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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sobriety, midlife purpose, and finding your spark again. Sonia sits down with activist and author Shannon Watts. Shannon is the founder of Moms Demand Action, the nation’s largest grassroots group fighting gun violence. She led the organization to pass over 500 gun-safety laws and mobilize millions of supporters. She’s been named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, a Forbes 50 Over 50 Changemaker, and a Glamour Woman of the Year. In 2025 she published her book Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age.
Together, they talk about what it really looks like to rebuild your life when the old one stops fitting. Shannon shares the story of her own “wake-up moment,” and Sonia brings her lived experience of starting over, making hard pivots, and learning to own her sobriety without apology. This episode is all about finding your spark again, even if you haven’t felt it in years.
Sonia and Shannon dive into the big questions so many women wrestle with in midlife: How do you know when you’re meant for something more? What if you’ve spent decades doing what you were supposed to do instead of what you actually want? How do you handle people’s opinions when you finally step into your power? And what happens when drinking, dating, parenting, obligations, burnout, and old roles start to clash with the woman you’re becoming?
Listeners will walk away with practical guidance and clarity around what lights them up. Shannon shares her simple framework for figuring out your next chapter, how to deal with criticism without shrinking, and why rest, boundaries, community, and honesty matter more than perfection. This episode also looks at signs you might be ready for a change, the myths about “purpose,” the pressure women carry in midlife, and the surprising freedom that comes with not caring what everyone else thinks.
Sonia opens up about dating in sobriety, making herself small for years, and the moment she realized she didn’t need to apologize for the life she’s building. Shannon shares the realities of starting a national movement while raising five kids, navigating co-parenting, dealing with internet trolls, and knowing when it was finally time to step back. It’s heartfelt, real, and filled with the kind of “me too” moments that make women feel less alone.
Episode Highlights
01:00 Shannon shares the moment she realized her life wasn’t aligned anymore
03:12 The emergency room visit that became her turning point
04:10 How journaling helped her map out a completely different future
06:02 Shannon explains her “values, abilities, desires” formula
07:15 Why so many women put obligations before what they actually want
09:20 The guilt and shame that show up when women start changing their lives
11:05 Sonia talks about the date that made her second-guess her sobriety identity
12:14 Shannon’s advice for handling criticism without shrinking
16:08 What launching Moms Demand Action looked like behind the scenes
18:02 The fear moms have about pursuing desires “at the expense of their kids”
20:40 How to know it’s time for a pivot even without a dramatic crisis
23:05 Discovering abilities you don’t realize you have
25:00 Sonia shares how nightly drinking revealed deeper misalignment
26:15 Shannon on her “controlled burn” approach to clearing space for change
28:20 The difference between true urgency and pressure we put on ourselves
30:12 Why Gen X women have more freedom in midlife than we realize
33:00 Shannon redefines success after years of burnout and martyrdom
35:18 How female friendships became the backbone of her second chapter
37:05 Sonia talks about intentionally rebuilding her community
40:22 The hardest “no” Shannon ever had to make in her career
46:04 The early “failure” that ended up shaping her entire movement
47:18 What Shannon hopes her next decade looks like
SIS Links
💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen
📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram
🌐 Kathleen’s Website Kathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.