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September/October 2026
EXPO 2026 GET CURIOUS. It Might Change Your Life A Lifelong Student of Inner Peace
Karen Mulvahill
The Lost Woman
contents covergirl
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Karen Mulvahill The Lost Woman
features
Our Mission: Women2Women Michigan was created to connect women with women for good to encourage, support, have fun, do business and provide links for women’s resources. DO YOU KNOW A MICHIGAN WOMAN AUTHOR WE SHOULD FEATURE? Submit your stories online at w2wmichigan.com. Article guidelines are under the magazine tab. WHY ADVERTISE WITH US? Women make the majority of purchasing decisions. They buy goods and services for their homes, gardens, businesses, entertainment, health and nutrition, the list is endless. They want to be informed and connected in their communities. Event-driven marketing makes education fun and rewarding. You can reach these women in a heartwarming environment at Women2Women Michigan events and through our magazine. READERSHIP & DISTRIBUTION
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Breaking the Silence 14 Rev. Dr. Lynn Nicole Weathersby
September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
Women2Women Michigan magazine is distributed to subscribers via US mail. It is also available at every Women2Women Michigan event, chamber events, and women’s organizations. It is professionally delivered to various locations throughout the area including restaurants, hospitals, retail locations and medical offices in southeastern Michigan. Interested in hosting a distribution location? Email us at office@w2wmichigan.com. Would you like to subscribe? Subscribe online or email us at office@W2Wmichigan.com. Women2Women Michigan magazine is published bimonthly. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher.
Note from 04 Our Editor Things 05 10Jennifer Gardner Bounce Back with Nurse T 08 Tarnesa Martin New Perspectives 10 Joy Dettling of Attraction 11 Law Katina Love Ask the Expert 12 Johanne Edwards Wellness Corner 13 Women's Dr. Melissa Vandermissen Health & Wellness Journey 14 Your Debra Loader Diary of a Hairapist 18 Jamie MacNeill Sparkle & Shine 20 Mimi Matthews That's Okay! 22 And Lisa Rena Scott Real Life Meditation 23 Trice Berlinski Girlfriend Getaways 24 Jessica Brown to Create 26 Called Colleen Kilpatrick & Finance 27 JillWomen Carr Home & Garden 28 Christine Stephens Shelf Life 30 Joanna's Joanna Lantzy
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from our editor
Empowerment Through Education Theme & Creating the Life of Your Dreams Dear Readers, When it comes to “Creating the Life of Our Dreams”, many of us may just want to move on rather than talk about it. Some of us have had our dreams and hopes dashed against the rocks of circumstances or disappointment. We want to encourage you to hope and dream any way. You never know when you will be successful. Our cover girl is perfect for this theme! Karen Mulvahill spent more than twenty years as a business executive, while she dreamed of being a writer. Having her on our cover is proof that she accomplished that dream. To make dreaming a bit less daunting, Debra Loader breaks the process down into manageable steps. You might even be tempted to try some of her ideas. I hope that you do.
WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN • www.w2wmichigan.com
Tarnesa Martin, whose focus is to help women heal and move into the life of their dreams, writes about how to live life after the healing.
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Our other theme “Empowerment Through Education” has our writers talking about all types of learning. In an interesting article, Colleen Kilpatrick explains how she became a student of inner peace. As the world around us begins to flip the palette of seasonal colors, Christine Stephens has wonderful and easy ideas
www.W2WMichiganc.om info@w2wmichigan.com
Debra K Collins
to begin decorating, as well as thinking toward the holidays. Women2Women staff has been working hard on our Expo, which is November 7 and 8, located in the Sloan Museum. We are very excited to have this community of amazing and supportive women back together again. Gathering with and enjoying those who are dear to us is an important element of the holidays and this Expo is a great way to usher in the holiday season. For more information check out the back cover. Bring everyone you can to experience this very fun venue, hear great speakers, and enjoy a bit of shopping. We are excited to see you there! You’ll want to be signed up for our newsletter to receive all the Expo details about vendors, tickets, prizes, and general information. Sign up at www.w2wmichigan. com. If you haven’t joined us on Facebook, it’s another way to keep in touch: www. facebook.com/w2wmichigan We’re walking with you, my friends, as we navigate our wonderful lives.
Publisher/Editor in Chief Debra@w2wmichigan.com
Mimi Matthews
Content Editor Mimi@w2wmichigan.com
Trice Berlinski
Executive Assistant Trice@w2wmichigan.com
Lisa Rena Scott
Marketing & Stategic Bus. Dev. Lisa@w2wmichigan.com
Joy, Love & Hugs,
, Editor
Sarah Bitner
Research & Development Sarah@w2wmichigan.com
Why not gift yourself a print copy subscription? Carry it with you to read during those times you are waiting for the next thing. Give one to your girlfriend—then discuss like a book club.
Stay informed of W2W happenings through our email newsletter. If you haven’t been receiving them, visit www.w2wmichigan.com and sign up!
Jennifer Gardner
Graphic Design & Layout Jen@w2wmichigan.com
10 Ways to BEcome the Life of Your Dreams PRACTICAL WAYS TO ALIGN YOUR THOUGHTS, ENERGY & ACTIONS WITH THE LIFE YOU WANT TO LIVE
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Focus Where You Want to Go.
BE It Before You See It.
Remember: You ARE Abundance.
Your attention feeds your experience. Catch yourself rehearsing what you don't want and deliberately redirect your thoughts toward what you want to create, feel and experience.
Stop waiting for your dream life to give you permission to become your dream self. Ask, “How would that version of me think, choose, speak and live today?” Then practice being her now.
Instead of treating money as the source of your security or freedom, practice seeing yourself as a participant in flow, creativity and exchange. Look for one way each day to create, receive, circulate or appreciate value.
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Stop Earning Your Worth. Your worth isn't a reward for productivity, beauty, success or approval—you arrived with it. Notice one place where you're still trying to prove yourself and choose differently.
“The world of the future is not created in your head. It’s created in your being.” — Sarah McCrum
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Take Ownership of Your Quality of Life. Your partner, job, children or circumstances cannot be responsible for creating your inner experience. Ask each morning, “What can I do today that would make my life feel better?” Then do one thing.
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Keep Your Dream in Sight.
Follow What Lights Up.
Take Inspired Action.
What you repeatedly return your attention to becomes easier to recognize, choose and build toward. Write your vision, create a visual reminder, or spend a few minutes each day imagining yourself living it—not longing for it.
Pay attention to ideas, curiosities, synchronicities and opportunities that create a genuine inner pull. When inspiration arrives, write it down and take one small step toward it.
Manifestation isn't passive. When something feels clear and alive, make the call, send the email, start the project, take the class or walk through the open door.
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Make Space for the New.
Practice Receiving.
It's difficult to build a new life while continually reinforcing the old one. Release one habit, commitment, belief, possession or pattern that no longer belongs in the life you're creating.
Don't spend your whole life asking and then resisting when goodness arrives. Practice accepting the compliment, opportunity, help, rest, money, love or unexpected gift with a simple: “Thank you.”
Jennifer Gardner is a wife and mother of two girls. She loves being creative with the ladies of Women2Women Michigan Magazine.
September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
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! t h covergirl ig N ls’ r i G
Grab your mom, sisters, and girlfriends for a night of laughs. #IMOMSOHARD began as a popular web series by reallife best friends, comedians, and moms Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley. One night, over a glass of wine and some tears of frustration, these two friends decided to tell a different kind of story. Kristin and Jen decided to speak out about everything related to womanhood and motherhood: hemorrhoids, nipple hair, sex after marriage, mom bods, Spanx, wedding dresses, and swimsuits - and the laughs haven’t stopped since.
Tickeatlse on S ! Now
Tickets starting at $53 / $39 for Genesee County Residents (total price includes fees)
Ask about our Capitol Club Box sponsorships and group discounts.
To see a complete season listing or to purchase tickets, visit thefim.org/events, or contact the FIM Ticket Center at 810.237.7333. Genesee County residents receive 30% off. “This program and/or service is funded in whole or in part by the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Enrichment Millage funds. Your tax dollars are at work.”
New this season: 9.2 10.1 10.3 10.16
Collective Soul The Rocket Man Show Jesse McCartney Who’s Bad - The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience 10.21 The Price Is Right Live! 10.25 Frightfully Fun Pops with the Flint Symphony Orchestra 11.13 Clue 11.27 Rent (through Dec. 13, Flint Repertory Theatre) 12.5/6 The Nutcracker 12.10 Cirque Dreams Holidaze 12.19 Holiday Pops 3.22 The Book of Mormon 4.9 Witch (through April 25, Flint Repertory Theatre) 4.17 The Perondi’s Stunt Dog Experience 5.5 Care Bears Live! 6.4 Finn (through June 20, Flint Repertory Theatre) Genesee County Residents Save 30% 6.6 The Wiz
Capitol Theatre
Karen Mulvahill
covergirl
Author | Blogger | Poet
Karen Mulvahill is one smart woman! After graduating in 1976 from Grand Valley, she worked in various secretarial roles until she could “talk her way” into a position as market research analyst. A short time later she landed a position as Market Research Manager at a large corporation in Detroit. For the next twenty years she “worked her way up” to Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
If you can recall those years or have read about women’s roles in business during the eighties and nineties you will know that there weren’t many women in positions of power. Karen was one of few women to be promoted to the Senior Vice President level and was often the only woman in senior management meetings.
