The Comeback Show

J. Friedman Fast, MBA
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The Comeback Show is the official podcast of Reinvention with Jenn Fast, where women (and a few brave men) share the real, unfiltered stories of how they reinvented their lives. Every episode offers honest conversation and hard-won wisdom to remind you that your own comeback is always possible. comebackletter.substack.com

  1. 6h ago

    Why Knowing Your Attachment Style Isn’t Enough, With Psychologist Miriam Brait

    About This Episode You have read the attachment books. You can name your style at a dinner party. You can spot anxious-avoidant dynamics in your friends, your colleagues, your last three relationships. And you are still living the pattern. If that sounds familiar, this episode was made for you. Miriam Brait is a licensed psychologist in Romania and an attachment-focused, trauma-informed coach who works with high-functioning women all over the world. She writes the Substack Past the Past, where she explores attachment, complex trauma, and the long arc of relational healing at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and lived experience. Her practice is for the woman who looks fine, sounds fine, and is exhausted from holding it all together. Miriam is 31. Jenn is 52. They live an ocean apart. And what they discovered in this conversation is that the gap between them is exactly the point. The high-functioning trap, the way attachment quietly wires who we end up attracted to, the slow erosion of self-trust we mistake for destiny: these patterns do not care about generation. They show up in a young psychologist in Bucharest and in a midlife reinvention coach who walked away from a 30-year career nine months ago. And the work to get free from them looks remarkably similar, no matter where you are in the timeline. What You’ll Hear Why we’ve turned ourselves into "human doings" instead of human beings, and how even our free time has become a performance The clinical difference between conditional and unconditional self-worth, and why high-achieving women keep mistaking one for the other Why leaving a job you are good at is so much harder than leaving one you are bad at, and what actually makes the difference between the woman who walks away and the woman who keeps saying "just one more year" The one insight about attachment that breaks most listeners open: it doesn’t just shape how you behave inside a relationship, it shapes who you’re attracted to in the first place Why women keep calling the same painful pattern "destiny," and what it actually takes to see the pattern instead of living inside it How midlife transitions (divorce, empty nest, career pivots) reach back and surface attachment wounds you thought were dealt with 20 years ago The four trauma responses (fight, flight, freeze, fawn) in plain English, and the specific path out for the chronic fawner Why the goal isn’t a perfectly safe environment, and what to build instead so you can meet life when it isn’t safe When to work with a therapist or psychologist versus a coach, and the single question that helps you figure out which you actually need Key Takeaway I think it’s far more powerful to allow people to love you as you are instead of fighting for the love of people who don’t love you as you are. — Miriam Brait Timestamps 00:00 Across Generations Intro 00:53 Meet Miriam Brait 02:00 Miriam’s Breakthrough Story 04:41 Healing Beyond Quick Fixes 06:08 Therapy vs Coaching 09:42 High Functioning Trap 13:28 Productivity as Self Worth 19:08 Why It’s Hard to Quit 26:16 Attachment Theory Basics 31:00 Patterns That Feel Like Destiny 35:00 Can Attachment Change 37:53 Transitions and Old Wounds 40:29 Fight Flight Freeze Fawn 44:58 Escaping the Fawn Response 46:49 Building Inner Safety 48:49 Find Miriam and Next Steps 51:44 One Message to Remember 53:39 Final Wrap and Goodbye Connect with Miriam Brait Substack: pasthepast.com Free 15-minute coaching call: Book here Threads: @gettingpastyourpast Email: helpwithmiriam@gmail.com Connect with Jenn Fast The Self-Trust Reset Challenge: Join the free challenge — if this episode landed for you, this is your next step. A short, guided reset designed to help you start trusting yourself again. Newsletter: The Comeback Letter on Substack Instagram: @itsjennfast Email: info@reinventionwithjennfast.com If this conversation resonated, subscribe to The Comeback Show wherever you listen. If you know someone who needs to hear it, send it her way. And if you have a minute, a five-star review helps other women in midlife find their way to this show. Thank you for being here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comebackletter.substack.com

