Many women in midlife begin to question habits they once accepted without much thought, for some that includes their relationship with alcohol. In this episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne sits down with alcohol-free empowerment coach, keynote speaker, and author Lauren Fay for an honest, compassionate conversation about reclaiming your power and choosing a more conscious way of living.

Lauren shares what life looked like before she stopped drinking in 2018, and why she doesn’t frame sobriety as a loss, but as an act of self-trust and self-respect. Together, they explore how alcohol can quietly shape identity, relationships, confidence, and intuition, often without us realizing it.

This conversation isn’t about labels or perfection. It’s about awareness, choice, and what becomes possible when you stop numbing and start listening.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why midlife is often the moment women begin questioning alcohol’s role in their lives
• Reframing sobriety as reclaiming power rather than giving something up
• Subtle signs of an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, even without addiction
• Navigating relationships and social situations while living alcohol-free
• Rebuilding identity outside of drinking culture
• Letting go of shame and secrecy and learning to live more openly
• How sobriety can activate confidence, ambition, and deeper self-trust
• Reimagining joy, rest, and celebration without alcohol

Whether you’re sober-curious, taking a break, or simply reflecting on how you want to feel in this season of life, this episode offers permission to choose yourself.

Connect with Lauren:

• Website: https://laurenfaycoaching.com/
• Grab The Book: https://laurenfay.co/book

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in th...

As we come to the end of the year and step into a new one, this episode of Message in the Middle is meant to feel like a bridge between seasons.

Instead of a detailed recap, Marianne reflects on the themes that showed up again and again in conversations throughout the year and reminds us why they matter so deeply for women in midlife.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or emotional doesn’t mean you’re broken
• How identity shifts in midlife are not a crisis, but an invitation
• Why rest is not a reward you earn, but a necessity
• The importance of connection and community

Marianne also shares a personal note as she heads into a two-week vacation, practicing what she often talks about, slowing down, letting go of perfection, and creating meaningful memories with her kids and grandkids (the thing she loves most).

This episode is a reminder that midlife isn’t about winding down, it’s about waking up. You’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re just becoming.

If this podcast has supported you this year, please be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any episodes in the new year. Subscribing and leaving a review helps more women find these conversations and this community.

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in th...

If life has been feeling loud, heavy, or just a little too fast lately, this short, guided reset might be just what you didn't know you needed.

In today’s mini episode of Message in the Middle, I’m inviting you to step out of the swirl, take a breath, and settle into the pause between everything you’ve been carrying.

This isn’t about meditating “the right way.” It’s simply a few minutes to slow down, soften your shoulders, quiet the noise, and remember you’re allowed to rest, even in the middle of it all.

In this episode, you’ll experience:
• A simple, grounding pause
• Gentle breath cues to help reset your nervous system
• A reminder that you don’t have to hold everything at once
• A moment to reconnect with yourself… without judgment or pressure

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin, overwhelmed, or disconnected, this is your space to breathe again.

✨ Take these few minutes. You deserve them.

If this reset helps you, please share it with a friend who might need a moment of calm today.

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in th...

In today’s episode of Message in the Middle, I’m joined by the one and only Steve Gamlin, speaker, author, storyteller, vision-board expert, and “The Motivational Firewood® Guy.” If you’ve ever felt stuck in the middle of your life, unsure of your next step, or wondering if you’re too late to dream something new, this conversation will remind you just how much is still possible.

Steve shares how his own twists and turns, rock bottom moments included, led him to a life built on service, intention, and the simple-but-powerful daily practice of showing up. We talk about why vision boards actually work, how to move from wishing to action, and how to rebuild confidence when life has knocked you down more than once.

Inside this episode, we explore:

• Why midlife can be the moment for redefining your goals and identity
• How visualization really works
• What to do when you feel paralyzed by overwhelm or “starting over syndrome”
• How small, imperfect actions build long-term transformation
• Why self-worth is tied to how we talk to ourselves
• The power of service, gratitude, and paying attention to what’s going right
• Practical steps you can take today to move forward

If you’re craving hope, direction, or a gentle nudge, this episode will speak right to the middle of your life and your heart.

Connect with Steve:

• Website
• FB
• LinkedIn

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in th...

Stress, memory lapses, and brain fog aren’t just “part of getting older.” In this powerful conversation, Dr. Leonaura Rhodes, a physician turned executive coach, corporate trainer, author, and host of the Mindful Medics podcast, explains why your brain deserves as much love and attention as the rest of your body, especially in midlife.

After a career that began in the high-stress world of medicine, Dr. Rhodes experienced her own wake-up call: suffering from stress was not inevitable, and our brains have the power to heal and thrive at any age. Today, she draws from neuroscience, performance psychology, and lived experience, including a personal battle with Covid-related brain inflammation, to help high performers reduce stress, prevent burnout, and optimize brain health.

