What do you do when everything in the life you knew changes unexpectedly?

In this episode of Message in the Middle, I’m joined by Jo Rye, founder of Clarity & Courage, executive coach, and author, who shares what it really looked like to rebuild her life after surviving a brain hemorrhage just days after losing her grandmother.

This isn’t a story about reinvention. It’s about starting from a place you never expected to be. Not knowing who you are anymore, and figuring it out slowly, in real time.

After years of working inside global organizations helping others grow and lead with clarity, Jo suddenly found herself in a position where the only way forward was to focus on the smallest possible steps; Sometimes that meant just getting through the day.

During her recovery, she began writing a novel inspired by a story passed down from her grandmother. What started as a small, daily practice became something much more, a way to stay connected, to process, and to hold onto something steady when everything else felt uncertain.

If you’ve ever felt like the life you knew no longer fits, or you’re navigating a season where things feel unfamiliar or unclear, this episode offers an honest, grounded perspective on what it means to move forward.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• What it feels like when life changes suddenly and unexpectedly
• Rebuilding your identity after illness, loss, or major disruption
• Why small steps matter more than big plans during recovery
• Letting go of the version of yourself you once relied on
• How to create a sense of forward movement when everything feels uncertain
• The role of storytelling and creativity in healing
• Finding clarity and courage without forcing change

You don’t have to have it all figured out to move forward. Sometimes the next step is small, sometimes it’s unclear, but even in the middle of uncertainty, there is a way through, one choice, one moment at a time.

Connect with Jo:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Website

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in the Middle podcas...

In this episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne sits down with Toni LaMotta to explore what happens when we lose trust in our own inner voice and how we begin finding it again.

After spending sixteen years living under a vow of obedience as a Catholic nun, Toni gained a deep understanding of authority, surrender, and the subtle ways our voices can fade into the background. Today, she is a highly regarded spiritual coach, teacher, and internationally acclaimed speaker who has helped hundreds reclaim trust in themselves and make aligned decisions with confidence.

Drawing on decades of experience and training in multiple evidence-based methodologies, Toni shares her six-pillar system for moving from fear-driven decision making to internal navigation. Together, Marianne and Toni talk about how to distinguish true inner guidance from fear or conditioning, why our past patterns are not mistakes but valuable information for the next chapter, and how to reconnect with the inner compass so many women lose touch with along the way.

This is a thoughtful, hopeful conversation for any woman in midlife who feels called toward something more, but isn’t sure how to listen to herself again.

Connect with Toni: https://tonilamotta.com

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in the Middle podcas...

For many women in midlife, reinvention feels like something that should happen at the beginning of a new year, after a major life change, or once everything finally settles down. But what if the truth is simpler and harder at the same time? What if reinvention begins with one decision?

In this episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne sits down with entrepreneur, executive coach, and author Adriana L. Cowdin to talk about resilience, identity, and the courage it takes to begin again.

Adriana has built and sold a seven figure marketing agency, led Fortune 500 and billion dollar organizations at the C-suite level, and coached thousands of executives around the world. She has been featured in Forbes, ABC News, Fox Business, and The New York Times.

But her story is not just about professional success.

While building companies and leading teams, Adriana was also navigating life with more than thirty chronic illnesses including pancreatic disease, lupus, and Addison’s disease. Experiences that forced her to rethink strength, redefine leadership, and confront the deeper question so many women face in midlife.

Who am I really living this life for?

In this conversation, Adriana shares why resilience is not something you’re born with. It’s a decision you make. Sometimes quietly. Sometimes imperfectly. Often when no one else can see it.

Together, Marianne and Adriana explore what it means to reclaim your energy, challenge the expectations you’ve been living under, and give yourself permission to begin again. Not when the timing is perfect. Right now.

Connect with Adriana:

• Website: www.adrianacowdin.com
• Amazon Book Page: https://a.co/d/39IEPVg
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/adrianalcowdin/
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/adriana.cowdin.2025
• LI: linkedin.com/in/adrianacowdin/

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in the Middle podcas...

In this episode of Message in the Middle, I sit down with Shaun Zetlin, master fitness trainer, author, and creator of Emotional Fitness, for a powerful conversation about redefining strength. After more than two decades helping people build physical strength, Shaun’s work has evolved into something deeper, exploring how emotional fitness shapes the way we think, feel, and show up for our lives.

Born with club feet and faced with early physical limitations, Shaun shares how his journey through self-doubt, shame, and resilience revealed the deep connection between the body and emotional healing. Together, we explore the mind body connection, why the body really does keep the score, and how self-trust, compassion, and alignment with our belief systems are essential to feeling truly strong.

This conversation is not about fixing yourself or pushing harder. It's about recognizing that growth is not you versus the world. It's really all about you versus you.

If you're navigating identity shifts, questioning old definitions of success, or looking for a more honest and sustainable version of strength, this episode is for you.