    55 min

  2. Jun 24

    When Slowing Down is the Shortcut, with Amanda Ingram

    About This Episode What if the thing keeping you stuck in the second half of your life is not your circumstances, your hormones, or your effort, but the fact that you have not actually let yourself stop? Two women walked away from corporate careers within a few years of each other. Amanda Ingram quit her television industry job after her second daughter and pushed straight into building something new, until she burned out so completely she had to stop everything. Jenn Fast was told by her cardiologist that her job was incompatible with her health, walked out five days later, and used the three months that followed as a runway her husband insisted she take. Different routes. Same destination. Same hard earned conclusion about what actually moves a high achieving woman forward when the old strategies stop working. This conversation is for the woman who has tried harder, slept more, drawn the boundaries, and is still asking the quiet question, who am I underneath all of this. Amanda and Jenn unpack the difference between survival mode and soul exhaustion, why slowing down is the counterintuitive shortcut every high achiever resists, and why self trust sits at the end of both of their coaching frameworks, not the beginning. What You'll Hear Why survival mode and soul exhaustion look the same from the outside and need completely different responses How chronic stress quietly breaks your executive function and why that is not a character flaw The reason slowing down feels intrinsically wrong for the eldest daughter, overachiever, people pleaser audience What your inner voice actually sounds like when you finally stop drowning it out How inner child work, play, and joy belong inside reinvention, not in a separate self help bucket Why self trust is the final piece of both Amanda's and Jenn's coaching frameworks A "yes, and" reframe for ADHD, anxiety, and the neurodivergent brain that changes how you relate to yourself The small evidence that lets you know self trust is coming back online Key Takeaway Your wisdom is always there. Your light is there. But it gets buried underneath all the other voices, under the beliefs of others. And when we are pushing or spinning or looking or achieving or chasing, you cannot hear that quiet voice within you. But when we start to slow down a little bit, all of a sudden that voice within us, we can start to hear it. — Amanda Ingram Timestamps 00:00 — Cold open and welcome 01:20 — Meet Amanda Ingram, Self Discovery Coach 02:20 — Amanda's story, the corporate buyout, motherhood, and the decision to leave 04:20 — Quitting with no plan, bravery, survival, or the only door 05:30 — How burnout announced itself 06:30 — Sitting outside, poetry coming through, hearing herself again 07:30 — Jenn's story, the cardiologist, and the runway her husband insisted on 09:30 — Would Amanda have rested if she had been given permission? 10:30 — Survival mode versus soul exhaustion, defined 12:30 — What chronic stress does to your executive function 13:30 — The "you weren't broken in the first place" reframe 15:30 — Why slowing down is the shortcut (and feels intrinsically wrong) 17:30 — What your inner voice actually sounds like 19:00 — Three months of rest, what the runway looked like 20:30 — Inner child, play, and joy as part of slowing down 23:30 — What slowing down is NOT 25:00 — Self trust as the final piece of both frameworks 27:30 — Outsourcing decisions and the first move to stop 30:00 — ADHD, anxiety, and the "yes, and" reframe 32:00 — Jenn's late diagnosis at 52, relief and grief 33:00 — What self trust feels like coming back online 34:30 — Spark Sessions explained 36:30 — One message for every woman listening 37:30 — Outro and CTAs Connect with Amanda Ingram Find Your Spark Coaching on Instagram Find Your Spark Coaching on Threads Book a Spark Session Connect with Jenn Fast Reinvention with Jenn Fast Free Executive Function Self Assessment Executive Function Unlocked Waitlist Instagram: @itsjennfast Email: jenn@jfriedmanfast.com If this episode resonated, please follow The Comeback Show on your favorite podcast platform, leave a five star review, and share this episode with a woman in your life who is rebuilding hers. Reviews are the most powerful way to help other women find this show. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comebackletter.substack.com

    38 min
  3. From 20 Years of Addiction to Luxury Travel: Jacob Allen on Midlife Reinvention

