How will you remember 2025? In this deeply personal episode, titled "In Loving Memory of 2025," Heather sets the tone with this quote: “2025 was a year of sacred goodbyes and of release and surrender, healing of the past, closure, kind of trusting cycles, and completing cycles.”

Heather's honest and powerful account came after saying goodbye to her father in 20205. Her words demonstrate that loss is more than just an experience of sorrow. She shares that grief can also bring wisdom, connection, and the chance for renewal. If you've ever felt the ache of letting go of a beloved or wondered how to face the uncharted territory of grief and healing, we hope this episode offers not only comfort but a sense of community. 

Tune in as we weave through memories of 2025, discover lessons for the future, find gratitude even in the most challenging moments, and hold space for the many forms of love that can shape your 2026 and beyond.

This week, we overlook our pre-holiday wish list to focus on real-life issues shaping women's lives around the globe in 2025. It's a conversation that unpacks ongoing concerns, including political representation, bodily autonomy, and workplace equity, as well as technology, culture, and the growing influence of women in sports.

This episode explores the push and pull between power, resistance, and hope, how each shapes the reality of women around the world, and why the fight for true equality and equity is elusive yet invariably critical.

Whether you're passionate about social justice, invested in women's rights, or unsure how these issues impact your life and why these are turbulent times, you'll find valuable perspectives and empowering energy in this conversation. So join us on this journey as we explore the real-life concerns, victories, and hard-fought battles of women in 2025.

Peggy Sharr is a licensed clinical psychotherapist, author, and survivor whose remarkable life story forms the heart of her book, "Surviving the Family Kingdom." Raised in her mother's cult, a chaotic and abusive environment, Peggy endured years of trauma, spiritual manipulation, and family dysfunction. Despite facing immense adversity, including being denied a basic education, Peggy found the courage and strength to rebuild her life, pursue higher learning, raise a functional family, and ultimately become a therapist dedicated to helping others heal.

It’s the last place any woman anticipates ever landing, but far too often, a woman’s shelter is the only haven for mothers and children fleeing abuse at home. Linda Dröfn Gunnarsdóttir is the executive director of the Association for Women's Shelters in Iceland. Linda’s reputation as an innovator and leader landed her on the BBC 100 Women to Watch list — a listing reserved for women around the world making a difference for others. We talk with Linda about Iceland being globally celebrated as a woman’s paradise due to policies that advance equality, when every day she sees women victims of gender-based violence forced into homelessness.

Lauren Wellbank admits that she’s one of the lucky ones. She’s a survivor of a near-death experience at the hands of a violent partner. After escaping her abusive relationship and learning that 1 in 4 women live under similar circumstances, Lauren felt compelled to share her story in hopes it would help guide other women who remain lost in toxic love. Lauren’s story illustrates that there is life beyond current circumstances, and she emphasizes the critical importance of overcoming the fear, shame, and silence that precede freedom.

Back in 2005, triggered by her own sexual abuse trauma, Blythe Hill learned about and began paying close attention to the issue of human trafficking. Even though she was overcome by a deep sense of urgency to help, she felt profoundly helpless. Blythe wasn't a lawyer, doctor, or social worker; her interests and talents were in fashion, trend analysis, and blogging. Blythe believed she had nothing much to offer to the fight against human trafficking. Then in 2009, Blythe challenged herself to wear a dress every day in December, and dubbed her campaign Dressember. Each year that has followed, more and more people have joined Blythe's one-person challenge, and today it's become an international movement. To date, Dressember campaigns have brought 490,000 victims to freedom, resulted in the conviction of 8,400 perpetrators, and raised over $ 20 million. Blythe calls herself a leader and strategist; we dubbed her a hero.

Darlene Lancer is an author, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and expert in relationships and codependency. Her bestselling books include Dating, Loving, and Leaving a Narcissist, Conquering Shame and Codependency: 8 Steps to Freeing the True You, and Codependency for Dummies. Each reflects her deep understanding of relationships and codependency recovery. Her newest book, Dating, Loving, and Leaving a Narcissist: Essential Tools for Improving or Leaving Narcissistic and Abusive Relationships, zeroes in on the core issue that causes victims of abuse so much unhappiness. 

