We Can Do It Women

Debra L. Morrison

Reinvention, Wealth & Life After 50 You're over 50. You've given everything to everyone else. Now it's your turn. Every week, host Debra L. Morrison — CFP®, TEDx speaker, Certified Grief Coach, and author of My Husband Died, Now What? A Widow's Guide to Grief Recovery & Smart Financial Decisions — sits down with women who are reinventing careers, building businesses, and navigating widowhood, divorce, and new beginnings. Not just inspiration. Practical tools to actually fund your next chapter. 47 years of real financial expertise. Real women. Real stories. New episode every week.

  1. Jul 30

    Darlene Koldenhoven: Grammy Vocalist, Sister Act Nun, and Sonic Therapist on Creativity and Reinvention After 50

    She was three and a half, standing in front of 200 people, when she lifted her dress over her head so no one could see her. Her mother rushed up: "Darlene, put your dress down and sing." Five decades later, that is the title of her memoir — and the philosophy of one of the most extraordinary careers in American music. IN THIS EPISODE: Growing up where creativity was a sin — and discovering the piano as her therapist at nineThe listening eye technique: teaching pitch-matching to people who think they can't singSoprano soloist on Yanni Live at the Acropolis — 1.5 billion TV viewersThe tambourine-waving choir nun in both Sister Act films — hired in 60 seconds in a nun's habit she already ownedRecording with Pink Floyd, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and over 1,000 sessions totalGrammy Award, three nominations, MVP Best Session SingerA dog fight shattered her hand at 48 — five years to recover full useLaunching her own record label at 55 with no manager and no agent — Billboard chart hits and a number one radio recordHearing her own song play in the hospital while they cast her broken wristPut Your Dress Down and Sing: the memoir, the message, and why it matters to every woman in this audience EPISODE SUMMARY:Darlene built a career almost no one could replicate — and then reinvented it in her 50s, entirely on her own terms. Her pivot to solo indie artist, her own label, 14 albums, Billboard entries, and an Indie Music Hall of Fame induction at the Grammy Museum are proof that the most creative years don't have to be behind you. Her message: put your dress down and sing. Whatever your stage, whatever your song. ABOUT DARLENE:Grammy winner, five-octave soprano, sonic therapist, memoirist, and founder of Time Art Recordings. First inductee into IMC's Indie Music Hall of Fame. Based in Studio City, California. CONNECT: darlenekoldenhoven.comCOMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.com If this episode made you want to create something — anything — it is not too late. Join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

  2. Jul 23

    Alcohol Is a Known Cause of Breast Cancer. Most Oncologists Never Tell Their Patients.

    She woke up in the night with a feeling she couldn't explain. The mammogram letter said she was clear. She went back anyway. The radiographer found a five-and-a-half centimeter tumor the scans had missed for five years. His words: "I can see a woman with potentially life-saving instincts." Tabbin Almond trusted herself. It saved her life. IN THIS EPISODE: London advertising in the 1980s — lunches with Apple, Pepsi, Gillette, and a drinking culture nobody questionedHow Devon, an absent husband, and two small children became a bottle of wine every nightHypnotherapy that worked for seven and a half years — until a cancer diagnosis broke throughThe mammogram that missed everything — and the instinct that didn'tAlcohol as a known cause of breast cancer — and why her oncology team never mentioned itThe prosecco photograph: celebrating the end of radiotherapy before she knew the truthThe shame spiral of problem drinking: rules, broken promises, self-loathing, not answering the phoneWine to Water Coaching, The Alcohol Debate Podcast, and a business book shortlisted for Book of the YearFinishing on the HYROX podium at 66 after surgeons said she'd never lift her arm above her shoulder EPISODE SUMMARY: Tabbin's story has three acts: recognition (drinking that felt normal until it wasn't), instinct (trusting a feeling that saved her life when the medical system missed it), and transformation (turning survival into a mission). Now alcohol-free, thriving at 66, and coaching individuals and corporations on alcohol's hidden costs, she shares the information she wishes someone had given her — and the freedom she found when she finally did the work herself. ABOUT TABBIN: Certified alcohol freedom coach, Amazon bestseller, host of The Alcohol Debate Podcast, and founder of Wine to Water Coaching. HYROX competitor at 66. Based in Devon, England. CONNECT: https://www.winetowatercoaching.com/ The Alcohol Debate Podcast COMMUNITY: https://www.wecandoitwomen.com/ If this episode made you stop and think about your own drinking — or your body — trust that feeling. Join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