    Jun 17

    From 20 Years of Addiction to Luxury Travel: Jacob Allen on Midlife Reinvention

    About This Episode What does reinvention look like when life has not gone in a straight line? When the path between who you were and who you are now includes a chapter you barely survived? In this week's episode, Jenn sits down with Jacob Allen, the owner of Salty Starfish Travel and a high school classmate she had not spoken to in 35 years. Jacob spent 20 years battling addiction. He did six rehabs, lost everything, and eventually lost his freedom. That last loss was the turning point. After getting sober, he became a drug and alcohol counselor, worked on a mobile outreach team that met people in active addiction wherever they were, and spent years inside elementary and high schools supporting kids who were starting to walk down the same road he had walked. Then travel found him again. In his late 40s, he started Salty Starfish Travel, the luxury travel agency he runs today on top of a day job and a real estate business. This conversation is for anyone wondering if it is too late to build something real, anyone watching someone they love come back from a hard chapter, and anyone who has been quietly longing for a trip that actually changes something inside them. What You Will Hear Why the most powerful turning point in Jacob's recovery was not what he expected, and what finally made the difference after six rehabs How counseling kids in elementary and high schools changed the way he sees what people in active addiction need from the rest of us The trip that reignited his passion for travel and the specific moment on a Bahamian beach when Salty Starfish Travel was born What luxury travel actually means (hint: it has very little to do with price) and how to know whether a trip will match your vibe The most expensive mistake Jacob sees travelers make when they try to book their own trips, and what AI can and cannot replace when planning Where to send a woman in her 50s who has never traveled solo, plus what midlife women misunderstand about a destination before they arrive What a 52-year-old man sees in the women around him navigating midlife reinvention that they cannot see in themselves Why reconnection with people who knew an earlier version of you might be one of the most overlooked tools in your second act Key Takeaway You have got to step outside of your comfort zone. You have got to try new things. You have got to meet new people. If you are feeling invisible, nothing changes if nothing changes. — Jacob Allen Timestamps 00:00 — You Are Not Too Late 00:45 — Meet Jacob Allen 02:15 — Early Life and the Detour 04:21 — What He Thought His Life Would Look Like at 52 05:10 — Inside 20 Years of Addiction 06:00 — The Turning Point: Losing His Freedom 08:11 — Giving Back as a Counselor 10:49 — The Two Kids Who Changed Him 13:45 — Ending the Stigma Around Addiction 15:43 — When Travel Started Changing Him 16:47 — Starting Salty Starfish on a Bahamian Beach 17:49 — Why Travel Heals 20:05 — Reinvention Through Travel 21:06 — Building the Agency From Scratch 24:44 — What Luxury Travel Really Means 26:05 — The Real Workweek (No Highlight Reel) 27:57 — Stress, Anxiety, and Self-Care in Midlife Entrepreneurship 31:05 — AI vs Travel Agents: Where Each One Wins 33:26 — Matching the Trip to Your Vibe 34:04 — The Most Costly Booking Mistake 38:40 — Best Trips for Solo Women in Their 50s 40:47 — Resetting Your Expectations When You Travel Abroad 44:09 — How to Choose a Trip for the Version of You That Is Becoming 45:41 — A Man’s View on Supporting Midlife Women 49:15 — Reconnection and the Final Takeaway Connect with Jacob Allen Salty Starfish Travel: saltystarfishtravel.com 2027 Reflections of Italy Tour: View trip details Instagram: @salty_starfish_travel Facebook: Salty Starfish Travel Email Jacob: jacoballen@saltystarfishtravel.com Connect with Jenn Fast Instagram: @itsjennfast Subscribe to The Comeback Letter on Substack: thecomebackletter.substack.com Email Jenn: jenn@jfriedmanfast.com Thinking about launching your own podcast? Get the Launch Your Signature Podcast Kit — the playbook, audio training, episode framework, AI prompts, and 7-day kickoff course. Eight resources valued at over $700, available now for a fraction of that. If this episode spoke to you, please subscribe to The Comeback Show wherever you listen, share it with a friend who needs to hear that they are not too late, and leave a 5-star review. That is how more women in midlife find this show. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comebackletter.substack.com

    53 min

  4. Jun 9

    Allergic to Flop: Building Noli Coffee After Two Tech Layoffs with Bri Broadwater