Karen has a heart for helping women achieve more in business. She started a group within the company dedicated to mentoring younger women and served as a mentor in the group Mentium, working with a young woman from a different company.
Of interest to many of us is how our cover girls actually become an author. Karen says that she always wanted to be a writer but got sidetracked into a business career because she could see no way to support herself by writing. She was the only person in her family to get a college degree, and she never even considered graduate school. So she read a ton of books, participated in poetry workshops and finally began writing fiction. Just before the pandemic, she began an MFA program online through Lindenwood University and graduated in 2023. Much of that time, she was also involved in a group called The Writers Voice (now Springfed Arts) in Detroit, participating in poetry workshops and attending readings.
During her business career Karen came across the book The Rape of Europa by Lynn H. Nichols. She was fascinated by the stories of art looting during the Third Reich and the Second World War period and the Occupation of Paris. She thought that if she ever had time to write a novel that would be her subject.
In 2016, after reading thirty more books on the period, she spent a week in a writing workshop at Interlochen and churned out a first draft of The Lost Woman.
When things are tough, Karen receives strength from her friends and family and gains inspiration by reading about others who have made it through. One of the themes of her book is the search for authenticity. Her character, Nicole, witnesses and survives unthinkable horrors during the Occupation. Although she makes a new life for herself in NY, she is not completely authentically herself, having buried her past. Another character, Robert, also lives an inauthentic life, within a carefully crafted persona. There’s also a soldier, who dons multiple identities throughout the story.
While working in business, Karen herself had felt torn between the persona of business executive and poet. She says, “I laugh now at myself—I had different wardrobes and different sets of friends for each part of my life. It wasn’t until I was in my 40s and began to integrate the two that I felt really comfortable in my own skin.” She hopes her book will
be inspiring to people.
Other themes in her book include the meaning of art and the line between survival and collaboration.
Karen believes a reason to read this book is the terrifying parallels she sees between the authoritarian regime under which Nicole lived and the suppression of freedoms in the US today.
She opens her book with a quote from the journal of a young Parisian woman who was killed at Bergen-Belsen, not only for its profundity, but because she wants her to be remembered:
“For how will humanity ever be healed unless all its rottenness is exposed? How will the world be cleansed unless it is made to understand the full extent of the evil it is doing?” Helene Berr, 1921-1944 Kirkus Reviews named The Lost Woman to its Best Books of 2025 list. Karen says it’s a good read—a bit of romance, a mystery and a lot of drama.
Some “life lessons” she wants to share: • Never “dumb down.” Be proud of your accomplishments and let them be known. She took a class called “The Art of Brag” and learned that women in general have a hard time touting their abilities while the men around them are pounding their chests. • Network with other women and help others. • Be flexible, keep learning.
Where to find Karen and her book: Karen is on Goodreads and Facebook under her name. You can read a synopsis of her book and some of her poetry and short fiction on her website karenmulvahill.com Order Karen’s book at Bookshop.org, Thrift Books or Amazon.
September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
In addition to helping women in business, Karen was a member on the board (with a term as President) of Lighthouse PATH in Pontiac, an organization dedicated to serving victims of domestic abuse.
When her partner Dan, a car designer, received an offer from GM to work in Melbourne, Australia, Karen left the corporate world and joined him there for two years. She participated in a poetry workshop, took a class in novel-writing and wrote a daily blog. They returned to the US and now live in the Leelanau Peninsula.
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bounce back with nurse T
Living The Life Your Healing Made Possible H
ealing is not only about surviving what happened to you. It is about becoming emotionally free enough to experience the life that is still available to you. Many of us spend years praying, working, and fighting to heal from rejection, betrayal, disappointment, grief, divorce, trauma, or circumstances we never expected.
We learn how to recognize our triggers, establish boundaries, rebuild our confidence, and make peace with what we cannot change. But after doing the work to heal, another challenge may arise, which is choosing to live the life your healing made possible.
WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN • www.w2wmichigan.com
Sometimes we become so accustomed to protecting ourselves that we forget we are now safe enough to experience joy and live the life that our healing made possible.
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For years, I remained guarded, suspicious, and hesitant even after the season that wounded me had ended. My life had changed, but my thoughts and behaviors remained connected to the pain.
Then I realized healing was never meant to become another place where I stayed stuck. It was meant to prepare me for freedom, but I still had to choose to live the life my healing made possible. I had to give myself permission to live again.
Give Yourself Permission to Live Again
Living the life your healing made possible means giving yourself permission to enjoy what you prayed for. It means laughing without feeling guilty, resting without believing you must earn it, and celebrating yourself without waiting for someone
else’s approval. It means opening your heart to healthy relationships while still maintaining boundaries you worked so hard to establish.
You are no longer required to organize your life around what hurts you.
Your healing has made space for new friendships, opportunities, experiences, dreams, and even a new version of you. You do not have to continue proving that you survived. Now, you can begin discovering what it looks like to thrive.
Stop Abandoning Yourself For many people, healing includes recognizing the ways they abandoned themselves to maintain relationships, avoid conflict, or keep others comfortable.
You may have ignored your needs, minimized your feelings, or repeatedly given more than you received. You may have believed that being loved required unlimited access to your time, energy, and emotional capacity. Living healed means remaining kind without overextending yourself. It means matching people’s level of effort without matching their negative energy. It means understanding that boundaries do not make you selfish; they help you remain emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically healthy.
Allow Your Identity to Evolve
What happened to you is a part of your story, but it does not have to remain the center of your identity. You are more than the marriage that ended, the opportunity
you lost, the mistake you made, or the season that nearly broke you. You are also the wisdom you gained, the courage you developed, and the purpose that emerged from your pain.
You are allowed to become happy, healthy, healed, confident, peaceful, and successful. You are allowed to build a life that no longer resembles the season you had to escape.
Be Empowered to Live Better
Your healing created room for something new. Now you must decide to enter that space. You healed so that you could love differently, choose wisely and lead your life with purpose. This is your invitation to stop reflecting on how far you have come and begin experiencing where your healing has brought you.
You survived the pain. You completed the work. Now give yourself permission to live the life your healing made possible.
Tarnesa “Nurse T” Martin, is C.E.O and Founder of Empower to Live Better LLC: Life Transformation & Confidence Coaching, Author, Speaker, Founder of Women Who Win - Saying Yes to The Crown & The Patient Resource & Community Advocate for Hurley Medical Center. For coaching, community engagement consulting, Hurley Health support services or to share your story at Women Who Win, contact: empowertolivebetter@gmail.com or tmartin1hurleymc.com -810.262.6100.
September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
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do deep work with people — those carrying something heavy, big trauma, overwhelming grief, the kind of issues nobody else has been able to help them solve. Even though what my clients have been carrying has been tremendously heavy for them, the work itself moves faster and is much lighter than most other methods for resolving these things. One of my great intentions is to empower people to walk their own path long after our session ends, and my first piece of advice toward that is surprisingly simple: "Be curious."
Here's why. The people I work with are almost always standing at the edge of a major transition, whether they know it yet or not. They are about to change and life is about to change. The session itself opens that door. And curiosity is what propels them through it. Without curiosity, it's remarkably easy to stay exactly where you are.
CURIOSITY IS RARER THAN WE THINK
WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN • www.w2wmichigan.com
Look around. Most people live nearly identical days, one after another. Their thoughts don't shift much. Their opinions stay the same. They expect tomorrow to look roughly like today, and it usually does. This is because they've stopped asking questions that might disrupt that pattern.
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However we are not all like that… for better or worse, I'm not that kind of person. From the outside, my life probably looks wildly colorful, changeable, maybe even radical to some. I can look back at just about any year of my adult life and there is a different phase, pivot, and evolution transpiring in each one. I go through major change on a fairly regular basis, and if I trace that back to a root cause, it's curiosity.
Get Curious.
It Might Change Your Life To be honest, I used to be much more in the non-curious category. Surprisingly it didn’t lead me much as a child. I found school to be an unenjoyable experience and perhaps that smothered my curiosity. Every day was structured, predictable, nearly identical to the one before. I was told what to learn, when to learn it, and given almost no say in the matter. My own desires and whims got pushed aside while I memorized a curriculum of other people's thoughts and conclusions. And I began to expect every day to be like the last…
HOW MY CURIOSITY AWAKENED
The real shift happened when I got divorced in my late twenties. Up to that point, my life was mostly led by other people's expectations. I moved from one goal to the next and one version of "what I should do" to the next slowly losing bits of myself along the way. When the marriage ended, I had to face something uncomfortable: I didn't fully know who I was, because I hadn't been living as myself for the past few years...and in truth it felt like I had lost myself for most of my life. The grief of recognition, that I had lost myself, is what cracked me open. Suddenly I was curious about everything, starting with the most basic question: who am I? Following the separation was a brief period of travel, exploration, saying “yes” to everything and a sense of freedom I had never experienced before. From that point on, I moved through one phase of major change after another. I went through continued growth opening up my own gifts and my own voice. Curiosity didn't just accompany that process. It drove it.
