VIRGIN.BEAUTY.B!TCH VIRGIN.BEAUTY.B!TCH

Juliane Bermann has credentials as a technical writer, book coach, ghostwriter, and editor. And it's through her written words we learned about her in a Huffington Post article titled: My Mom Would've Been Thrilled To Know I Was Queer. Instead, I Stayed Closeted For 25 Years. Juliane wrote the piece because she rarely sees stories like hers that address the complex reasons why people self-closet, even in LGBTQ+ friendly environments. Juliane's story is less about being queer and more about finding herself as a human being. It's about the messy, ugly path to self-discovery and the stories we tell ourselves about who we think we are supposed to be.

Stephanie Clarke is a most amazing woman. Her fiery red hair is a hint to her temperament as a speaker, facilitator, author, sacred ceremony hostess, Law of Attraction life coach, and a spiritual leader self-ordained as the Irreverent Reverend. As an Afrikaner wanting to help South Africa heal from its legacy of apartheid, Stephanie founded that country’s first multiracial church. She bravely shares that journey in her first book —The Misadventures of an Irreverent Reverend, A Spirited Guide for Rebels and Renegades. Her follow-up — The Sex Goddess, debunking the Mythology of God and Sex, is an autobiographical review of a woman awakening to both her sexual and feminine power. The book brings healing to the divide between sexuality and spirituality, God and flesh, and between human and the divine. Her conversation brings an attitude adjustment to women everywhere.

Lee Wind (he/him) is an Author and the Founder of the award-winning Blog I'M HERE. I'M QUEER. WHAT THE HELL DO I READ? Lee's Blog has over 3 million page loads from over 100 countries! Lee holds a master's degree in education from Harvard and writes stories to empower kids and teens to be their authentic selves and change the world. In 2022 we had Lee as our guest for PRIDE month and learned that he and his husband of more than 25 years have a grown daughter. With that knowledge, Lee was the first name that came to mind when I had this thought [slash] question — what happens to our idea of motherhood as exclusive to a woman when two men are parenting a child? What is motherhood when a female is not part of the family picture? This conversation is very personal and intimate, and we feel privileged to have learned so much from Lee. We hope you will, too. This is the perfect transitional conversation for us as we exit May — Motherhood Month and enter June — PRIDE month.

Dr. Maria Rothenburger is a fertility therapist and coach who has been through the harrowing journey of infertility. For over six years, Maria and her husband tried in vein to start a family but it only brought depression, anxiety, and intense marriage struggles. Eventually, they agreed the process wasn’t worth the pain or that was tearing their relationship apart, so they decided to be child-free until changing their minds to pursue adoption. Dr. Maria used her personal experience to write her #1 Bestselling book, Transcending Infertility: 9 Keys for Improving Fertility, Creating Miracles, and Being a Better Human and she hosts a weekly Podcast, Miracles Happen Fertility. Dr. Maria offers invaluable Fertility Keys learned from her experiences and action steps to guide couples through their own struggles with infertility.

Katie Nave is a freelance writer; she's penned articles for Newsweek, Huffington Post, and other top-notch publications. She works at being effective as a mental health advocate; she's a successful professional pediatrician in one of the world's biggest metropolis — New York, but the role Katie struggles with most is the one she once thought would be her most natural, being a mom. Katie reflects on her feelings of inadequacy as a mother in a powerful article she wrote titled My Daughter's Common Problem Made Me Feel Like A Failure As A Mom. Katie's also open about her feelings of guilt as a single mom and how hard it is to keep from falling into the "I'm a shitty mom" sinkhole. This is a candid conversation about the often unspoken truth of motherhood.

Melissa Leon is a 20-year corporate finance professional, small business owner, bestselling author, mother of three, and the self-proclaimed Efficiency Bitch. Melissa uses the word B.I.T.C.H. as an acronym to define the five areas she focuses on for women to live life by their own design: Bank, InBox, Time, Connection, and Harmony. Her book was written to help ambitious women stop wasting time, money, and all their awesome potential and become an Efficiency Bitch — a strong, unstoppable woman who is always growing and pursuing her dreams, big or small. The goal of Efficiency Bitch is to support women in doing the RIGHT things – not ALL the things.