Darlene’s ability as an emotional intuitive enables her to identify problems at their source and to draw on her extensive personal and professional experience to find solutions. With over 30 years of providing self-esteem and codependency counseling, Darlene has helped countless women and men recover from codependency and trauma. For her, change requires awareness, courage, action, and being supported to take productive risks when ready. Her helping clients overcome self-defeating beliefs and behaviors enables them to be more self-expressive and enjoy greater life satisfaction.

Aura Martinez is a self-discovery and empowerment coach who guides her people through common pitfalls in their pursuit of happiness. Aura shares her transformative journey from feeling lost and unfulfilled to becoming an empowered coach who helps women find daily fulfillment and certainty in their lives. Aura's personal journey was not without its challenges, and she speaks candidly about the obstacles many women like her face, including a lack of self-acceptance that hindered her professional growth. Aura reminds us that the journey to self-discovery is ongoing and requires inner work, spiritual alignment, and yes, curiosity. Aura’s story vividly demonstrates how to create separation between temporary happiness and enduring fulfillment.   

The history of witches has ancient connections to women as the primary users of magic, which is revered by some and feared by many. The idea of the evil "witch" evolved over time, particularly with the medieval association of witchcraft with Devil worship, which fueled the widespread persecution of women. Today, the image of the witch has transformed. One woman, who is not intimidated or shamed by being called a witch, is Rissa Miller.  Her expertise stems from being raised in a nontraditional family with nontraditional beliefs, as well as extensive research into esoteric history, including ghosts, witchcraft, cryptids, and folklore.

Temi Ajibewa is a Personal Brand Expert, Business Coach for Coaches, Author, Mentor, and Transformational Speaker. However, Temi will tell you herself that she is more than her list of impressive titles. Listen to her speak and you will hear stories of family dysfunction, personal struggle, self-discovery, resilience, and reinvention. From battling chronic people-pleasing syndrome to becoming an Amazon best-selling author, Temi is passionate about helping individuals and organizations express their full potential.

When Barbara Stone was a little girl, she only wanted to fit in. However, as a child from an immigrant family, fitting in wasn’t in the cards. So, Barb developed a skill set to make herself irresistible; she became a perfectionist. For 25 years, Barb’s obsession with being flawless helped her compete with the boys in the manufacturing sector as she rose up the corporate ladder to executive vice president and CFO. But even with her accomplishments and the offer of a President’s role waiting for her signature, Bard felt that there was one thing missing from her perfect story: happiness. In a stirring TEDx Talk, titled “Why Being Perfect is Overrated,” Barb challenged an audience to confront the ways people often hide behind achievements and strive for unattainable ideals. In this Podcast episode, Barb explores how the pressure of perfectionism can limit our potential and disconnect us from our true selves. As a leadership development coach, Barb invites clients to embrace their imperfections, celebrate their vulnerabilities, and live authentically.

Rev. Dr. Xenia Barnes' journey to becoming a leading trauma expert is marked by all the required academic qualifications (BA, M.Ed., Th.D., and PhD Candidate), but her unflinching wisdom was forged through profound personal challenges. The 2017 murder of her nephew and her 2021 diagnosis with pulmonary fibrosis and lupus, terminal illnesses requiring a double lung transplant, forged a life story that is a masterclass in resilience and radical self-acceptance. Her experiences convey that while adversity is unavoidable and unpredictable, how we respond is always our choice—but, with the right support, we can turn even our most painful experiences into platforms for growth, advocacy, and joy. 

Annie Izmirliyan is heralded as a financial maverick. With over 20 years of experience in wealth management, financial planning, and sales leadership, her true superpower is transforming misplaced trust and betrayal, which left her on the brink of financial disaster, into her greatest asset. From adversity, Annie created a unique approach that focuses on guiding people through tough times while acknowledging their strengths. It's a philosophy that combines empathy, reassurance, and practical financial guidance. Annie's story embodies hope and empowerment, showing that even life's harshest lessons — yes, even betrayal — can lead to profound personal growth and overwhelming abundance.

Walker Kimberly Brandt is an actress, author, and coach, but in conversation, she is a compelling and compassionate human being. Career-wise, as an actress, her resume includes appearances on screen with Hollywood legends like Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton in "Dante's Peak" and Billy Crystal in "City Slickers." Her TV appearances include "Star Trek: The Next Generation" with Patrick Stewart. Walker recently wrote and published her first book, Awaken – Discovering Yourself Through the Light of Your Innocence, which is an Amazon #1 International Bestseller.  Awaken is an intimate and vulnerable memoir that shares the journey of Walker as a young girl who left a toxic household at 15 after a failed attempt at suicide and, at 16, became an emancipated minor. Walker's story is about releasing self-imposed limitations, leaning into inherent innocence as a source of strength, and creating a fulfilling life regardless of circumstances.  