WHAT CURIOSITY ACTUALLY DOES
Curiosity shakes loose the past. It loosens our grip on old identities, on the rigid beliefs we've built about who we are and how things have always been. And when the grip loosens, something shifts in the body. Curiosity puts us in a lighter state. It's an openness that's almost physical; your peripheral vision widens. Instead of staring straight ahead at the one problem, the one story, the one version of events, you can suddenly see the
whole landscape. And from that wider view, something new gets to catch your attention. Not because it wasn't there before, but because you finally had the openness to notice it.
That's the gateway. Once we're there, curiosity carries us straight into the higher emotional states: awe, wonder, a kind of beauty we have never seen before. What was old is suddenly new, because we're finally seeing the novelty and the specialness in every moment.
HOW TO GET CURIOUS WHEN YOU FEEL BLOCKED
If curiosity feels far away right now, it's not gone. It's just buried under routine, obligation, or old certainty. A few ways back in: • Ask "what if"?
• Break one small pattern on purpose. Take a different route home. Order the thing you'd never order. • Notice what you're certain about and challenge it. Pick one belief about yourself you've never questioned — "I'm not creative," "I'm too old for that," "this is just how I am." Ask where it actually came from. • Follow the whim, not the plan. If something pulls at your attention with no clear reason, follow it for ten minutes before you talk yourself out of it.
Ask questions, let something other than reason lead you for a day. Get curious, and see what’s possible.
Joy Dettling of Ignite Life specializes in helping individuals release unseen stuck stress patterns and embody their true potential. To find out more, visit ignitelife.net or contact joy@ignitelife.net.
law of attraction
Understanding the Law of Attraction:
Creating with Your Thoughts & Energy
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ore than 20 years ago, I discovered the Law of Attraction, and it changed how I viewed my thoughts, feelings, intentions, experiences, and life as a whole. As I continued learning, I discovered the Law of Vibration and how these principles work together.
The Law of Attraction is a spiritual universal principle based on the idea that what we consistently focus on influences what we attract and manifest. The Law of Vibration reflects our internal state of being, shaped by our thoughts and emotions. These principles work hand in hand, with our energetic state influencing what we attract and experience.
YOUR DOMINANT THOUGHTS MATTER Our dominant thoughts, the thoughts we repeatedly return to, can greatly influence how we feel.
When your dominant thoughts center on possibilities, gratitude, growth, love, and peace, you may feel more hopeful, confident, and motivated, attracting more favorable experiences.
This is how I understand vibration: Your thoughts influence your feelings, and your feelings influence the energy you carry into your life. HOW THE LAWS WORK TOGETHER The Law of Vibration is based on the spiritual belief that everything carries
According to the Law of Attraction, we tend to attract experiences that align with what we consistently focus upon.
You can desire happiness, abundance, love, better health, or new opportunities. But if your dominant thoughts remain centered on fear, lack, or disappointment, there can be a disconnection between what you desire and what you think and feel. FOCUS MORE ON WHAT YOU WANT Practicing the Law of Attraction doesn't mean you will never experience negative thoughts or emotions. There will be circumstances outside our control. The goal isn't perfection. The goal is awareness.
When you notice yourself focusing on something you don't want, redirect your attention toward what you do want. Instead of thinking, “I don't want to struggle financially,” focus on financial stability and creating opportunities.
Instead of focusing on how unhappy you are, ask, “What would I like to experience instead?” Then direct your thoughts and actions toward it.
BE INTENTIONAL WITH YOUR THOUGHTS Pay attention to your self-talk. Practice gratitude. Visualize yourself accomplishing something important. Write down your intentions and
surround yourself with people who encourage growth.
When an unwanted thought appears, recognize it and decide whether to continue giving it your attention.
THOUGHTS, INTENTIONS AND ACTION The Law of Attraction isn't simply about positive thinking and waiting for your desires to appear. Your intentions should also inspire action. If you desire a new career, learn about opportunities. If you want to start a business, take the first step. If you want healthier relationships, examine your boundaries and how you treat yourself and others.
Your thoughts establish direction, your feelings reveal your internal state, and your inspired actions move you toward your desired outcome.
More than 20 years after discovering these principles, one lesson stands out: Become intentional about what you consistently give your attention to. Focus on what you want to experience and take practical steps toward creating it. When you change what is happening within you, you may be surprised by what begins changing around you.
Katina Love | Ghostwriter • Author • Branding Advisor • Business Clarity & Visibility Coach | who empowers others to gain clarity, embrace their potential, share their stories, and create fulfilling lives.
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If you continuously think about everything that could go wrong, you may feel worried, fearful, or discouraged. Those feelings can influence your energy and attract more of the same.
energy. Our thoughts and emotions contribute to our energetic state, sometimes called our vibration or the “vibe” we give off.
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ask the expert Johanne Edwards, DNM, PhD, is a Doctor of Natural Medicine specializing in the three pillars of natural healing — physiology, mind/body medicine, and energy medicine. Her work explores how the body operates at all levels, and how beliefs, emotions, and perception shape our health as well. A practitioner and educator, Johanne has guided thousands of clients toward lasting healing by addressing the whole person — body, mind, and spirit. Edwards Natural Care LLC, drjohanneedwards.com, email: johanne. edwards@gmail.com. Ask the Expert is your opportunity to shine as a trusted voice. Whether you're in health, finance, home, beauty, or beyond — this feature connects your directly with our readers seeking real advice from real experts.
For more information about how to feature your business in Ask the Expert email info@w2wmichigan.com
Q A WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN • www.w2wmichigan.com
It seems that the more stressed I get, the more weight I gain. And it’s impossible to lose! Can you help me?
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You are eating reasonably well. You are trying to exercise. Yet the weight — especially around your midsection — refuses to budge. If this sounds familiar, the problem may not be your diet or your discipline. It may be your stress levels.
Chronic stress is one of the most overlooked drivers of weight gain in modern life. Through a cascade of hormonal events — led by the stress hormone cortisol — ongoing psychological and emotional stress can cause the body to store fat, increase appetite, disrupt sleep, and undermine even the most diligent health efforts. Understanding this connection is the first step to breaking the cycle.
What Is Cortisol and Why Does It Matter?
NATURAL MEDICINE
Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress. In the short term, it is essential — it sharpens focus, mobilizes energy, and helps the body respond to perceived danger. This is the classic fight-or-flight response, and it served our ancestors well.
The problem is that our bodies were not designed for chronic, unrelenting stress. When cortisol remains elevated day after day — due to work pressure, financial anxiety, relationship strain, emotional overwhelm, or even excessive exercise — it begins to work against us. The same survival mechanism that once protected us starts to drive inflammation, hormonal imbalance, and stubborn fat storage.
How Cortisol Drives Fat Storage
One of cortisol's primary functions during stress is to ensure the body has enough energy to respond to a threat. It does this by raising blood sugar levels and signaling the body to store fat — particularly visceral fat, the deep abdominal fat that surrounds the organs. This type of fat is not only the hardest to lose; it is also the most metabolically dangerous, linked to insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Chronic stress does not just exhaust the mind. It reshapes the body.
Elevated cortisol also blunts the body's sensitivity to insulin, meaning that even moderate carbohydrate intake can lead to greater fat storage than it would under calm conditions. The metabolism
slows, fat-burning is suppressed, and the body enters a kind of protective holding pattern — conserving energy rather than releasing it.
Stress, Cravings, and Emotional Eating
Cortisol does not just affect how the body stores fat — it directly influences appetite. High cortisol levels increase hunger, particularly for calorie-dense, high-sugar, and high carbohydrate foods. This is not a lack of willpower. It is biology. The brain under stress seeks quick sources of energy, and processed comfort foods deliver exactly the rapid blood sugar spike cortisol is looking for.
At the same time, chronic stress depletes serotonin and dopamine — the brain's feel-good neurotransmitters. This creates a feedback loop: stress triggers cravings, eating provides temporary relief, guilt or shame follows, stress increases, and the cycle begins again. Many people live in this loop for years without recognizing its hormonal roots.
The Sleep Connection
Cortisol and sleep are closely intertwined. Cortisol naturally peaks in the morning to help us wake and declines through the day. Chronic stress disrupts this rhythm — keeping cortisol elevated at night, making it difficult to fall or stay asleep. Poor sleep, in turn, raises cortisol further and increases levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, while lowering leptin, the hormone that signals fullness. The result: more cravings, less satiety, and a metabolism running on empty.
women's wellness corner
Breaking the Stress-Weight Cycle The good news is that the stresscortisol-weight connection is not a life sentence. The body is remarkably responsive when given the right signals. Addressing chronic stress through mind/body practices such as breathwork, meditation, yoga, and nervous system regulation has been shown to measurably lower cortisol levels and support healthy metabolic function.
You cannot out-exercise a stressed nervous system. Healing begins with calm.
