What if midlife isn’t a crisis, but a portal to your next adventure? In this episode, Dr. Diane sits down with Dr. Ellen Albertson, the “Midlife Whisperer,” for a conversation about self-compassion, reinvention, and what it really means to thrive in midlife. Dr. Ellen shares her approach to helping women move through midlife with more clarity, confidence, and compassion, blending psychology, wellness, and practical tools for transformation.

Together, they explore the core ideas from Dr. Ellen’s work, including how to love yourself first, energize yourself, reprogram your mind, empower yourself, and reconnect with purpose. They also talk about nervous system care, the power of breath, creativity as an antidote to numbness, and why community and connection matter so much in seasons of change.

The conversation also introduces Dr. Ellen’s new metaphor for transformation, Dragonflying, and how human design can help us better understand ourselves and the way we move through the world. If you’re ready for a reset, this episode offers hope, perspective, and a reminder that change begins from the inside out.

Timestamps

• 01:02 – Midlife as a portal, not a crisis
• 03:11 – The seven steps: love yourself, know yourself, energize yourself, and more
• 12:56 – Learning through play, stress, and staying present
• 14:54 – “Just breathe”: nervous system care and self-compassion
• 20:38 – Dragonflying and the human design connection
• 24:17 – Human design, self-worth, and navigating your next decades
• 26:43 – Connection, empathy, and the power of community
• 28:46 – Hope, peace, and wonder in everyday life
• 33:06 – What’s currently bringing Dr. Ellen hope

Call to Action

If this conversation resonated, share it with a friend navigating midlife, change, or a season of reinvention.

• www.themidlifewhisperer.com and the dragonflying academy
• Get your Midlife Radiance Assessment with Dr. Ellen
• Check out Rock Your Midlife.
• Follow Dr. Ellen Albertson on Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, & Facebook.

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If this conversation sparked wonder, gave you a helpful strategy, or offered a needed reminder of hope, please share it with a friend or colleague.

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*Disclosure: I am a Bookshop.org. affiliate.

What if a Greek-underworld adventure could help middle grade readers name anxiety, see hidden home struggles, and believe they’re worthy of rescue too?

In this episode, Dr. Diane talks with author and former costume designer Shana Targosz about Relic of Thieves, a companion to River of Spirits that can stand on its own and sits comfortably beside Percy Jackson on the shelf. Shana shares why Anya’s story—turbulent home life, deep anxiety, and the shattering loss of a best friend—is so personal, and how sending Anya (and Lizzie) into the Greek underworld lets readers watch a quiet, fearful girl discover her own strength and worth.

They dig into friendship and empathy (what it means to “be a Lizzie” for someone whose home life might be hard), a fresh, agency-centered take on Hades and Persephone, and how Shana’s years in theater and costume design shape her vivid, read-aloud-friendly worldbuilding—including a sentient cloak that becomes a character in its own right. Shana also teases Book 3, featuring the youngest Fate, talks about writing for and with her son as first ideal reader, and reflects on turning old wounds into stories that offer kids safety, second families, and hope.

Timestamps

• 01:32 :Companion novel magic: reading Book 2 first and meeting Anya
• 03:19:Why Anya’s story is personal and why kids in hard homes need it
• 07:22:Lizzie, friendship, and helping readers build real-world empathy
• 08:27:Rethinking Hades and Persephone and giving Persephone more power
• 10:41:Writing across ages: trauma, grief, loss, and “a dollop of hope”
• 11:21:Read-aloud goodness: opening lines and raspberry jam doom
• 15:50:From costume design to the page: theater, visuals, and voice
• 18:33:Charon’s sentient cloak and turning clothing into a character
• 19:44:Returning to the Underworld: evolving shops and settings
• 20:49:Big reveal: Book 3, the youngest Fate
• 22:41:Writing for her son and sharing emotional moments as he reads
• 26:18:Advice for young writers: your story matters, even when it’s hard
• 27:32:Writing from past pain toward safety, second families, and hope
• 29:08:What’s currently bringing Shana hope

Invitation / Links

If you love Greek and Roman mythology, character-driven fa

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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Share this episode

If this conversation sparked wonder, gave you a helpful strategy, or offered a needed reminder of hope, please share it with a friend or colleague.

Subscribe • Download • Review • Tell a friend

Stay updated with our latest episodes and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and the Adventures in Learning website. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

*Disclosure: I am a Bookshop.org. affiliate.

In 2026, Candace Fleming did something no one else has ever done—she became the first author to receive both the Children’s Literature Legacy Award and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Young Adult Lifetime Achievement in the same year, while also winning the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown. We celebrate that extraordinary moment, then go straight to what really matters to Candace: kids, questions, and story-rich nonfiction that invites readers to think.

We talk about why she still shows up in classrooms as a “nonfiction cheerleader,” helping students see that great nonfiction starts with passion and curiosity, not a pile of facts. She shares how she encourages kids to move beyond “Google it” retrieval toward authentic research by starting with something they love, asking big, weird questions, and following those questions wherever they lead.

The conversation explores the craft behind tackling complex, often heavy topics for young readers. Candace discusses Death in the Jungle and her current middle grade project on rhino poaching in South Africa, where wildlife forensics, economics, colonial history, and the story of one orphaned calf intersect. We reflect on nonfiction as an imaginative, deeply personal form of writing, and what it means to nurture original thinking and voice in an AI world.

This episode offers a rare window into an unprecedented awards year and the curiosity-driven process behind some of today’s most compelling nonfiction for young readers.

Chapters:

• 01:42: What this triple recognition really means
• 04:26: Writing across age groups & interests
• 07:01: School visits, passion, & kid-chosen topics
• 10:22: Retrieval vs research, big questions, & nonfiction as imaginative work
• 12:17: Nonfiction in an age of AI: voice, perspective, & original thinking
• 15:16: Rhino poaching: crime scenes, orphaned calves, & complex issues
• 25:54: A “lighter” World War II family story
• 27:27: Finding hope

Learn More:

• Visit Candace's website and follow her on Instagram.
• Listen to

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Share this episode

If this conversation sparked wonder, gave you a helpful strategy, or offered a needed reminder of hope, please share it with a friend or colleague.

Subscribe • Download • Review • Tell a friend

Stay updated with our latest episodes and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and the Adventures in Learning website. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

*Disclosure: I am a Bookshop.org. affiliate.