The Life Actually Podcast

It didn't take Amanda Greenspan-D'Souza long to realize her now-husband was "the one" when they first met. She expected them to get married and start a life together at some point. What she didn't expect was how quickly that point would arrive. But four months into dating they both had to make a life-changing decision as he faced possible deportation back to his native India. The result? They had two weeks ...

Elizabeth DiAlto is all about telling it like it is. Because when we have a deeper connection to ourselves through embodied living and self liberation, well, we have the tools needed to help us through the difficult times. But Elizabeth never planned to become the spiritual guide that she is today. No, she was going to become a millionaire selling knives. And, yes, you read that correctly! But after experiencing burnout at just 25 ...

On paper Tiffany Paul was living her own definition of success. Happily married, a mom of two, and working her way up the corporate ladder over a 10-year career at Proctor & Gamble. But what that on-paper success didn't show was the struggles it took to actually become pregnant and then the struggles to find joy and satisfaction in the career she was building. It all made her wonder, was this where her heart was leading he...

For as long as she can remember Femi Olafioye-Omogbehin wanted to be in a relationship. In fact, the rest of the details of her plan were pretty fuzzy. Because the real expectation was to fall into her husband's plan. But as she grew up, Femi realized how much this plan was shaped by her own internalized racism. The daughter of Nigerian parents, she also realized how little she saw of women who looked like her in the mainstrea...

Gigi Robinson's life changed in ways she never could have expected at the age of 11 when she was diagnosed with a chronic illness.  It altered not only her childhood but also her dreams for the future. Now just 23, this New York City-based content creator has already experienced living with chronic pain, disordered eating, and pushing herself to the point of burnout in college. Not to mention graduating from college during a g...

What do you do when you're 32 and find everything you've spent your life working toward just disappear before your eyes? This was Ruth Chan's reality when she found herself getting a divorce at the same time that she lost her job. For a while she didn't know her way forward. Especially because she had spent her life assuming it would all go according to plan like the rest of her friends. Instead Ruth made a comp...

There are so many topics and life experiences for women that have been silenced by society, including being childless not by choice. Which is something Jody Day is on a mission to change. As the founder of Gateway Women, a global friendship and support network for childless women, she is a voice for so many who are facing a reality they never expected in life. Jody's own life has followed an unexpected path as well. From endin...

Ever since she was young Debbi Rice wanted one thing in her life--to be single. Okay, maybe two things--to be single AND amazing. What she didn't expect were the societal pressures, especially from her church, that would push her toward marriage, even when she knew it wasn't right for her. Years later now Debbi truly is living her single and amazing life. She even created a community to support other women who are looking...

Getting married, having kids and achieving professional success.  That is exactly how Winn Clark expected her life to go.  The professional success?  She had that covered.  But a husband and family?  That was a lot more difficult to find.  Winn struggled through years of being single, eventually coming to the difficult realization that she might never have kids.  But she never gave up on the idea of love.  Winn is now happily engag...

For years Paola Rosser was punishing herself for her traumatic and abusive childhood. She knew she wanted a better life but she didn't know how to make that happen. After years of falling into the same patterns, Paola realized her fate was in her own hands. She also discovered what it truly means to manifest the life you so desire--and spoiler alert, it isn't just about making a vision board. Paola is now the founder and ...

Cat Cantrill didn't really have a plan for how she wanted her life to go, but she did have a very strong idea about how her life should go. As a result, she found herself married at 22 even though she had doubts about the relationship heading in. Even after divorcing 13 years later and navigating life as a single mom, she still felt the pressure of how her life was supposed to look. It wasn't until years later that she ga...

Sandra Rodriguez Bicknell has found her purpose. And it all began when she finally shared her voice through her bestselling memoir, Cuts of a Diamond. Now she works with others to help them do the same through their own writing. Sandra knows this is the work she was meant to do. But it didn't all come together until she was in her 50s. Which is further proof that there are no time or age limits in life. Sandra is also a mom, a...

Alexa Cawley didn't know exactly how her life would go but she did expect a couple of things: she'd be married and have kids. Now in her early 30s she's realized that may not go according to plan.  At least not on her original timeline!  Alexa has been too busy following her entrepreneurial spirit and carving out her own space in the health and wellness industry.  Because while she enjoyed her time in the corporate w...

There are certain things we openly celebrate in a woman's life, like engagements, getting married, having kids and getting that promotion. But what about everything else? Lisa Cleary knows all about what she calls the "toxic milestone mentality".  And the feeling that if you aren't checking off those boxes then you are failing. After ending a toxic relationship in her early 30s with the person she thought she wo...

It has been a long journey, but in this solo episode Laura tells her pregnancy story. She and her husband Marc and so thrilled to be welcoming a baby in December, 2021, but getting to this point has not been easy. From dealing with a rare genetic condition, to educating themselves on infertility treatments, to dealing with a global pandemic and enduring multiple failed rounds of IVF, Laura shares it all. She's also letting you...

For 27 years Laura Friedman Williams thought she was living out her happy ending. She'd been in a loving relationship with her husband for nearly three decades and had three beautiful kids as a result. It was everything she had planned for. Then one day she learned of her husband's affair and it not only rocked her world but also set her off on a course of self discovery. While she had always loved the life she had, Laura...

Francesca Hogi has never really had a plan.  In fact, she still doesn't! Her main goal has always been to not live an ordinary life. Turns out, that hasn't been a problem. Francesca has been a corporate lawyer, worked in Hollywood, gone back to being a lawyer, been a two-time reality show loser--her words!--tried her hand at matchmaking, and now helps people as a love coach. She also has no interest in getting married or ...

Hillary Seiler never wanted to be a person who just checked off a box because that's what someone else told her she was supposed to do. No, Hillary refuses to settle, not only in relationships but in every aspect of her life. Her perspective on life changed drastically when she watched her family struggle for years through her mom's terminal illness and saw the toll it took both emotionally and financially. When her mom p...

Ceta Walters's plan didn't exactly go the way she expected but the end result was the same: a great job, a husband, and two beautiful kids.  But that's where much of her story begins.  Because in the span of just a few months in 2019 Ceta filed for divorce and then learned she had breast cancer.  That's right, it was the Big C and D, as Ceta calls them.  And she went through the thick of it all right in the midd...