08:54) Reinvention as a...

What happens when a Gen X president and a millennial account director decide to run a marketing agency—and start a podcast—together? In episode 270 of Joy Found Here, Deanna Dolecki and Ashley Ruggeri of Blue Duck Agency share what it's like building a boutique, fully virtual agency across two life stages—from Deanna's empty-nest reinvention at 50 to Ashley's whirlwind days as a hockey mom. They trade honest, funny stories about hiring each other, disagreeing without taking it personally, and turning their podcast, Ducks Unplugged, into an unexpected creative lifeline.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

...

What if the secret to getting everything you want is simply having the nerve to ask for it? In episode 269 of Joy Found Here, Dr. Jen Fry shares how a career built on bold requests carried her from college volleyball coaching to becoming a sports geographer, tech founder, and conflict literacy expert. For Jen, success was never about having all the answers — it was about betting on herself with just 60% of the knowledge, and being okay with hearing no.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:12) Welcome to Joy Found Here & meeting Dr. Jen Fry

What happens when an architect's structured world collides with the freedom of art—and grief becomes the bridge between them? In episode 268, Ksenia Merck shares how illustrating Ghost Flower, the novel her late husband Bill left behind, turned heartbreak into a sweeping collaboration of love, art, and legacy. For Ksenia, the journey wasn't about letting go—it was about discovering that connection, like the cosmos she paints, simply continues.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(03:58) Ksenia's warm welcome and the story behind Ghost Flower

(04:19) How she balances two worlds: architecture and art

What happens when a cancer diagnosis turns out to be the beginning of a mission, not the end of a story? In episode 267 of Joy Found Here, Tim McDonald shares how a stage IV colorectal cancer diagnosis in 2020 led him through chemo, a search for a living liver donor, and ultimately a transplant that changed everything—and how that journey turned him into a research advocate, author, and podcast host fighting to make sure others don't face the same battle alone. For Tim, the story isn't about just surviving—it's about becoming his own best advocate and using that powe...

What if the quiet feeling that you're not enough isn't a character flaw — but something your nervous system learned long ago just to keep you safe? In episode 266 of Joy Found Here, psychotherapist and author Kristine B. Jensen unpacks one of the most misunderstood and under-named emotions we carry: shame — and how the stories we've been telling ourselves for decades may finally be ready to be set free.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(4:45) Kristine's decades as a psychotherapist couldn't shake her own unnamed inner struggle

(6:27) Retiring forced her to face herself — and wh...

What happens when a woman who spent decades holding everyone else together finally has no choice but to let go? In episode 265 of Joy Found Here, Florence Acosta — former Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, healthcare executive, and the person everyone leaned on — shares how a stroke at 50 became the moment that shattered her old identity and cracked her wide open. Her story is a powerful reminder that sometimes the body says stop long before we ever will.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(3:46) How Florence went from holding everything together to having a stroke at 50

What if burnout isn't a sign you're doing too much — but a sign you've forgotten who you are? In episode 264 of Joy Found Here, Dr. Rebecca Hubbard, licensed clinical psychologist and TEDx speaker, brings her own hard-won burnout story to the table — from a thyroid diagnosis to burning out again despite doing all the "right" things — and reveals why the real fix isn't another self-care routine. It's an identity shift.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(03:15) How a basketball scholarship brought Rebecca from Berlin to the U.S. — and planted the seeds of burnout 

(05...

What if the reason you can't stick to diets has nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with how your brain is wired? In episode 263 of Joy Found Here, Lizzie Merritt, bestselling author and certified weight loss coach, reveals how a daily 4:37 PM snack spiral became her wake-up call. From middle school science teacher to coach, Lizzie shows that weight loss isn't about food or willpower. It's about teaching your brain to feel safe enough to change. Through her books "You Are a Miracle" and "LIGHT: The New Psychology of Weight Loss," she cracks the code on...

What if the life you were always meant to live was hiding inside the one you were already living? In episode 262 of Joy Found Here, Katie DeBonville — writer, musician, and first-time memoirist at 53 — shares how a pandemic-era MFA, a lifelong love of music, and the quiet courage to finally call herself a writer converged into her debut memoir, Grace Notes: A Musical Memoir. For Katie, the story wasn't about starting over — it was about finally letting every part of herself show up on the page at once.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(04:54) How a blan...