    About This Episode There is a particular kind of professional grief that does not get named enough. The version where you survive a layoff, take the severance, take the deep breath, try the next contract, and discover the next contract is also the wrong fit. Your nervous system already knows. You just have not said the thing out loud yet. Bri Broadwater knows that grief intimately. She was laid off twice in 18 months, once from Salesforce, once from a short tech contract that was supposed to last a year and ended after a few months. Instead of going back for round three, she found a ten thousand dollar coffee stand for sale on Craigslist, bought it without a loan using savings, sold stock, and wedding gift money, and named it Noli, short for nolite timere, Latin for "have no fear." Today she runs Noli Coffee solo in Bothell, Washington, five days a week, and she builds it in public on TikTok under the mantra "allergic to flop." This is not the polished founder version of the story. This is the version where Bri talks honestly about the financial gap between profitable and her old six figure salary, the partner who is carrying more than either of them planned, and what it means to run a business in a body that does not always cooperate. It is also the version where two women, twenty years apart in age, compare notes on what it actually takes to start over. What You'll Hear Why the second layoff is often the one that lets you stop pretending you want to go back How Bri funded an entire business without taking out a single loan, and exactly which buckets the money came from The honest gap between "my business is profitable" and "I am back to my old corporate salary," and what living in that gap costs your relationship Why building in public on TikTok is a tightrope, not a strategy, and how Bri decides what to share What it actually looks like to run a business as a woman with a disability, and the workplace policies Bri wants to build because of it Why your grandmother could not get a credit card and why that history matters for the leap you are considering now The "do one hard thing every year" framework that took Bri from stand-up comedy to a coffee stand The exact piece of advice Bri would tell herself one year ago (it has nothing to do with marketing) Key Takeaway Starting over does not mean you failed. It means you are finally trusting yourself in the way that you have always needed to. Starting over is not a failure. It is just a redirection. — Bri Broadwater Timestamps 00:00 — Layoff to Coffee Stand 00:58 — Meet Noli Coffee 02:37 — A Day Running Solo 04:46 — Two Layoffs in Tech 08:23 — Saving From Destitution 11:40 — Why Coffee Why Now 13:26 — Starting a Podcast 18:35 — Drive Through Decisions 21:00 — Funding and Location Risks 24:34 — Support and Money Strain 29:27 — Advice Without a Safety Net 30:36 — Extending Your Runway 31:45 — Highlight Reels vs Reality 32:19 — Starting Out in Your 30s 35:08 — Women's Progress and Choice 37:58 — Age Advantages and Comparison 41:20 — Allergic to Flop Strategy 42:47 — Building in Public Boundaries 44:50 — Entrepreneurship with Disability 48:48 — Romance Goblin and Growth 51:45 — Find Noli Coffee 53:39 — Lessons Learned and Mentors 55:32 — Networking and AI Systems 59:12 — Starting Over Message 59:59 — Final Thanks and Wrap Connect with Bri Broadwater Noli Coffee on Instagram Noli Coffee on TikTok Visit Noli Coffee: 10610 Woodinville Dr, Bothell, WA 98011 Hours: Tues to Fri 6:30 AM to 2 PM, Sat 8 AM to 1 PM Connect with Jenn Fast Follow Jenn on Instagram Email: info@reinventionwithjennfast.com Thinking about starting your own podcast? Grab my Start Strong Podcast Launch Mini-Course (free). I record and edit every episode of The Comeback Show on Descript. It is the tool that made this possible. If this conversation made you feel less alone in the middle of your own leap, share it with one woman in your life who needs to hear that starting over is survivable. And if you have not yet, subscribe and leave a five star review. That small act helps the next woman find this show. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comebackletter.substack.com

    1h 1m
  5. "Soft Success After Life Falls Apart" — Natalie Beard on Reinvention, One Year Later

    Jun 2

    "Soft Success After Life Falls Apart" — Natalie Beard on Reinvention, One Year Later