Dr. Annmarie Waite is a nurse with a Ph.D, who’s also a wellness coach with a unique approach to supporting women on their health and self-care journey.  Her distinctive care is rooted in a foundation of her own life experiences and recognizing common themes of neglect and shame that many women endure that impact their long-term health. Annmarie’s coaching style involves listening deeply and guiding women through the intricacies of their wellness stories, which are often unspoken and overlooked by insensitive medical protocols. For Annmarie, health is a personal mission. Her aim is to help clients break down barriers to discomfort, ultimately leading to transformation and healing.

Episode VBB 344 features Certified Mental Health and Trauma Recovery Life Coach Teresa Ford. Her story samples her life journey as a child raised by emotionally immature and emotionally unavailable parents who left her unprepared to live an empowered life.  Ironically, it was the death of a parent — her mother — that triggered Teresa to explore the keys to healing from generational trauma. On her personal journey, Teresa learned to dismantle codependency, parentification, anxiety, depression, grief, loss, emotional abandonment, and debilitating people pleasing. Teresa now coaches women on taking an intentional stand against playing small, dimming their light, or waiting for permission to thrive and to embrace the fullest expression of their power and purpose. https://www.teresaford.life/about

Holly Shaw is a stand-up comedian and hypnotherapist, renowned as a performance anxiety expert. Before becoming a comedian, Holly was a TV host, film actor, professional dancer, and has since become a speaker and coach. Holly has authored and published three books, including her latest, Queen Lessons: What Stand-Up Comedy Taught Me About Dealing with Life's Hecklers and Finding Courage in Your Queen Years.  In it, she extracts wisdom from the wild world of stand-up comedy and turns it into lessons with captivating true-life stories for other women entering their “queen years”. To hear more, listen to the podcast. To find her book, visit hollyshawcomedy.com.

Entrepreneur, coach, and Amazon bestselling author, Kat Sterling, sets the stage by asking the questions that most people avoid: "Why am I not where I want to be in life? Or, Why am I not winning?" Kat reveals that these questions are reflections born out of self-assessment and hard life lessons. Constantly surrounded by success, Kat felt that despite her corporate efforts and personal achievements, she was falling behind in life. For her, the most significant shift came from being terminated from her corporate gig. It’s an event that most would view as a catastrophic setback, yet Kat transformed it into her launchpad for entrepreneurship. Her motto has since become, “Feel the fear. Jump first, jump head-first!”

With over 30 years of experience as a hairstylist and salon owner, listening to the life drama of her customers, Dianne Harris was well-positioned to become a successful Life and Relationship Coach, a role she has excelled at for the past five years. In her personal life drama, Dianne is a twice-divorced single mother of three sons, and a survivor of the insidious effects of emotional abuse. After spending years in a toxic marriage with someone she once believed was her forever, she made the brave decision to choose herself, walk away, and rebuild her life from the ground up. Her journey led to deep healing, radical self-love, and the creation of a coaching practice that now helps other women do the same.

Dianne's passion is helping women—especially purpose-driven professionals in midlife—reclaim their identity, rebuild their self-worth, and attract emotionally healthy love, starting with the most crucial relationship, the one women have with themselves. 

"I specialize in emotional abuse recovery, self-trust, boundary setting, dating after divorce, and rising from heartbreak with clarity and confidence. I'm also writing my memoir, Love Bomb, which shares her personal story of surviving emotional manipulation—and turning her pain into purpose."

Deena Baikowitz, aka Fireball Deena, is a dynamic coach, trainer, facilitator, speaker, and comedian with a unique way of delivering serious business and career advice that’s infused with creativity, compassion, and, of course, humour.  Deena’s educational and career background spans social work, healthcare, marketing, events, and the arts, which have expanded into global networking, branding, marketing, and special events. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Deena’s motivated to encourage women to step into their power by embracing the spotlight. “I think that for women, taking the stage is about making a difference. It's about leading by example. It is definitely empowering to know that you can stand up and make a difference.“ Christopher & Heather are privileged to introduce you to a little Fireball named Deena.