What if the psychologist sitting across from you has faced the very same darkness she's spent 40 years helping others through? In episode 261 of Joy Found Here, Dr. Celeste Birkhofer — Stanford faculty member and author of the forthcoming Beyond Quick Fixes — opens up about her own mental health struggles and the devastating loss of her son to bipolar disorder, and why she believes mental health isn't a luxury — it's a lifeline.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(3:14) How Dr. Celeste's own struggles with depression and disordered eating led her to psychology

(5:00) The loss of her...

What if the most powerful tool for healing and transformation has been beating inside your chest your whole life? In episode 260 of Joy Found Here, Puran and Susanna Bair, co-founders of iamHeart, reveal how Heart Rhythm Meditation uses the science of breath and the electromagnetic power of the heart to unlock emotional resilience and deepen connection. From Susanna's personal story of hitting rock bottom in a foreign country to Puran's research on how the heart knows things the brain doesn't — this episode will change the way you think about the organ keeping you alive.

In This Ep...

What if work-life balance feels impossible not because of your schedule, but because of what's happening inside your head? In episode 259 of Joy Found Here, international life coach Rebecca Olson unpacks why so many ambitious working moms are stuck — and it starts with asking better questions. From her own motherhood identity crisis to coaching thousands of parents through theirs, she makes the case that balance isn't a dream. It's a skill set.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(04:50) The motherhood identity crisis that made Rebecca a coach 

(07:46) When ambition and new motherhood fee...

What if the most powerful life lessons you carry were handed down by the woman who raised you — and it took 40 years to realize it? In episode 258 of Joy Found Here, serial entrepreneur and action coach Amy Goober shares how a lifetime of her mother's wisdom became a book and a blueprint for women ready to stop waiting and start living. Amy is living proof that the best chapters don't always come first — and that the words we grow up hearing might just be the ones that change everything.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(0...

What happens when the mental health system is quietly crumbling — and the woman holding it together has been doing so for 25 years? In episode 257 of Joy Found Here, Janelle Miller Moravek, Executive Director of Youth & Family Counseling, pulls back the curtain on America's behavioral health crisis — from a shrinking workforce and impossible pay rates to the hidden toll social media is taking on our kids. Hopeful yet eye-opening, this conversation is a reminder that access to mental health care is not a luxury.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(3:54) How a French major stumbled into...

What if the key to unlocking your biggest goals isn't willpower or grinding harder — but learning to speak the language of your own subconscious? In episode 256 of Joy Found Here, certified hypnotherapist and intuitive guide Lynnsey Robinson pulls back the curtain on why so many of us stay stuck despite wanting change, and what it actually takes to get your mind working for you. From demystifying hypnosis to explaining why your "I am" affirmations might be misfiring, Lynnsey makes the science of transformation feel genuinely exciting.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(04:38) Lynnsey's unconventional ch...

What does it take to trade a military uniform for a spiritual calling — and finally trust the gift you've carried your whole life? In episode 255 of Joy Found Here, psychic guide and intuitive channel Kathleen Davenport traces the beautifully chaotic path that led her from active duty to the sacred shores of Hawaiʻi — and why every detour, closed door, and sign from the universe was quietly pointing her home all along.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(03:46) From Kansas to Hawaiʻi: military life to spiritual calling 

(07:09) Why her failed political run was...

What happens when everything burns down — literally — and the woman left standing in the ashes decides she's done rebuilding the same life twice? In episode 254 of Joy Found Here, Melanie Rhora, author of The Phoenix Path, shares how losing her home and 15-year business to a fire on the same day became the brutal turning point she didn't know she'd been asking for — and how it led her to finally ask the one question she'd been avoiding: what do I actually need?

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

03:42) When the house fire finally matched what w...

What if the stranger staring back at you in the mirror isn't a sign of decline — but an invitation to take back control? In episode 253 of Joy Found Here, Dr. Prudence Hall, founder of The Hall Center and pioneer in regenerative medicine, makes a compelling case that biological age is not a sentence — it's a choice. From the gut-hormone connection to why it's never too late to rebalance your body, this conversation is equal parts eye-opening and deeply hopeful.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(4:25) How France sparked Dr. Hall's calling to champion women's heal...