If weight loss has felt like a battle you cannot win, consider that the missing piece may not be more effort — it may be less stress. The body does not thrive under pressure. It thrives under safety. Give it that, and it will begin to do what it was always designed to do: heal, balance, and restore itself.
Pass It On to Those You Love!
Once we hit menopause, and no longer worry much about what others think of us, we realize that a bunch of letters behind a name or a fancy car isn’t what creates happiness. WE create our own happiness, and that comes from within us and not from external forces. Instead of ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’, finding peace in each day we are blessed with is now the ultimate goal. But what if we forgot what brings us joy?
Things that brought us joy in earlier years may not be the same things that bring is joy in our later years. Fitting into a bikini after a baby, getting a promotion at work, finishing another postgraduate degree, or even running a marathon, may be goals of the past that we can look back on as we pave the way to our new self. Our brain goes through a lot of remodeling during our perimenopause years and is preparing us for this new stage of our life.
Instead of focusing on WHAT we need to know or learn, the focus may be better centered at HOW we can share the knowledge and wisdom we have gathered over the past several decades. With the changes happening at the neurological level after menopause, we now have more emotional control and cognitive empathy, which is the perfect prerequisite for teaching. This doesn’t necessarily mean becoming a school teacher, but rather teaching our children, grandchildren, and even greatgrandchildren, some of our skills that are lacking in our modern culture.
With the uprising of AI and technological advancements, it’s of upmost importance to learn some of the skills that will never be replaced by a robot (or at least should not be): learning to grow and preserve our own food,
making home-cooked meals, having the skills to fix common household items, the ability to sew or stitch on a button, or even being able to crochet or knit a blanket for a loved one. Leaning into skills that can be passed down generationally are much more meaningful than expensive gifts or a trust fund.
When I personally look back to the most profound memories I have with my grandma, they all contain her teaching something to me. Whether it was some of her gardening tricks, canning recipes, crocheting, natural healing remedies, knowledge of our Catholic faith, or just stories of the past, I will forever hold onto the knowledge and skills she passed down. I may not recall if she wore expensive jewelry or what car she drove, but I will not forget the time she spent with me and the love of sharing her skills. Joy isn’t always found with something shiny and new, but looking within ourselves at what we already exhibit. Take the time to reflect on what you can share with others, so your talent and skills may be compounded. And never forget that your time and love is worth much more than diamonds and rubies.
Dr. Melissa Vandermissen is a Chiropractor and Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, as well as a wife and a mom. She operates a fully virtual clinic, where she works with women from preconception through menopause. Dr. Melissa utilizes the best of science and nature to formulate personalized protocols for her clients so they can live out their full potential. You can follow her on Instagram at drmelissavandermissen or at thedrmelissa.com.
September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
Nutrition also plays a powerful role. Anti-inflammatory foods, adequate protein, healthy fats, and stable blood sugar all help to modulate cortisol's effects. Magnesium, B vitamins, and adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha and rhodiola have solid research behind them for adrenal support.
WE HAVE SUCH WISDOM
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your health & wellness journey
Creating the Life of Your Dreams Starts Within
Flourishing From the Inside Out When you picture the life of your dreams, what do you see? Maybe you imagine feeling healthier and having more energy. Perhaps you want meaningful work, stronger relationships, greater financial freedom, or simply more time to enjoy your life. We often think our dream life will begin when something around us changes—when we lose the weight, find the right job, earn more money, or finally have fewer demands on our time.
WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN • www.w2wmichigan.com
But what if you don’t have to change everything to begin creating the life you want? Maybe it starts with taking an honest look at where you are now, what matters most to you, and the next small step you can take. As a Health and Wellness Coach, I have learned that wellness is about much more than eating healthy and exercising. It includes every part of who we are.
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One model I use looks at eight dimensions of wellness: physical, mental, emotional, social, financial, spiritual, environmental, and vocational. Imagine these areas as spokes on a wheel. Each one helps your life move forward, and they are all connected.
When one area is struggling, it can affect the others. Financial worries may keep you awake at night. Lack of sleep may drain your energy, shorten your patience, and make it harder to focus at work. Before long, stress in one area begins spilling over into others.
Fortunately, the opposite is also true. When you strengthen one area, the benefits can spread. Better sleep may give you more energy to move your body. Exercise may improve your mood. A calmer mindset may help you make clearer decisions and respond more thoughtfully to the people around you.
One small change can create a positive ripple effect. That is why creating the life of your dreams isn’t only about setting bigger goals. It begins with understanding what flourishing looks like for you.
It is easy to follow someone else’s definition of success. We may chase what looks impressive, what others expect of us, or what we think we “should” want. But a life that looks wonderful from the outside may not feel fulfilling on the inside. What matters most to you? What gives you energy? What kind of person do you want to be? When your choices reflect your values and strengths, your life begins to feel more meaningful and more like your own.
Creating change also requires accepting where you are today. Acceptance doesn’t mean giving up. It means looking honestly and compassionately at your life without judging yourself. From there, you can decide what you would like to change.
One simple exercise I use with clients is the Wellness Wheel. You can try it yourself. Think about the eight dimensions—physical, mental, emotional, social, financial, spiritual, environmental, and vocational. Rate your satisfaction in each area from 1 to 10, with 1 meaning not satisfied and 10 meaning flourishing. There are no right or wrong answers. Flourishing looks different for each of us.
Once you choose a number, ask yourself, “What made me choose this number and not a lower one?” If you rated your emotional wellness a 5, what made you choose a 5 instead of a 2? Maybe you have a supportive friend, a practice that helps you manage stress, or a growing ability to set boundaries. This question
helps you notice what is already working.
Then ask, “What is one small step that could move me one number higher?” You don’t need to jump from a 5 to a 10. Your next step might be taking a ten-minute walk, preparing one nourishing meal, calling a friend, clearing one cluttered space, spending a few quiet moments in prayer, or making time for something that brings you joy. These actions may seem small, but small does not mean insignificant. The life of your dreams isn’t built in one dramatic moment. It is created through the choices you make again and again— the way you nourish your body, care for your lifestyle, direct your thoughts, and honor what matters most to you. Which area of your life is flourishing right now? Which area is asking for your attention? What is one choice you could make today that would bring you a little closer to the life you want?
You don’t have to change everything at once. Choose one area that matters to you and take one small step today. That one small choice can lead to positive changes in other areas of your life— moving you closer to a life that doesn’t just look good from the outside, but feels meaningful, fulfilling, and aligned with what matters most to you.
Debra Loader is a Christian Health and Wellness Coach, a Christian Life Coach, as well as a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). She helps women integrate their Christian faith into their health and wellness journey. Contact Debra at debra@debraloaderlivingwell. com , 810-287-4096.
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September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
Don't settle for boring.
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EXPO 26 WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN PRESENTS
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diary of a hairapist
Becoming Still
If
there were a frequent learner rewards program, I’d be platinum by now.
I’m 45 years old and still signing up for classes like there’s going to be a final exam on being alive.
WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN • www.w2wmichigan.com
I’ve studied writing, herbalism, yoga, nervous system regulation, menopause, business, beekeeping, Reiki, and yes, an actual course called How to Be Human. Twice. Apparently, I didn’t get it the first time.
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To be fair, after the last few years, I could probably use a third round. At this point I’d like to inquire about the lifetime membership option.
I’ve also taken a course called Dreaming Your Life Awake, spent sixteen weeks and counting in psychic development, made two buffalo hide drums with my own hands, learned from Indigenous teachers in the woods, wandered around forests identifying medicinal plants, and acquired enough information about the Vagus nerve to make me absolutely insufferable at dinner parties.
I am interested in almost everything.
Useful things. Useless things. Ancient things. Weird things. Things that make me better at my job and things that will never, under any conceivable circumstance, increase my earning potential. My internet search history is either evidence of a deeply curious woman or the beginning of an FBI investigation. There is no middle ground.
For most of my life, I thought education was supposed to lead somewhere.
You learned something so you could become something. You went to school, got the degree, got the job, climbed the ladder, became successful, and presumably one day woke up feeling like a fully formed adult who knew what she was doing. I kept waiting for that last part. Update: It has not happened. In fact, the older I get, the less interested I am in becoming a finished product.
Recently, I casually mentioned to my doctor that I was thinking about going back
to college just for fun. She literally laughed. Right in my face. Not in the supportive, “Oh Jamie, you’re hilarious” kind of laugh either. I laughed too. But, like, in a sad way.
Then I went home and researched degree programs anyway. Not because I want to leave my career. I genuinely love being a hairstylist. I love the creativity and the conversations. I love that people trust me with their stories while I’m standing behind them holding scissors. I love watching someone look at herself differently when I’m finished. I have spent decades learning my craft, and I still learn something every day I stand behind the chair.
But somewhere along the way, I realized I don’t have to choose one thing to be interested in just because I chose one thing to do for a living. That realization felt strangely rebellious. Maybe because women are handed so many invisible instructions about who we are supposed to become. Be ambitious, but not too ambitious. Be confident, but likable.
Be successful, but available.