Connect with Shaun: https:// www.zetlinfitness.com

Buy Shaun's book: https://a.co/d/0j2JQHVh

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in the Middle podcas...

In this episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne welcomes Anne Karber for an honest and reflective conversation about the midlife moment when everything appears fine on the outside, yet something feels quietly off.

Anne is an entrepreneur, author of The Life Hack Playbook, and host of the Let’s Get Naked Podcast. Known for her grounded, no-BS approach, Anne helps people understand how self-awareness, patterns, and unconscious choices shape their lives, especially during seasons of burnout, transition, and reflection.

Together, Marianne and Anne explore numbing with work, addiction and recovery, motherhood, accountability without shame, evolving boundaries, and redefining success in midlife. Anne shares openly about stepping off autopilot, learning to sit in the quiet, repairing relationships, and using practical tools to create clarity and momentum.

This conversation is thoughtful, emotional, and deeply human. It is for women in midlife who are ready to slow down, get curious about their inner world, and begin living with intention rather than exhaustion.

Connect with Anne:

• https://annekarber.com/
• https://letsgetnakedpodcast.com/
• https://a.co/d/j5hZJQp

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in the Middle podcas...

Many women reach midlife having done years of personal growth work. They’ve read the books, gone to therapy, practiced mindset tools, and still find themselves feeling stuck. Not broken, exactly. Just not settled. Not at ease.

In this episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne is joined by Ranbir Puar for a conversation that reframes what healing actually looks like.

Together, they explore why mindset tools alone can fall short, especially for women who have spent years in survival mode without realizing it. Ranbir explains how healing begins in the nervous system, not because we’re failing at self-work, but because the body must feel safe before change can truly take hold.

They talk about compassion as a more powerful force than willpower, what it means to stop asking “What’s wrong with me?” and instead ask “What happened to me?”, and how reconnecting with joy becomes possible when safety replaces self-pressure.

This conversation is for the anyone who feels like they've been trying to outgrow themselves, only to realize they may be ready to come home to themselves instead.

Connect with Ranbir:

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/ranbir_puar/#

Website- https://freewithin.me/work-with-me/

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in the Middle podcas...

What if healing from trauma didn’t have to wait until life finally slowed down?
What if recovery could happen in real time, right in the middle of uncertainty, responsibility, and everyday life?

In this episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne is joined by Emma Churchman, nationally certified trauma chaplain, leadership mentor, executive consultant, and founder of the Trauma Recovery Certification Program. Together, they explore what trauma really is, how it often lives quietly in the body, and why so many people carry unrecognized trauma while continuing to perform, lead, and show up for others.

Emma challenges the idea that trauma recovery must happen years later or only in clinical settings. Instead, she shares why processing trauma in real time can be both possible and powerful, and how addressing trauma at the root creates lasting resilience rather than symptom management.

They also redefine resilience, moving away from the idea of “bouncing back” and toward evolving forward. From trauma-informed workplaces to personal healing, this conversation offers insight, compassion, and hope for anyone navigating the space between the life they planned and the life they’re living.

Whether you’re in a season of personal challenge, leadership pressure, or quiet self-reflection, this episode invites you to reconsider what healing can look like right now.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• How trauma is defined and why it’s more common than we think
• Everyday experiences that often live in the body as trauma
• Why trauma recovery doesn’t have to wait years to begin
• What real-time trauma processing looks like in daily life
• Addressing trauma at the root instead of managing symptoms
• How trauma can hide behind competence, success, and reliability
• What trauma-informed leadership and workplaces truly require
• Redefining resilience as evolving forward rather than bouncing back
• Healing, growth, and perspective shifts in midlife

Connect with Emma:

Website: https://www.emmachurchman.com/trauma

Emma's lates book: https://a.co/d/dzgS7ov

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in the Middle podcas...

So many women in midlife are craving something they can’t quite name. It’s not another productivity system. It’s not better time management. And it’s definitely not one more thing to add to an already full plate. It’s genuine connection.

In this episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne is joined by Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins, a leadership development expert who believes that when we center human connection in how we learn, lead, and live, everything changes.

Mickey’s journey is anything but typical. At fourteen years old she became the youngest professional bass fisherman in the country and was managing dozens of sponsors and speaking confidently to rooms full of adults while most teenagers were still figuring out who they were. Those early experiences shaped her understanding of leadership, credibility, and presence in powerful ways.

Years later, after building a successful career in higher education, educational technology, and corporate learning, Mickey found herself living the very patterns she now helps others break. Over-functioning. Burnout. And the deeply ingrained belief that busy equals valuable.

In this conversation, we explore why connection is often dismissed as a “soft skill” and why it may actually be the most essential leadership skill we have. We talk about work-life integration, identity shifts in midlife, and what it really takes to build a life and career that feels aligned.

Connect with Mickey:

htpps://www.learnit.com/mickey

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickeyfitchcollins/

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in the Middle podcas...