Together, we explore:
• Early, often overlooked signs that your brain may need more care
• Which brain changes are “natural” in midlife
• Small, science-backed habits to protect brain health, even in busy lives
• The surprising role relationships and emotional health play in brain resilience
• Why curiosity and lifelong learning protect against decline
• The truth about dementia and cognitive decline myths
• How to “fall in love with your brain” and why it matters

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to start building brain-healthy habits, this episode will remind you that your brain can recover, rewire, and thrive.

Connect with Leonaura: https://www.drleonaurarhodes.com

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in th...

What if menopause didn’t have to feel like the end of something and instead could be thought of as the messy, magical middle of becoming someone new?

In this episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne sits down with Sarah Stenton a UK based comedian, author, and menopause advocate best known as the creator of Middle Age Madness, to talk about how she turned her most difficult season into a movement of humor, healing, and hope.

Sarah shares candidly about her own midlife awakening, how hormonal shifts, identity changes, and unexpected chaos became an invitation to grow, laugh, and reconnect with herself. Together, Marianne and Sarah unpack:

• Some of the emotional and physical “madness” of menopause
• Why humor might just be the best (and most underrated) coping tool
• The stories we tell ourselves about aging, womanhood, and worth, and how to rewrite them
• What it means to find purpose through the mess, not after it

Whether you’re in the thick of it or just starting to notice the signs, this conversation is your reminder that you’re not losing your mind, you’re finding your magic.

Connect with Sarah: Middle Age Madness Face Book Page

Sarah's Previous Interview: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1938384/episodes/15012177-laughing-through-middle-age-madness-with-sarah-stenton.mp3?download=true

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in th...

What if your relationship with food wasn’t really about food at all?

In this conversation Marianne sits down with Jane McGuinness, Registered Clinical Counsellor and author of Always Hungry, to unpack the tangled relationship many women have with food, body image, and self-worth.

Jane’s story is both raw and deeply relatable, she lost over a hundred pounds, navigated divorce, and raised three children (one autistic/transgender), all while learning to reject the noise of diet culture and make peace with herself. With humor and compassion, she shares how she’s learned to live by love, kindness, and common sense instead of restriction, shame, and self-criticism.

Together, Marianne and Jane explore what it means to:
✨ Heal from emotional eating and find freedom beyond the scale
✨ Navigate the holidays with balance, mindfulness, and self-compassion
✨ Raise self-aware, resilient kids in a world obsessed with appearance
✨ Age with authenticity and acceptance instead of comparison or judgement
✨ Quiet the critical inner voice that keeps so many of us “always hungry” for something more

If you’ve ever struggled with your body, wrestled with guilt around food, or felt caught between self-acceptance and self-improvement, this episode is for you.

🎙️ Listen in to remember you are not broken, you’re becoming.

Connect with Jane: https://linktr.ee/janemcguinnesstheauthor

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in th...

What do you do when life shatters the story you thought you were living?

In this powerful episode of Message in the Middle, Marianne sits down with Valerie Silveira, a woman who has faced unimaginable heartbreak and somehow turned it into a mission to help others rise. When Valerie’s daughter Jamie was shot at 18, she survived, but only to be pulled into addiction by the very medication prescribed to help her heal. Twelve years later, Jamie was murdered.

Nearly a decade after that devastating loss, Valerie is still standing, still fighting for justice, and still choosing courage. She’s now an award-winning author, speaker, and podcast host who helps others take down the beasts in their own lives and live with unbreakable courage.

In this conversation, Marianne and Valerie explore what it really means to choose courage when it doesn’t come naturally. They talk about how to keep standing when your world collapses, what it looks like to fight for yourself after loss, and how forgiveness and resilience can transform even the darkest chapters into light.

If you’ve ever faced a season of loss, grief, or transition, this episode will remind you that you’re not powerless—and you’re never alone.

Key Topics:

• The difference between waiting for courage and choosing it
• What it looks like to fight for yourself after trauma
• Why getting back to “normal” isn’t the goal
• How forgiveness and resilience can coexist
• Building courage as a daily practice, not a one-time event

Guest Links:
Learn more about Valerie and her work at https://valeriesilveira.com/
Follow her on social: @ValerieSilveira
Check out her book Burn the Map wherever books are sold

Join the conversation:
If this episode spoke to you, please share it with a friend who needs to hear it and leave a review—it helps more women find our community.

Connect with Marianne:

• Website: Message In The Middle with Marianne
• Message In the Middle Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/422430469323847/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MessageInTheMiddle/playlists
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-demello-smith-678b9966
• Email: Contact | Message In The Middle with Marianne

Subscribe to Message In the Middle:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• YouTube

Leave Us a Review: If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review and share your favorite takeaway. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and bring you even more valuable content.

Keep the conversation going - Join us for more insightful conversations in the Message in the Middle Private Facebook Community & subscribe to Message in th...