About Michelle Walters: Michelle Walters is a digital marketing professional turned hypnotherapist whose life has been shaped by profound caregiving experiences, personal loss, and remarkable resilience. After earning her MBA and building a 20-year career working with major brands in the advertising and corporate marketing world, Michelle found herself repeatedly “stuck in the middle” — caring for partners with severe medical conditions while raising her son and maintaining her career.

Her first husband lived with cystic fibrosis and later suffered a devastating stroke. Years later, the partner she fell in love with was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. Through these challenges, Michelle learned how mindset, intentional action, and emotional balance can help people survive life’s hardest seasons. Today, she is a hypnotherapist, author, app creator, and teacher who helps others navigate stress, grief, career uncertainty, and personal transformation with clarity and confidence.

In this episode, Brian and Michelle Walters discuss:

• Navigating the emotional, physical, and financial realities of long-term caregiving
• How repeated adversity shaped Michelle’s resilience and purpose
• Using mindset, manifesting principles, and tangible action to create career and life changes
• The role of hypnotherapy in managing stress, grief, and personal growth

Key Takeaways:

• Even in overwhelming seasons, optimism can be cultivated — a positive mindset doesn’t erase hardship, but it strengthens your ability to endure it.
• Resilience grows when you learn to take deliberate action rather than staying stuck in fear or self-doubt; movement, even small movement, creates momentum.
• Everything is connected: your environment, your energy, your routines, and your mental patterns all influence how opportunities show up in your life.
• Careers rarely follow a perfect linear path; embracing starts, stops, and reinventions can open unexpected doors to fulfillment and purpose.

“I'm a big believer in both dreams and prayers, but the point of life is really learning how to take action for things. And if you just sit around having dreams or prayers, the universe does not take that very seriously. The Universe wants to listen to people who are actually activating things…” — Michelle Walters

Connect with Michelle Walters:

Website: https://www.michellewalters.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleoliverwalters/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindpowerjunkie/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellewaltersauthor

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mindpowerjunkie

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Alignment-Spirit-Finding-Work-Love/dp/1737263726

Host contact information: 

• Email: briansacksnewsletters@gmail.com



Sign up for your FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER at www.stuckinthemiddlenews.com

About Shari Ross: Shari Ross is a senior living consultant, author, and aging and caregiving resource expert who has spent over a decade guiding families through the emotional and logistical complexities of elder care. A former corporate travel director and marketing executive, she brings both professional insight from senior living communities and a personal connection to dementia care through her own family experience. Shari is the author of Senior Living Made S.I.M.P.L.E.: A Real World Guide for Navigating Senior Care for Your Loved One, a practical and compassionate roadmap designed to replace confusion with clarity. Known for her warm, no-nonsense approach, she empowers caregivers with tools, checklists, and humor to navigate one of life’s toughest transitions.

In this episode, Brian and Shari Ross discuss:

• Navigating the emotional and logistical challenges of transitioning a loved one into senior living
• Understanding modern assisted living and memory care options
• Managing family dynamics and communication during caregiving decisions
• Using education and guided planning to reduce chaos and confusion in senior care transitions

Key Takeaways:

• Establishing a strong foundation of emotional, professional, and logistical support early in the senior care journey prevents exhaustion and confusion when urgent decisions arise.
• Following the SIMPLE framework—which emphasizes Support, Information, Mindset, Planning, Logistics, and Execution—gives families a structured roadmap that turns panic and guilt into confidence and organized action.
• The most effective way to approach resistant parents is through empathy and gradual, question-based conversations that allow them to feel respected, independent, and part of the decision-making process.
• Advances in senior living now allow residents to age in place with increasing levels of care—often including 24/7 nursing, therapy, and hospice—reducing the need for multiple disruptive moves.

"The journey doesn’t end just when they get to the community. There’s a lot, and it takes time for your loved one to settle in. And there are a lot of bumps along the way." — Shari Ross

Connect with Shari Ross:

Website: https://seniorlivingmadesimple.com/

Book: Senior Living Made S.I.M.P.L.E.: https://www.amazon.com/Senior-Living-Made-S-I-M-P-L-Real-World/dp/B0FFQ8J5LB

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shari-jill-ross1975/

Host contact information: 

• Email: briansacksnewsletters@gmail.com



Sign up for your FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER at www.stuckinthemiddlenews.com

About Julie Barth: Julie Barth, author of Notes from A BlackBerry, From Blackberries to Thorns, and upcoming from Thorns to Blossoms, is a mother to six children and a professional writer whose life experiences transcend the boundaries of fiction. Her journey, marked by love, loss, and an unwavering spirit, lends authenticity to her writing. Julie's narrative style is deeply rooted in her belief that life's true essence is discovered in its most challenging moments. Her work reflects a dedication to finding joy and meaning in every experience, inspiring readers to embrace their own journeys with courage and gratitude.

Julie Barth is also the CEO and founder of the Colin James Barth Outreach, a nonprofit dedicated to helping women-led households with the resources and aid necessary to find security and stability in times of crisis. Her mission is to use her experiences as a caregiver, special needs parent, and trauma survivor to encourage women in similar situations to think resourcefully and always protect themselves without stigma or feelings of selfishness.

In this episode, Brian and Julie Barth discuss:

• Coping with emotional, financial, and physical challenges after life-altering events
• The power of community and resource networks for women-led households
• Transforming personal tragedy into purpose through charity work
• Resilience, optimism, and practical strategies for surviving crisis and rebuilding life

Key Takeaways:

• When faced with overwhelming hardship, focusing only on what’s directly in front of you can keep you grounded and help you move forward one step at a time.
• Life doesn’t always give us a choice in the cards we’re dealt, but we do have control over how we play them — with courage, resourcefulness, and faith.
• Women in crisis often fall through the cracks of available support systems; building bridges between local resources can make the difference between despair and recovery.
• Pain doesn’t have to end with suffering. When you turn it into purpose, it becomes a source of healing—not just for yourself, but for others too.

"How great of a world would it be if we all just took that little situation, did what we could to make it better, used our experience to whatever part of it, to change it so that the next person going through doesn't have to go through it. And it really is not that hard." — Julie Barth

Connect with Julie Barth:

Website: https://www.juliebarthauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julie.e.barth

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julie_barth_author/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliebarthauthor/

The Colin James Barth Outreach: https://www.cjboutreach.org/

Host contact information: 

• Email: briansacksnewsletters@gmail.com



Sign up for your FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER at www.stuckinthemiddlenews.com