Age gracefully, whatever the hell that means. Know who you are.
Have a plan. Preferably a fiveyear one. Meanwhile, I’m over here at 45 thinking, “Actually, I might learn how to identify mushrooms.”
And I think I like my way better.
The biggest education of my life hasn’t really been about adding more information anyway. It has been about unlearning. Unlearning the idea that there is one correct way to build a life. Unlearning the belief that intelligence is something another institution gets to certify. Unlearning the pressure to have everything figured out. Unlearning versions of myself I created because I thought they would make me acceptable, successful, safe, or loved. That kind of education doesn’t come with a diploma. Unfortunately, it also does not offer student discounts.
After my medical trauma and surgeries, learning became something else entirely. I wanted to understand my body because suddenly living inside it felt frightening and unfamiliar. I started reading about hormones, nutrition, inflammation, trauma, perimenopause and the nervous system. I wanted answers. What I mostly found were more questions. But something changed in the asking. Knowledge didn’t give me control over everything that had happened to me. It gave me language. It helped me advocate for myself. It helped me understand what I was feeling. It made the unknown a little less terrifying. I learned that sometimes education isn’t about knowing the answer. Sometimes it is about finally knowing which questions to ask. Maybe that’s why I keep learning.
Writing teaches me things I didn’t know I thought until I see them on paper. Yoga keeps teaching me that my body usually knows something before my brain is willing to admit it. Herbalism made me look at plants I had walked past my entire life and realize I knew absolutely nothing about them. Making drums connected me to something ancient, physical and impossible to explain neatly. Psychic development taught me to pay attention. Hairdressing has taught me more about
human beings than any psychology textbook probably could.
And How to Be Human?
Well, I took that one twice, so clearly we’re still gathering data. None of these things have made me feel finished. Quite the opposite. The more I learn, the more enormous the world becomes. Twentyfive-year-old me would have hated that. She wanted certainty. She wanted to know where she was going. She wanted proof that she was doing life correctly. Forty-five-year-old me is much more interested in wonder.
Becoming the kind of woman your younger self would recognize, not because you became exactly who she imagined, but because you finally stopped abandoning her curiosity. That part gets me. Because little me would think I am so cool. She would be wildly impressed by the drums. She would have approximately four thousand questions about the psychic development class. Oh I forgot to mention I’m reading into birding now too. Identifying their calls and finding them is a literal obsession I have. I think little me would be very relieved to know that we never became boring.
Maybe that is my advanced degree. Not knowing more.
Not finally figuring myself out.
Just remaining willing to be surprised. By the world. By other people. By my own life. By myself. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I hope I never do.
Anyway, I’ve got to go.
I just found a class on mushroom foraging that I have absolutely no business taking.
Knowing me, I’ll probably sign up anyway. Maybe I’ll see you there. ◡̈
In Diary of a Hairapist, Jamie MacNeill explores the sacred absurdity of modern womanhood, from the tangles in our hair to the tangles in our hearts. It’s wit with wisdom, scissors with soul, and proof that beauty and truth often come from the same messy place. Instagram: @ jamiemacneill, Facebook: Jamie MacNeill
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September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
AT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES Shop With Purpose. You shop & Donate. We Train. At Goodwill Industries of Mid Michigan, OF MID-MICHIGAN OUR each purchase is more than a great deal — Your donations give gently used items MISSION IS TO ASSIST it’s an opportunity. Discover amazing finds a second life, support sustainability, & INDIVIDUALS WITH on quality, affordable clothing, home goods, help someone gain the skills they need to succeed. The sale of your BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT and much more. Plus feel great knowing your dollars stay right here in the donations allows Goodwill Industries IN MAKING THE TRANSITION community. of Mid Michigan to provide job TO INDEPENDENCE AND placement, training & support services to individuals within your community. SELF-SUFFICIENCY.
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sparkle & shine “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” This quote of Mary Oliver’s changed me when I read it many years ago. It made me stop and consider how I was going to live the rest of my life. I decided that I wanted to live the best life possible: at home in my skin, being full of joy, and living with gusto. I began to give permission to—and even cultivate—several natural tendencies that had been buried for a while (people’s opinions can do that to you). Here they are:
Stay curious.
Whoever coined the phrase “Curiosity killed the cat” was most likely trying to control the behavior of a developing child! Growing up it was used to imply that “curiosity” was bad and you should not even think about investigating or asking questions. Well, a cat has nine lives so who cares?
WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN • www.w2wmichigan.com
As someone who never outgrew the “why” stage of development, and because of that suffered people’s frustration, I began to stifle my curiosity in front of others. This was before the internet (Google was created just for me, by the way, and you are welcome) and of course I read voraciously. But, I became hesitant. I was even told that I could be a bit intense when I met someone new and began asking questions about them and their life, and that I was nosy. (And yet, research shows that curiosity helps to build relationships.)
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Then, oh blessed day! I read a quote by Albert Einstein, who happened to be one of my favorite individuals, though I’m not exactly sure why. Perhaps it was his hair? Or that he got lost walking home? Or that he didn’t seem to give any care
or attention to what others thought of him. He was just living, and creating, and enjoying the journey! Here’s what he said that gave me permission.
“Curiosity and creativity are intelligence having fun.”
He described himself as “passionately curious”. Oh how I love you, Albert Einstein! Thank you for putting into words how I desire to live my life.
After many years of being made to feel less than, and even dumb, I realized that if Albert can claim that curiosity is intelligence, then I was going to embrace that with a wide open heart, which brought such freedom. I knew in a part of my brain that I was smart, but of course, that idea had been shut down. Because of my neuro-divergent brain I suffered the “square peg, round hole” syndrome all my life. But I really do love being curious (not that I can help it). The things I learn! I encourage you to be nosy, ask questions, and seek to learn new things.
By the way, there are many quotes about curiosity. Get curious and look it up!
Expect to be in awe and live in wonder.
We have become satiated and overwhelmed with information and visuals. The same platform I use to answer questions that dart through my brain on a very frequent basis, often leading me to times of awe, can also destroy our sense of wonder and awe. I believe that, along with extreme busyness, the endless scrolling of hyper visual stimuli has dulled our senses and depletes our desire for discovery. For example, let’s say that we are thinking about visiting the Grand Canyon. Like many people, we might
watch YouTube videos, “see” someone’s film of the view from a plane flying over it, observe amazing pictures of sunsets painting the sky around it, and read all about how it was carved out by the movement of water through rock. We may call that good enough, feeling as though we had experienced it.
We do know, however, that if a visit is possible nothing can replace being there in person, experiencing the awe (I hope) you’d feel at the vastness, beauty, and wonder of its creation. Not many things can ever make you feel that small in comparison. It can light you up and cause you to bow down. Although my own experience with the Grand Canyon was many decades ago, I will never forget it. I still feel a sense of awe, even reverence, when I recall seeing it.
This is how I live my life—pretty much filled with wonder. It’s a delightful, joyfilled way to live! Which leads me to my final encouragement.
Acknowledge your big, beautiful life.
We have been given quite a gift! No matter the circumstances, the troubles or worries, when we stop and realize that we are alive at such a time as this, in this gorgeous world, with precious and amazing people around us, with actual choices before us (many people do not have choices!), breath in our lungs and a heart that is capable of big love…don’t you see that you have such a big, beautiful life? I began saying this in response to people asking me (in the midst of troubles) how I was doing. And my heart fills with gratitude every time. Imprinted on my heart is the truth that I have a very good, fulfilling, and wondrous life! It truly is a great way to live! Be curious, display your intelligence, be in awe, and live your big, beautiful life!
Mimi Matthews is in the “encouragement business” as the owner of Empowordment Cards by Mimi. She is also a speaker, workshop leader, writer, and our editor. Visit her shop at www. etsy.com/shop/EmPOWordmentCards and her blog at www.particularpassions.me.
ONE BIG IMPACT
100 women. $100,000. Now let’s make it 200! Join Impact100 Genesee County for the 2027 Grant Annual fee is $1100. $1000 goes directly to grant, $100 covers administrative costs.
3rd Annual
Big Give
Tuesday, September 22nd, 5pm Factory One in Flint
Vision
Empower women to transform lives in Genesee County.
Mission
Build a diverse membership of generous women who accelerate positive change.
What We Do
Women of all ages, stages in life, income levels, ethnicities, and backgrounds pool their resources to fund transformational grants of up to $100,000 for existing Genesee County nonprofits.
Children, Families & Seniors Programs that strengthen and enhance the lives of children, families, and seniors. Education Programs that expand or improve learning, for children and/or adults. Environment, Recreation and Animal Welfare Programs focused on conservation, preservation, or improvement of natural resources; parks and recreation; agricultural sustainability; environmental education; climate action; and animal welfare. September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
Save the date to hear our 5 Grant Finalists present their projects with the winner of the $100,000 grant being announced that night. ALL are welcome to learn more about the incredible work happening in our community!
Arts & Culture Programs that foster greater exposure to or participation in arts and culture, expand arts education, or use art as a medium of creative expression.
Health & Wellness Programs that improve people’s mental and/or physical well-being and foster healthy living habits.
