In this episode of The D Shift, Mardi Winder speaks with Karla Combres, celebrant and legacy guide, about the powerful role rituals can play in healing through divorce and other major life transitions.

Karla shares her unique journey from federal bureaucrat to end-of-life facilitator, explaining how her work has shaped her understanding of how people process change, loss, and transformation. She offers a thoughtful perspective on how rituals can create space for reflection, connection, and emotional healing during times that are often rushed or overlooked.

Mardi and Karla explore how many people move too quickly through difficult transitions, focusing on logistics and next steps without fully acknowledging the emotional experience. Karla encourages a more intentional approach, where both grief and growth are honored rather than bypassed.

The focus is on:

• Why rituals are important during divorce and life transitions

• How to create meaningful ways to process grief and change

• The role of community and being witnessed during difficult times

• How storytelling and personal narrative support healing

• Why slowing down can lead to greater clarity and emotional resilience

Karla also shares insight into the communities she has created, including her Heart of Being Human gatherings, which provide a space for connection, reflection, and shared experience. The conversation highlights how returning to intentional practices can help individuals move through transitions with greater awareness and support.

Karla offers a compassionate and grounded perspective for anyone navigating divorce or other major life changes, reminding listeners that healing is not about rushing forward, but about fully experiencing and integrating each stage of the journey.

About the Guest:

Karla Combres is a legacy guide and celebrant who helps people live with presence, meaning, and connection. Through community conversations, workshops, one-on-one guidance, and custom ceremonies, she creates spaces where people can pause, reflect, and shape a life and legacy they are proud of.

For Karla’s gift: Karla hosts The Heart of Being Human on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month. These free, online conversations offer a gentle online space for calm, clarity, and community as you navigate life. Learn more and sign up to be notified here: www.heartofbeinghuman.com

To connect with Karla:

Email: karla@karlacombres.com

Website: www.karlacombres.com

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

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

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

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

Heart of Being Human: https://www.heartofbeinghuman

About the Host

Mardi Winder is an ICF and BCC Executive and Leadership Coach, Certified Divorce Transition Coach, Certified Divorce Specialist (CDS®) and a Credentialed Distinguished Mediator in Texas. She has worked with women in executive, entrepreneur, and leadership roles, navigating personal, life, and professional transitions. She is the founder of Positive Communication Systems, LLC, and host of Real Divorce Talks, a quarterly series designed to provide education and inspiration to women at all stages of divorce.

Are you interested in learning more about your divorce priorities? Take the quiz "The Divorce Stress Test".

Connect with Mardi on Social Media:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Divorcecoach4women

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divorcecoach4women/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@divorcecoach4women

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

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In this episode of The D Shift, Mardi Winder speaks with Kim Costa, top Realtor® and creator of the Wheelhouse Method, about how to reclaim your space and create a home that supports your next chapter after divorce.

Kim brings both professional expertise and personal experience to the conversation, sharing how divorce can reshape not only your life but also your relationship with your home. She explains that decisions about staying, moving, or renovating are not just practical choices, but deeply personal ones that influence your sense of identity, stability, and well-being.

Mardi and Kim explore how your environment plays a powerful role in emotional recovery and how small, intentional changes can help you feel more grounded and in control during a time of transition. Whether it is removing items tied to the past, updating your space, or rethinking how your home functions, these changes can support healing and forward momentum.

In this episode, we answer:

• How to decide whether to stay, move, or renovate after divorce

• Why your living environment impacts emotional recovery

• Simple, budget-friendly ways to refresh your space

• How to let go of items connected to the past

• Why taking time before making big housing decisions matters

Kim also shares practical insight on how to approach these decisions thoughtfully, including the importance of community, lifestyle, and long-term needs. The conversation encourages listeners to see their home as a foundation for growth, not just a place to live.

About the Guest:

Kim Costa is a Top 5% Realtor® with Sotheby's International Realty and creator of The Wheel House Method—a framework designed to help women navigate divorce's biggest question: what to do about the house. With over 30 years of experience in real estate, construction, and design, plus a background as a small business controller, Kim brings both financial expertise and emotional intelligence to this vulnerable transition.