  3. Jul 16

    Teresa Phillips: From Trauma to Triumph — Finding Your Voice and Self-Love After Abuse

    She won a chair in all-state band. The director turned her away. She put down her instrument and didn't pick it up again for decades. When she finally played again, it was at her father's funeral. Teresa Phillips has lived more than most — and turned every piece of it into a lantern for someone else. IN THIS EPISODE: An alcoholic father, a baby brother lost after 18 hours, two abusive relationships, a husband who tried to kill herHow unprocessed trauma became panic attacks, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigueMoving to Texas to care for her father — and how his death cracked open everything she'd buriedThe inner voice that said "Teresa, you have to change" — and why she finally listenedThe Framework of the Self: self-love, self-respect, self-confidence, self-appreciation — unpackedWhy self-love is the hardest first step — and why abuse makes us stop loving ourselves firstHow her father gave her music back, one hour a week, before he diedForgiveness as freedom: not for them — to break your own chainsThe morning routine that changed everything: sunrise, yoga, meditation, gratitude journalMissteps, not mistakes — still moving, never stopped EPISODE SUMMARY:Teresa built the Framework of the Self not from a textbook but from decades of survival. Abuse, grief, chronic illness, and decades of silenced pain — all of it cracked open when her father died and she had to face what she had never processed. Four steps, taken one baby step at a time, rebuilt everything. She collects phoenixes because she is one. ABOUT TERESA:Speaker, podcaster, voiceover artist, singer, and musician. Creator of the Framework of the Self. Host of Open the Eye podcast. Broadcaster on KWVH 94.3 FM. CONNECT: https://teresaphillipsofficial.com/COMMUNITY: https://www.wecandoitwomen.com/ If this episode stirred something buried in you, it is never too late. Join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

  4. Jul 9

    Why Your Teenager Can’t Talk to You — and What to Do Starting Today

    She grew up with an alcoholic mother she never saw sober. At 11 she moved to her father's — safer, but still emotionally alone. Tatjana Simakova spent her childhood surviving without support. She spent the next 12 years making sure no teenager has to do the same. IN THIS EPISODE: Growing up in Lithuania — an alcoholic mother, an emotionally absent father, and the art that kept her goingWhy 12 years with teenagers led to one conclusion: the parent-child relationship is everythingHow art therapy reached a 13-year-old Traveller boy who had no words for his griefThe three-part workshop: group chat, meditation, then whatever arrives on paper — no explanation neededWhy teenagers are in constant fight-or-flight on Snapchat — and what it costs their self-esteemThe mirror in Tatjana's office — and the teenagers who can't turn to look at themselvesOne meal a day, no gadgets: the simplest first step any parent can takeSalvos Parenting: the online village for parents who need community and professionals in one placePracticing in English, Russian, and Lithuanian — why mother tongue is the first language of emotion EPISODE SUMMARY: Tatjana discovered in 12 years of clinical work what her own childhood had already taught her: when a teenager has at least one trusting relationship with a parent, they can survive almost anything. Without it, everything is harder. Art therapy gave her the tool to bridge the gap — not because teenagers draw well, but because paint and paper carry what words cannot. Her new Salvos Parenting platform builds the village that parents desperately need: community, professionals, resources, and a safe place to ask questions without judgment. ABOUT TATJANA: Psychotherapist and art therapist, County Clare, Ireland. 12 years working with teenagers and families. Practicing in English, Russian, and Lithuanian. Founder of Salvos Parenting. CONNECT: https://salvustherapy.ie/COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.com If this episode made you want to put your phone down and ask your teenager how they really are — do it today. Then join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more families find this show.