Recruiting New Members! HOW CAN YOU BECOME A MEMBER?
SCAN THE QR CODE OR VISIT W W W . I M P A C T 1 0 0 G E N E S E 21 ECOU N T Y.O R G / M E M B E R S H I P
and that's okay!
The
EDUCATION
You Never Got
Learning the Language of Your Feelings
Think about all the years you spent in a classroom. We are educated on everything from algebra to ancient history, but very rarely are we taught how to be experts on ourselves. We’re often told how to build a life that looks successful, but no one gives us the curriculum for how to understand the language of our own hearts. True empowerment doesn't come from a new degree or a better resume. It comes from the internal education of learning your own emotional language. Most of us are walking around "emotionally illiterate"—we feel things deeply, but we don't have the vocabulary to understand what those feelings are trying to teach us. We’ve been taught to view emotions as inconveniences rather than information.
When we don't have this internal education, we fall into the "Comparison Trap." We scroll through social media, see someone else’s highlight reel, and immediately feel like we’re falling behind. We start measuring our worth by their success, but that’s a false lesson. It’s like trying to pass a test for a class you aren’t even enrolled in. The only "grade" that matters is how your life actually feels to you. To build a life that is authentically yours, you have to start educating yourself on your own feelings. And that starts with the first step of my framework: Naming It. Here are three ways to start your own internal education today:
WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN • www.w2wmichigan.com
1.
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BUILD YOUR INTERNAL CURRICULUM
We often mistake "shoulds" for our own desires. We think we want the big house or the specific career because that’s what we’ve been "educated" to value by the world. To find your truth, start paying attention to the "Jolt." When you see something that makes your heart race— either with excitement or a little bit of fear—stop and Name It. • Why it works: This is the beginning of self-literacy. By naming the specific spark, you distinguish between a goal that belongs to the world and a path that belongs to you. It teaches you to stop chasing a generic ideal and start pursuing what actually resonates with you.
2.
AUDIT THE COMPARISON TRAP
When you feel that sting of not being "enough," pause and look at the source. Are you comparing your Tuesday morning to someone’s Saturday night? Write down three things about your journey that are real and true right now, even the messy ones.
• Why it works: This resets your internal yardstick. It educates you on the fact that growth is a process, not a picture. By acknowledging your reality, you stop the energy drain of comparison and redirect that power back into your own life.
3.
MASTER THE VOCABULARY OF "NAMING IT"
Stop using umbrella words like "stressed" or "fine." When a feeling shows up, get specific. Is it Longing (I want to explore that), Apprehension (I’m stepping into the unknown), or Alignment (This feels right)? • Why it works: Naming the feeling moves it from an overwhelming emotional response to a clear data point in your logical brain. It’s the difference between hearing a noise in the dark and turning on the light. Once you name the feeling, you can finally hear the message it’s trying to give you about your next step.
This is the most important education you will ever receive. When you start listening to your feelings as a guide, you stop chasing a destination and start creating a life that is authentically yours, one honest choice at a time. Because in a world that often tells us to ignore or dismiss our emotions, I’m here to remind you that whatever you’re feeling, it’s for a reason... And That’s Okay!
Lisa Rena Scott is a certified life coach, speaker, author of And That's Okay!, and podcast host. She believes every feeling is a signal carrying information we’ve been taught to dismiss or ignore. She helps people recognize emotional signals as tools for awareness, growth, and clarity through her “Name It. Claim It. Navigate It.” framework. www.lisarenascott.com
real life meditation beliefs, feelings, and reactions, which became hardwired.
Most people don’t remember being programmed. Certain characteristics and idiosyncrasies can readily be attributed to family members. However, there is a shadow side that is often buried, a background operating system. And it’s getting in your way.
Standing at the kitchen counter, I felt the energy of a lion’s roar rise up within me. My face contorting, I wanted to scream at my oldest daughter, “I guess we just won’t have dinner tonight!”
She was nine years old, looking for a pencil sharpener in the basement of our home. I told her it was on one of two counters yet she still couldn’t find it.
Knowing I was running behind with dinner and that the girls’ father would be upset if they got to bed late, I was in a state of fight or flight.
A month ago, I was at one of Jon KabatZinn’s retreats in California. Saki Santorelli was leading the retreat. Savoring a cup of coffee, my gaze rested on Saki up on the stage. Not being a morning person, I was ready to hear a poem at most. Instead, Saki said we would be doing a 45-minute walking meditation.
To entertain myself, I created a game where I would stop walking if my mind started to wander and wouldn’t start again until I returned my focus to the present.
The room was crowded as most of the participants chose to remain indoors for the activity due to rain. I picked my 6 feet of space and began walking. Within minutes a woman nearby invaded “my” space!
I stopped and let go of where my mind may have taken me, noting the word “invasive”. I returned to walking.
This realization allowed an emotional release. Following the meditation, I felt like I had gone through a year and a half of therapy.
The benefits of Walking Meditation were also realized that day with my daughter when I was trying to get dinner ready. Instead of roaring like a lion, I did the walking meditation toward the basement door. Halfway there, without thinking, there was a memory I felt in my body from when I was younger, about my mom being needy. In that moment, I realized I wasn’t actually angry with my daughter, but instead triggered by the neediness of my mother in the past. I didn’t yell at my daughter. In fact, I never yelled at either of my children again unconsciously.
Prior to this event, I yelled at them from a place of frustration and emotion at least once a month and then I would spend 3 days loathing myself. For a long time I didn’t realize the emotions were rooted in the past. Releasing this burden has been a tremendous gift to not only me but my relationship with my girls as well as others. Like me, you’ve been programmed. When you were young, your parents, siblings, and others you spent a significant amount of time with, had such an effect on you that over time they influenced your thoughts,
There are two different categories of programming: passive and aggressive. The first one is where you are quietly following the same set of beliefs, thoughts, feelings and behaviors. This happens, for example, when choosing a partner like one of your parents, oftentimes not realizing the similarities until years later. The second one is where you are triggered and become reactive to a situation, person, place or thing. This is what happened to me when I had children, who naturally were needy like my mom. Note that my grandmother died when my mom was 4 years old. The next time you find yourself annoyed with someone, pause to consider if your reaction matches the current event or if it might be a response to something from the past. It may even be something from your recent past rather than your childhood.
Unfortunately, we may not ever be aware of all our triggers and sometimes we still cannot control the way we react to the ones we are aware of. Training in awareness, and practices such as walking meditation, provide an opportunity to distance ourselves from our reactions and make better choices so that relationships are not damaged.
Oh, and the pencil sharpener…it was in a completely different location than I thought!
Trice is a Meditation Therapist, certified in Mindfulness Meditation and the Neuroscience of Meditation. Email her at Trice@ presencetopupils.com for a free 20-minute consultation. Www.presencetopupils.com.
September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
I first learned about walking meditation in a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) class and had been teaching it for the past 3 1/2 years. While I deeply respect the value of walking meditation, I wasn’t personally enthralled by the practice.
Over the course of the 45 minutes two other words surfaced: invisible and irritated. I didn’t foster these words. They just came into my mind, as did the realization that I wasn’t bothered by the woman getting in my space, but rather was triggered by past experiences where my mother routinely talked to me as I was trying to do homework, sleep, and even work at my job.
It’s unconscious yet it is the driving force behind your behavior. You don’t understand it, and therefore you find yourself in relationship problems, often repeating the same patterns over and over again.
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girlfriend getaways
Read the World’s Pages Through Travel My own book of travel has multiple pages and chapters. I’ve been blessed to experience an array of genres including historical, romance, exploration, self help and more. The different types of travel are as numerous as the genres of books in the world and the learning gleaned from each is just as strong.
WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN • www.w2wmichigan.com
I have walked in the footsteps of Alexander the Great in Ephesus, explored the palaces of Sultans in Istanbul, cried tears under the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. I have dined on the beaches of Mexico under the stars, chased the Northern Lights in Iceland and touched both the Northern American and Eurasian tectonic plates at once. In October I get to experience a
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“The world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only one page.” - Saint Augustine
Women’s Retreat where those of us who are used to being caretakers are cared FOR. Each of these trips has educated me more than all 12 years of school, 4 years of a bachelor's degree and all the books I’ve read. Traditional education sets the foundation for learning but travel travel brings the themes to life! Travel is a 3D, 360 degree classroom complete with emotion, taste, and touch—turning abstract history lessons into living, breathing reality.
Given my profession as a travel advisor, I was intrigued by this month’s themes, “Empowerment Through Education” and “Creating the Life of Your Dreams”. I feel
like both pertain to the experiences I’ve had and what I do every day in crafting my clients’ dream vacations. Each trip is designed like a book - they tell the story of the destination, the locals are the characters, the experience has adventure and we learn from it all.
I know what travel means to me and what it has taught me so I was curious what others in my travel community would describe as the favorite things they’ve learned from travel. They had some great insight:
“The unplanned stops are the ones my family most remembers”
“People in other countries really appreciate it when visitors try to speak some of their language. Travel will enable you to ask for the bathroom in several languages!”