Through The Wheel House Method's eight life dimensions—health, career, fun and leisure, family and friends, spirituality, romance, environment, and finance—Kim helps divorcing women evaluate whether to keep, sell, or start fresh. Her approach ensures decisions support their new chapter rather than anchor them to the past. Kim is the author of the upcoming book Live in Your Wheel House (March 24, 2026) and host of the Live in Your Wheel House podcast.

For Kim’s book “Live in Your Wheel House: An Empowering Guide to Stay, Go, or Reno”

got to : https://a.co/d/00Nz5Njo

To connect with Kim:

Website: https://lifestylefoundations.com

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kim.e.costa

About the Host

Mardi Winder is an ICF and BCC Executive and Leadership Coach, Certified Divorce Transition Coach, Certified Divorce Specialist (CDS®) and a Credentialed Distinguished Mediator in Texas. She has worked with women in executive, entrepreneur, and leadership roles, navigating personal, life, and professional transitions. She is the founder of Positive Communication Systems, LLC, and host of Real Divorce Talks, a quarterly series designed to provide education and inspiration to women at all stages of divorce.

Are you interested in learning more about your divorce priorities? Take the quiz "The Divorce Stress Test".

Connect with Mardi on Social Media:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Divorcecoach4women

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divorcecoach4women/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@divorcecoach4women

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the Podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave an Apple Podcast Review

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Today on The D Shift, Mardi Winder welcomes back Amber Hollingsworth, master addiction counselor and founder of Hope for Families Recovery Center, for an important conversation about recognizing the early signs of problem drinking, especially during times of stress such as divorce.

Amber shares her professional insights along with her personal experience, explaining that alcohol dependence does not always look like what people expect. Many individuals who appear highly functional may still be struggling, and alcohol use often exists on a spectrum rather than a clear-cut problem.

Mardi and Amber explore how major life stressors like divorce can lead people to use alcohol as a coping mechanism. Over time, this can develop into patterns of self-medicating, where individuals begin to track, manage, or hide their drinking, often without fully recognizing the impact.

The conversation highlights how awareness and early intervention can make a meaningful difference, without necessarily requiring extreme or immediate measures.

In this episode we discuss:

• How to recognize early signs of problem drinking

• Why high-functioning individuals may overlook alcohol-related issues

• How stress and divorce can influence drinking habits

• The warning signs of self-medicating with alcohol

• Practical ways to evaluate and adjust your relationship with alcohol

Amber also shares a practical starting point for those questioning their habits, including the value of taking a short break from alcohol to gain clarity. The discussion touches on social pressure, boundary setting, and the unexpected benefits many people experience when they reduce or eliminate alcohol.

This episode offers a compassionate and non-judgmental perspective for anyone who is curious about their drinking habits and looking for a thoughtful, realistic approach to change.

About the Guest

Amber Hollingsworth is a master addiction counselor, founder of Hope For Families Recovery Center, and creator of the YouTube channel Put The Shovel Down. With over two decades of experience, she’s helped thousands of families navigate addiction recovery using innovative, relationship-focused strategies like the Invisible Intervention. Known for her relatable, no-nonsense approach, Amber empowers families to outsmart addiction, set healthy boundaries, and rebuild trust. Her expertise and compassionate style make her a sought-after podcast guest, offering practical advice and hope to families facing the challenges of addiction.

For Amber’s gift: https://www.familyrecoveryacademy.online/understanding-boundaries-in-addiction

To connect with Amber:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT8PE1v0xFR9zLXOijxM6hg

IG : https://www.instagram.com/puttheshoveldown/

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-hollingsworth-833111b8/

About the Host

Mardi Winder is an ICF and BCC Executive and Leadership Coach, Certified Divorce Transition Coach, Certified Divorce Specialist (CDS®) and a Credentialed Distinguished Mediator in Texas. She has worked with women in executive, entrepreneur, and leadership roles, navigating personal, life, and professional transitions. She is the founder of Positive Communication Systems, LLC, and host of Real Divorce Talks, a quarterly series designed to provide education and inspiration to women at all stages of divorce.

Are you interested in learning more about your divorce priorities? Take the quiz "The Divorce Stress Test".

Connect with Mardi on Social Media:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Divorcecoach4women

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divorcecoach4women/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@divorcecoach4women

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the Podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcast Review

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.