  5. Jul 2

    The Science of Empowerment with Laura Ballet — The Formula That Creates Change That Actually Lasts

    At 14 she told her mother she'd write a world-changing book. It took decades, a year-long concussion, and a formula born in Olympic gymnastics coaching. Laura Ballet did it anyway. IN THIS EPISODE: J3=E: the Olympic gymnastics formula adapted for everyday women — unpacked simplyThe three fields of energy — negative, positive, neutral — and why neutrality is the superpowerThe five principles: awareness, willingness, accountability, critical thinking, energy"Negative Bob": the 7-year-old who learned to walk negativity out the door — now a champion at 15Subconscious contracts: how to identify the ones keeping you in the same loop"Suspend the doubt": the single most powerful instruction Laura gives every clientHow the concussion became the proving ground for everything she was writingEPISODE SUMMARY:Laura Ballet watched her brother Chris — former USA Olympic gymnastics coach — apply mindset training to elite athletes for decades. She wondered: what if everyday women had access to the same formula? The answer became The Science of Empowerment and a coaching practice built on one central truth: neutrality is where choice lives, and choice is the most powerful seat anyone can occupy. Her five principles — awareness, willingness, accountability, critical thinking, energy — don't just describe change. They create it. When a client walks in believing they're stuck, Laura asks one question: if you had high-level intellectual awareness right now, how would you answer this? They always know. The moment they voice it, the alignment begins. Information becomes knowledge. Knowledge becomes wisdom. Wisdom becomes an empowered life. ABOUT LAURA:Number-one bestselling international author of The Science of Empowerment, speaker, and empowerment coach. 150+ podcast and media appearances. Based in Farmington, Connecticut. CONNECT: https://thescienceofempowerment.com/ | Amazon: The Science of EmpowermentCOMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.com If this episode made you ask what energy you're contributing right now — the formula is already working. Join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

  6. Jun 25

    Misti McCloud: NASM-Certified Coach on Rebuilding Strength, Confidence, and Self-Trust After 50

    At 12, a botched surgery shattered every bone in both feet and ended her Olympic skating dream. At 315 pounds in her late 30s, she decided that wasn't her story either. Two weeks before her 52nd birthday, a corporate layoff handed her a door she never would have opened herself. She walked through it. IN THIS EPISODE: The malpractice surgery at 12 that launched a lifetime philosophy: focus on what you can doLosing over 100 pounds as a single mom through tiny, sustainable changes — before GLP-1 injections existedThe layoff at 52, one week of intentional stillness, and the Venn diagram that changed everythingWhy six months of living expenses in savings is the breathing room that makes real choices possibleWhat happens when women reconnect with physical strength — and why it changes everything beyond the bodyThe 69-year-old client: breast cancer, a stroke, two knee replacements, couldn't rise from a toilet unassisted — now a self-described gym rat who lifts a 30-pound sewing machine aloneWhy reinvention starts where staying the same becomes more painful than changingEPISODE SUMMARY: Misti McCloud built her coaching practice around what she knows firsthand. She survived single motherhood in D.C., raised a neurodiverse son, built a corporate career, and lost over 100 pounds through micro-changes made one at a time. When a layoff at 52 pushed her through an unexpected door, she took one intentional week, drew a Venn diagram of her skills, the world's needs, and what she could earn, and found her answer: NASM-certified coaching for women 40 and better. Her philosophy: when women reconnect with physical strength, the transformation is never just physical. It changes how they walk into rooms, set boundaries, and trust themselves. She is the GPS. Her clients do the driving. ABOUT MISTI: NASM-certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and women's empowerment coach serving women 40 and better. Former corporate professional and single mother who lost over 100 pounds. Speaker and workshop leader for women's groups. CONNECT: trainwithmisti.com COMMUNITY: WeCanDoItWomen.com If this episode fanned an ember, take one step today — then join us at WeCanDoItWomen.com. A 5-star Apple Podcasts review helps more women find this show.

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Reinvention, Wealth & Life After 50 You're over 50. You've given everything to everyone else. Now it's your turn. Every week, host Debra L. Morrison — CFP®, TEDx speaker, Certified Grief Coach, and author of My Husband Died, Now What? A Widow's Guide to Grief Recovery & Smart Financial Decisions — sits down with women who are reinventing careers, building businesses, and navigating widowhood, divorce, and new beginnings. Not just inspiration. Practical tools to actually fund your next chapter. 47 years of real financial expertise. Real women. Real stories. New episode every week.