“Embrace the differences in others and enjoy the experience”
-Chris B
-Tanja L
-Leigh L
“The best restaurant recommendations come from locals”
“It’s always the thing you plan the least that you enjoy the most!”
-Hope B
“(I love) learning how simply others live their lives in other countries” -Marty C
-Leigha B
For me personally, my most treasured lessons come in the way travel has shaped me. Without travel, my one page would be short. By adding travel, I’ve added many pages that have expanded my mind, helped create empathy and understanding for others, taught me how precious life is and how lucky I am to live the life I do in this great big world.
“Sometimes the lesserknown places are the most enjoyable” -Tammy S
Jessica Brown is a full service travel agent and owner of Wayfinder Travel Group in Davison, Michigan. She specializes in travel for couples and groups to destinations all over the world. www. wayfindertravelgroup.com
Breaking the Silence
F
When Childhood Trauma Has No Expiration Date
or years, I worked with children inside Michigan’s residential treatment system. Every day, I met young people who had already experienced more trauma than most adults could imagine. Many had been removed from abusive homes, survived neglect, or entered treatment carrying emotional wounds that would take years to heal.
What I never expected was that some of those children would one day tell me they experienced additional trauma while living inside the very institutions that were supposed to protect them.
Today, many of those children are adults, and they still reach out to me. Some simply want to reconnect. Others finally feel safe enough to share the stories they were too afraid to tell when they were young. Their voices are filled with courage, but also with the heartbreak of wondering whether anyone will believe them now.
As someone who has dedicated my career to advocating for children and families, I have learned that healing rarely follows a predictable timeline. Trauma does not recognize birthdays, graduation dates, or legal deadlines. Yet for many survivors of institutional abuse, justice has been limited by statutes of limitations that often expire long before survivors are emotionally prepared to come forward.
Across the country, survivors have come forward with allegations of abuse involving residential treatment centers, juvenile facilities, religious organizations, schools, and youth-serving institutions. Michigan has not been immune to these conversations. Former residents from facilities, including Vista Maria—where I once worked—have shown extraordinary courage by publicly sharing their experiences and seeking accountability. Their willingness to speak is not an indictment of every employee who dedicated their lives to helping children, nor does it suggest that Vista Maria is the only institution facing difficult questions. Rather, it reflects a broader reality: institutional abuse can occur anywhere
oversight fails and vulnerable children are not adequately protected.
These survivors deserve to be heard.
When children live in residential care, they are entirely dependent on adults for their safety, education, medical care, and emotional support. Reporting abuse while living inside an institution is often far more complicated than people realize. Many children fear retaliation. Others worry they will not be believed. Some have already experienced years of adults dismissing their voices and have learned that silence feels safer than speaking.
Psychological research consistently shows that delayed disclosure is common among survivors of childhood abuse. The developing brain often relies on survival mechanisms such as dissociation, repression, or compartmentalization to cope with overwhelming trauma. As a result, many survivors do not fully understand or disclose what happened until years—or even decades—later. When the law tells those survivors they waited too long, it ignores the very nature of trauma. Restrictive statutes of limitations also affect more than individual lawsuits. Civil litigation often allows attorneys to obtain internal records, personnel files, and other documents that can reveal patterns of misconduct or institutional failures. When legal deadlines prevent those cases from moving forward, opportunities for transparency and accountability may also be lost. Reforming these laws is not about punishing organizations simply because time has passed. It is about ensuring that
Throughout my career, I have met countless professionals who entered this field because they genuinely wanted to help children heal. Their dedication should never be overshadowed by the actions of those who abuse positions of trust or by systems that fail to respond when concerns are raised. Accountability protects not only children but also the thousands of ethical professionals who work every day to provide safe, compassionate care.
The former residents who continue to share their stories remind us that courage has no deadline. Their willingness to speak is an act of hope—hope that future generations of children will be safer because someone finally listened.
Michigan has an opportunity to demonstrate that protecting children matters more than protecting institutional reputations. Reforming statutes of limitations acknowledges what survivors have always known: trauma does not heal on a calendar, and justice should not expire because healing took longer than the law anticipated. Every child deserves to feel safe. Every survivor deserves to be heard. And every institution entrusted with children’s lives should be held to the highest standard of accountability.
The children who once believed no one would listen are speaking now. The question is whether we are finally ready to hear them.
Rev. Dr. Lynn Nicole Weathersby, D.Hum.L., Hon. D.D, is a behavioral health professional, author, and mental health advocate with nearly two decades of experience working with vulnerable populations. She is the founder of Weathersby Consulting Services and is dedicated to trauma awareness, healing, and empowering individuals through education and advocacy.
September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
Michigan’s ongoing conversation about reforming these laws is about much more than legal procedure. It is about whether we are willing to believe survivors when they finally find their voices.
institutions entrusted with children’s care remain accountable for protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities.
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called to create
I
A Lifelong Student of Inner Peace
was just a kid when my mother first taught me what to do when anxious thoughts crept in.
We were sitting in our backyard, talking about whatever was troubling my 12-yearold mind that day. Mom looked up.
“See those birds above us?” she asked. “You can't control which ones fly over your head, but you can control which ones make a nest in your hair. The same is true of your thoughts. You can't control every thought that comes into your mind, but you can choose which ones you allow to stay.” I have carried that lesson with me ever since.
My mother, a yoga teacher in the 1970s, understood something unusual for the time: the mind and body are deeply connected, and each can influence the other. With her guidance, I learned to settle myself with simple breathing techniques and shift my attention from anxious feelings to the beauty of the world around me. I didn't know it then, but my mother had introduced me to a subject I would continue studying for the rest of my life: the cultivation of inner peace.
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Decades later, life gave me reason to pursue the topic with greater purpose.
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At an annual checkup, my cardiologist expressed concern about a heart condition of mine he'd been monitoring. His parting words were, “Whatever you do, avoid stress.” Two months later, my sweetheart was diagnosed with cancer.
Ten months later, he was gone.
In the weeks following his death, there was little room to tend to my grief. Legal and financial matters demanded attention, along with two homes and yards that had gone largely unattended and a household of belongings to sort through. At the same time, I was learning how to navigate life on my own and working to rebuild the business I'd set aside to care for him. Seven weeks later, I needed emergency open-heart surgery.
As I recovered, I became acutely aware that my heart beat differently depending on my emotional state. Cardiac rehab was only part of the picture. Caring for my heart also meant tending to my inner state. I couldn't always control my circumstances, but I could deepen my ability to meet them with greater calm. About that time, I found a small card whose message captured what I was seeking. I posted it in my kitchen, where it has remained ever since:
“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”
And so, quite deliberately, I rededicated myself to the study of inner peace.
I read, researched, listened to podcasts, attended workshops and experimented. I learned from ancient practices and modern science, faith and prayer, nature and observation, and life's hardest seasons. I also learned from people whose calm I admired, asking how they moved through life that way. Over the years, a handful of simple practices have become part of my life: counting my breaths, feeling the calming vibration of humming, tapping acupressure points, experiencing the soothing power of nature, and simply placing my hand over my heart while reminding myself, “I'm here. I'm safe. This too shall pass.”
I've also learned that finding peace isn't necessarily about what we add to our lives, but what we're willing to subtract from them.
And I've learned to look for what is good and beautiful. A monarch butterfly resting on a pink zinnia. The rising sun illuminating a million drops of dew on the grass. Someone's unexpected kindness.
Perhaps what surprises me most is how often my lifelong search has led me back to the wisdom my mother shared all those years ago: our thoughts matter. Our breath matters. Our environment matters. Where we place our attention matters. Last weekend, I stood before an audience and shared many of the practices I've collected over the years. In preparing to teach, I realized something I hadn't fully appreciated: I had been studying this subject for most of my life.
I hadn't pursued this education for a grade, a diploma or a degree. I had pursued it because the question mattered enough to keep seeking the answer.
And I'm still seeking.
I don't consider myself a master of inner peace. I'm a student of it. I continue to read, ask questions, try new things and pay attention to what helps me find my way back when life knocks me off center.
Perhaps some of our most meaningful educations begin that way—not with a course we sign up for, but with something we deeply want or need to understand.
And if the subject matters enough, perhaps we never graduate.
Colleen Kilpatrick is a speaker, storyteller, and wellness advocate. The author of Eliminate What You Tolerate, she supports women as they navigate the brave work of letting go of what no longer serves them and making space for what truly lights them up.
Where Dreams Meet Dollars
M
women & finance
ost people think financial planning begins with numbers. I believe it begins with a dream.
Financial plans aren't just built around investment returns, they're built around purpose. Before deciding where to invest your money, first decide what kind of life you want your money to enable. I’ve written before about knowing your “why” and how this can drive your financial and investment decisions.
Financial planning can be empowering because it is designed to give you more than information. It can help build confidence. It can turn uncertainty into clarity, fear into action, and wishes into achievable goals. Every lesson you learn, from budgeting to investing to retirement planning, can become another tool for designing a life that's intentional rather than accidental.