What happens when a high-achieving woman checks every box society handed her — only to realize none of it was truly hers? In episode 252 of Joy Found Here, Recalibrate Coaching founder Hema Crockett shares the deeply personal moment that cracked everything open and led her to ask, for the very first time: what do I actually want?

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(01:52) Meet Hema: coach and "recovered HR executive" 

(04:45) Growing up between East and West 

(06:09) Nearly 20 years in the corporate grind 

(07:03) The turning point: living in Kathmandu, Nepal 

...

What if the most powerful weapon against a toxic boss isn't quitting — it's understanding exactly how they think? In episode 251 of Joy Found Here, CEO coach and venture capitalist Kate Lowry reveals why fear-based leadership is making a sweeping comeback, and why so many high-achievers are blindsided by it. Drawing on her own journey from a controlling household to the corridors of Silicon Valley, Kate brings her book Unbreakable: How to Thrive Under Fear-Based Leaders to life with a toolkit that turns powerlessness into strategy.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(03:59) How a Silicon Va...

What if the secret to a happier life wasn't about doing more — but paying closer attention to what's already pulling you forward? In episode 250 of Joy Found Here, author and entrepreneur Emily Florence returns to share why choosing joy is less about grand gestures and more about small, intentional daily decisions. From dropping out of law school after four days to building a life entirely on her own terms, her story is a masterclass in trusting yourself — and Even Better: Easier Ways to a Happier Life is the roadmap she wishes she'd had all along.

In This...

What happens when a former lawyer and pop musician gets told she's "too old" to write about desire—and builds a literary empire instead? In episode 249 of Joy Found Here, author Lexy Shaw Delorme shares how she turned publisher rejection into fuel for independence. After being told it's "unbecoming for a woman in her forties to still have sexual feelings," Lexy chose self-publishing and proved that refusing to wait for permission creates something extraordinary.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(04:12) From Music to Law to Literature: Lexy's Multi-Hyphenate Journey

(05:38) Characters as Truth-Tellers: Wh...

What happens when a personal trainer loses the ability to walk and discovers a power she never knew existed? In episode 248 of Joy Found Here, Isabelle Daikeler shares how spending over a decade unable to move without pain after giving birth forced her into complete surrender. That breaking point became her awakening—when her body began moving on its own for three days, when channeling started, and when she discovered what she calls our "third limb": an aspect of ourselves we've all forgotten we have.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(04:59) From Skeptic to He...

What happens when grief becomes the catalyst for finally answering a lifelong creative calling? In episode 247 of Joy Found Here, Celeste Fenton shares how losing her husband in 2020 forced her to confront who she was beyond educator, wife, and mother. At 60+, she stopped making excuses and started writing the suspense romance series that had been "chirping" at her for decades. Her journey to self-published author isn't just about books—it's about giving yourself permission to fail, discover who you are, and step out of the "shadow of the but."

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

...

What happens when a milestone birthday sparks restlessness instead of celebration—and becomes a turning point for deeper purpose? In episode 246 of Joy Found Here, Allison McCune Davis joins Stephanie to rethink aging, midlife, and what comes next. A mother of five and natural health educator, Allison shares how turning 60 pushed her to stop coasting, ask bigger questions, and create a clear plan for living fully—body, mind, and soul.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(04:18) The moment turning 60 stopped feeling comfortable

(05:05) Why decade birthdays demand honest reflection

(06:30) Letting go of “...

What if the changes you’ve been dreading—fatigue, mood swings, weight gain, shifting desire—aren’t signs that your body is failing, but signals that it’s asking for a new kind of care? In episode 245 of Joy Found Here, Stephanie sits down with Dr. Betsy A.B. Greenleaf for a candid, empowering conversation about menopause, hormones, and midlife vitality. Together, they challenge outdated myths, explore why so many women feel blindsided by this transition, and reveal why this chapter can be a powerful beginning—not an ending.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(02:02) Ho...