We talk with Dr Brenda Vrkjlan, an occupational therapist and mobility researcher, about how everyday choices like where you live, how you drive, and who you spend time with shape your health as you age. We zoom out to the sandwich generation reality, then zoom way in to the practical stuff that protects dignity and independence.

• Aging parents and the stress of starting the downsizing conversation
• Planning earlier to avoid the “double downsize” and rushed moves later
• Person-environment fit and why home design affects mobility and safety
• Loneliness as a serious health risk and why community keeps us resilient
• Building routines that create connection after kids leave home
• Driving as identity, access, and participation plus what makes it harder
• Small adaptations that matter like grab bars, non-slip mats, and smart habits
• Reframing aging with “perhaps another unexpected solution exists”

Follow Living Left for bold conversations by women for women on business, creativity, and comeback energy.

Find us on Instagram @living_left_​​

Because what’s left isn’t less. It’s everything.

We sit down with Shelagh Cummins, founder and CEO of The Road to Seven, to talk about the career left turns that shape real businesses and the money decisions that make scaling possible. We dig into intuition, mentorship, and the practical math behind building profit, then we unpack why Shelagh built a term-loan fund for women after hearing “no” from a bank.

• Early digital entrepreneurship and the “mompreneur” era as a launchpad for women-led businesses
• One pivotal moment of feedback that creates permission to step up
• “False starts” reframed as pivots and paid learning
• Risk mitigation while building the next offer
• Removing emotion from numbers and treating finances as data
• The $30K month as a scaling benchmark
• The 30/30/30/10 split for pay, operations, taxes, and profit
• Common pricing traps in service-based businesses
• Why traditional lending algorithms miss how women often build companies
• How the fund works: GP and LP structure, term loans, repayment, and biweekly mentorship
• Why investing can blend returns with real-world impact

Follow Living Left for bold conversations by women for women on business, creativity, and comeback energy.

Find us on Instagram @living_left_​​

Because what’s left isn’t less. It’s everything.

We talk with family lawyer and mediator Christine Marchetti about why divorce often spikes during major life shifts and how midlife women start refusing the roles that kept them quiet. We break down smarter ways to separate, protect kids and finances, and rebuild without turning your former partner into an enemy.

• COVID pressures that magnify existing relationship cracks
• Midlife change and menopause as a catalyst for “gray divorce”
• Mental load dynamics and why imbalance becomes intolerable
• Reframing the idea of a “failed marriage”
• Why the second biggest decision is how you separate
• When court is necessary and when it is avoidable
• Negotiation, mediation, mediation arbitration, and arbitration explained
• Collaborative law basics and how neutral experts can help
• Children and conflict including the damage of silence
• Financial disclosure, records, and planning for post-divorce costs
• Repartnering later in life and why agreements protect everyone
• Choosing kindness over the “shark” approach and making generous assumptions

Follow Living Left for bold conversations by women for women on business, creativity, and comeback energy.

Find us on Instagram @living_left_​​

Because what’s left isn’t less. It’s everything.