The most empowering question isn’t “how much do I have?” but “what kind of life am I trying to build?” Once you have answered that question, spending and investing decisions can become easier to evaluate. You can make your purchases more intentional. Did you decide that travel and experiences are more important to you than “things”? Then instead of impulse buying on Amazon, you can direct your funds to a travel fund and dream about your next vacation. Do you prioritize longevity? Then perhaps buying an expensive piece of exercise equipment or a beauty treatment is justified. It doesn’t have to make sense to others; what matters is what you value.
Consider the example of two women. One thinks of financial planning as investing money and spends years chasing a larger portfolio. She chases performance and returns, but no positive number is ever enough. She has a goal to grow her money, but she doesn’t know what the end goal is. What does she need to retire? What would make her happy? She only knows that “more” seems to be the answer.
The second woman starts with her dreams. She brainstorms with her advisor about what really matters to her and relies on the advisor to craft a plan to accomplish these goals. She doesn’t have to take unnecessary risks in her investments because she knows her investment approach is realistic and supports her goals. She is content because she knows her plan - when she can retire, what she can spend, what she needs to save, and how to protect her lifestyle. She also knows that she can shift the plan if she needs to because she has a wealth partner to guide her along the way.
The ultimate goal isn't simply to accumulate wealth. It's to create the freedom to spend your time, energy, and resources on the people and experiences that matter most. Education and engagement with an advisor don’t guarantee you'll achieve every dream, but they can set you on the right path and help you better evaluate your options.
You may not have the time to become a financial expert, and you shouldn’t have to. Relying on a financial advisor to help you think through all of the important elements, including savings, cash flow, tax planning and risk management, may have an impact on your dream becoming a reality. Jill Carr, CPA, CFP®, CEPA®, CPFA® Jill is a Senior Wealth Advisor in the Beacon Pointe Flint, MI office. She specializes in empowering individuals and families through comprehensive financial planning, drawing on deep expertise in taxes, estate planning, and personal finance. Deeply rooted in the Flint community, Jill serves on several boards of nonprofits in the area. Outside of the office, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, and staying up to date on the latest TV shows.
Important Disclosure: Jill Carr is a Senior Wealth Advisor at Beacon Pointe Advisors, LLC. The information contained in this article is for general informational purposes only. Opinions referenced are as of the publication date and may be modified due to changes in the market or economic conditions and may not necessarily come to pass. Forward-looking statements cannot be guaranteed. Any examples are hypothetical and provided for illustrative and educational purposes only; they are not intended to represent any specific client experience, testimonial, or endorsement, and outcomes are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Beacon Pointe has exercised all reasonable professional care in preparing this information. The information has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable; however, Beacon Pointe has not independently verified or attested to the accuracy or authenticity of the information. The discussions, outlook, and viewpoints featured are not intended to be investment advice and do not consider specific investment objectives or risk tolerance you may have. All investments involve risks, including the loss of principal. Consult your financial professional for guidance specific to your circumstances.
September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
Confidence is born from understanding the money you already have. You can also improve your financial confidence by educating yourself. Financial literacy helps you say “yes” to opportunities and “no” to situations that don’t serve you. The path becomes clearer.
WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?
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home & garden
Living, Learning & Celebrating the Season to year. Sometimes we cover a long table under the trees with paper, pour everything down the center and eat with our hands. Other years, I bring out the linen tablecloths and beautiful dinnerware and make it a little more elegant. I walk through the garden, cut whatever is blooming and create a few simple arrangements for the table. Guests come dressed for the weather, and for a few hours, we all slow down, gather around the table and celebrate the arrival of a new season. And maybe that idea of slowing down while continuing to experience life is something I've come to appreciate even more as my children have grown.
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Fall is truly one of my favorite times of year, I just wish it would slow down and stay with us a little longer. There is something about the cooler nights, the bounty from the garden, football games, changing leaves and, of course, everything pumpkin that makes this season feel so special.
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It is also one of my favorite times to entertain and enjoy family and friends. A few years ago, we started hosting a fall shrimp boil, and it has become such a fun tradition. I send out invitations and ask each couple to bring a one-pound bag of raw shrimp. It takes much of the expense out of hosting a larger gathering, and we provide everything else; the vegetables and ingredients for the boil, bottled water, wine, Oktoberfest beer and plenty of warm, crusty bread and warm apple pie. What I love is that the same party can feel completely different from year
teaches me something. I don't want to lose hours endlessly scrolling or mindlessly watching one thing after another. Time is simply too valuable. Creating the life of your dreams doesn't necessarily mean completely reinventing your life. Sometimes it means being curious enough to try something new, brave enough to walk into a room where you don't know anyone, and open enough to discover what might be waiting for you there. Recently, I attended an event by myself. It would have been easy not to go because I didn't have someone joining me, but I went anyway ...and had a wonderful time. I met so many interesting people and came home glad that I hadn't allowed being on my own to keep me from experiencing something new.
This issue of Women2Women celebrates empowerment through education and creating the life of your dreams. I think we sometimes associate education with classrooms, degrees and a particular stage of life. But learning doesn't have an expiration date.
There is a whole world of people to meet, places to explore, things to learn and experiences waiting for us. We just have to be willing to show up.
At this stage of my life, I'm constantly looking for ways to expand my mind, discover new interests and uncover talents I didn't even know I had.
So take the class. Attend the lecture. Learn the game. Host the dinner. Go to the concert—even if you have to go by yourself.
I love taking cooking classes and flowerarranging seminars, attending wine tastings, listening to art and antique lectures, and enjoying free concerts. Recently, a group of friends and I decided to learn how to play mahjong. Are we experts? Absolutely not! But we're learning something new, spending time together and having a lot of fun along the way.
And when in doubt? Throw on some lipstick and get out there.
I've become much more intentional about how I spend my time, too. If I'm going to watch television, I want it to be a program I'm interested in or a documentary that
The world is your oyster. Keep learning, keep discovering, and create a life that you can't wait to wake up and live. Christine Stephens “For those who find beauty in the everyday - welcome to The Green Table.” The Green Table Home & Garden.
Ron’s Shrimp Boil Recipe Made popular in the south, this one-pot summer meal is full of juicy shrimp, smoky sausage, sweet corn and tender potatoes cooked in a perfectly seasoned broth. Not only is this shrimp boil a simple meal to put together as everything cooks in one pot, it's full of flavor thanks to the Old Bay Seasoning. INGREDIENTS 4 quarts (1 gallon) water 1 can of beer (I use an Octoberfest) 1/2 cup OLD BAY® Classic Seafood Seasoning 2 tablespoons salt 8 medium red potatoes, quartered 2 large onions, cut into wedges 2 pounds lean smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces 8 ears fresh corn, shucked and halved crosswise 4 pounds jumbo (21 to 25 count) shrimp, shells on INSTRUCTIONS Bring water, beer, OLD BAY and salt to boil in 12-quart stockpot on high heat. Add potatoes and onions. Cook 8 minutes. Add smoked sausage. Cook 5 minutes. Add corn. Cook 7 minutes. Stir in shrimp. Cook 4 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Drain cooking liquid. Pour contents of pot into large serving bowl or platter or mound on paper-covered table. Sprinkle with additional OLD BAY Seasoning if desired. Just before serving, top with a few lemons. Enjoy!
September/October 2026 • WOMEN2WOMEN MICHIGAN
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30
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Leo Tolstoy once wrote, “True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” That sentiment perfectly captures the heart of James Clear’s Atomic Habits, a book that has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Clear masterfully blends scientific research with relatable stories to explain why we do what we do, and how the smallest daily choices can shape the course of our lives. While much of the advice reinforced principles I already believed, I appreciated the thoughtful way he broke down the psychology of habit formation into practical, actionable steps. If there’s one audience that would benefit most, I’d recommend it to young adults just beginning to build careers, relationships, and lifelong routines. It’s the kind of book that offers tools many of us wish we’d had decades earlier.
Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko introduced me to a style of storytelling that felt refreshingly different from much of Western literature. Spanning three generations of a Korean family through war, displacement, and resilience, the novel is sweeping in scope but still remarkably intimate. What fascinated me most was the understated way pivotal moments unfolded. Rather than lingering dramatically on life’s tragedies and triumphs, the story quietly acknowledges them before moving forward, a lot like life itself. It’s a beautifully written novel that offers both a compelling family saga and meaningful insight into identity, belonging, and perseverance across cultures.
Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden is a debut novel that lingers long after the final page. As a musician and attorney, Levi brings both lyrical prose and careful craftsmanship to his storytelling. From the beginning, one question keeps readers turning the pages: Who is Theo? Is he simply a generous man who anonymously gifts portraits to strangers, or is he quietly seeking redemption for a past that still shapes his present? Levi gradually reveals the answer with warmth, grace, and emotional depth. By the novel’s conclusion, I found myself wishing I could spend a little more time in the charming town of Golden, and with the unforgettable people who call it home.
Great books change minds; the best ones though, change lives. From my bookshelf to yours, until the next chapter, happy reading!
Joanna *Joey* Lantzy is a writer, reader, community advocate, and insurance producer with Hartland Insurance Agency. A Brighton High and Michigan State graduate, she proudly calls Livingston County home.
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