    About This Episode You know how to grind. You have probably been doing it for years, checking boxes, meeting deadlines, running on obligation and calling it ambition. But somewhere in the middle of all that output, the person doing all of it quietly stopped being okay. If that sounds familiar, this episode was made for you. Natalie Beard is the founder of Soul Wealth Rebirth, the voice behind 83 consecutive issues of Soul Wealth Chronicles on Substack, and the host of Becoming Natalie: The Soul Wealth Podcast. She spent more than 20 years leading teams in medical laboratory medicine, walking into broken departments, turning chaos into efficiency, earning a reputation as the person you call when everything falls apart. She was also, for a long time, the last person on that list to take care of herself. A year ago, she was my very first podcast guest. Today she is back with an update that is honest, specific, and full of the kind of insight that only comes from actually living through something. This is not a motivational highlight reel. It is a real look at what changes when you stop chasing a version of success that was never really yours. What You'll Hear Why 83 consecutive newsletters without a missed week matters more than going viral, and what that kind of consistency actually looks like when you are also leading a full-time team The "stabilizer" identity: what Natalie finally recognized about herself at 50, and why naming your pattern can change your entire career direction What "soft success" actually looks like in practice, and why it might just be pajamas, your dogs in your lap, and giving yourself permission to stop The daily pulse check Natalie uses to stay connected to herself, and how it is different from the self-care content we are all exhausted by Why she started writing directly to men in her perimenopause newsletter, and what that tells us about who is really paying attention What happened when Natalie's brain finally went quiet for the first time, and why silence felt stranger than all the chaos that came before it The Martin Luther King quote Natalie carries everywhere: "You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step." Key Takeaway "I stabilized everybody else. What about Natalie? I did not think about stabilizing me. And so that is when I started stabilizing myself, and I am so happy I did that." — Natalie Beard, Founder of Soul Wealth Rebirth Timestamps 00:00 — Reinvention Reunion 00:59 — Meet Natalie Beard 02:15 — The Spark That Started It 03:59 — Jenn's Year of Change 04:57 — Natalie Builds Her Platform 09:01 — Owning Your Voice 10:34 — Worldwide Resonance 11:45 — The Stabilizer Identity 15:34 — Soft Success Over Hustle 17:50 — Breaking the Hustle Loop 19:52 — Going Inward Daily 22:30 — Self-Care and Guilt 23:13 — Embracing Soft Success 24:39 — Small Joys Daily 25:41 — Reinvention Through Slowing 28:35 — Advice to Past Self 30:16 — Menopause Talk for Men 33:32 — Men in Midlife Too 35:07 — Finding Your People 38:08 — No Competition Space 40:14 — Functional Sisterhood 43:06 — First Step in Faith 44:55 — Closing and Resources Connect with Natalie Beard Website + Substack: soulwealthrebirth.com Podcast: Becoming Natalie: The Soul Wealth Podcast on Apple Podcasts Email: soulwealthrebirth@gmail.com Connect with Jenn Fast Start Strong: 7-Day Podcast Kickstart Email Mini-Course: https://reinventionwithjennfast.com/7-day-podcast-kickoff-course-optin Newsletter: The Comeback Letter on Substack Instagram: @itsjennfast If this conversation resonated, subscribe to The Comeback Show wherever you listen. If you know someone who needs to hear it, send it their way. And if you have a minute, a five-star review helps other women in midlife find their way to this show. Thank you for being here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comebackletter.substack.com

    47 min

  6. May 5

    The Belonging Paradox: I built belonging for hundreds of people — while quietly starving for it myself

    About This Episode Have you ever poured your professional energy into creating something for others that you quietly didn't have yourself? Maybe it was flexibility. Maybe it was confidence. For Jenn Fast, for the last three years of her 30-year corporate career, that word was belonging. She was the architect of belonging programs, the person responsible for making sure hundreds of colleagues felt seen, valued, and included. She believed in the work. By most measures, she was good at it. And she carried, underneath all of it, a persistent, low-grade sense of not quite fitting. She could articulate belonging in a presentation. She just couldn't seem to find it in the hallway. In this solo episode, Jenn takes the listener through the full arc: the structural misalignments that compounded over years, the cardiologist who asked whether her job was compatible with her health, the ADHD diagnosis that arrived four months after she left, and the lunch that quietly ended a 30-year career. She also shares what she found on the other side — a kind of belonging she describes as restful, one that doesn't require management or translation. This conversation is for anyone who has been performing belonging somewhere while starving for the real thing. What You'll Hear Why doing deeply meaningful work for others doesn't protect you from being invisible to the system that work lives in What the difference actually feels like between the belonging you perform and the belonging you recognize — in your body, before your mind catches up How chronic stress from a misaligned career shows up as measurable physical damage, not just burnout The moment a cardiologist's words reframed the whole question: not “how do I manage my stress better” but “is my job compatible with my health” Why knowing about ADHD sooner may not have changed anything — and what that says about culture versus diagnosis The quiet lunch that shifted everything — and what real clarity feels like when it finally arrives Why real belonging requires intentionality after you leave a structure, and what it looked like to build it from scratch The two questions that help you notice the gap between where you feel most like yourself and where you spend most of your time Key Takeaway “What if the exhaustion isn’t about the workload? What if it’s about the distance between who you are and where you’re being asked to show up?” — Jenn Fast Timestamps 00:00 — Belonging Irony 03:22 — The Gap Question 03:57 — Stress, Values, and Health 05:59 — ADHD and Fit 07:33 — The Lunch Moment 09:16 — Building New Community 10:52 — Performed vs. Real Belonging 12:51 — Two Questions Closing 14:02 — Reach Out and Share Connect with Jenn Fast Jenn mentions ADHD in this episode — and if any of that resonated with you, she has a free Executive Function Self-Assessment that can help you understand how your brain is actually wired. It's free, takes a few minutes, and might give you some real clarity. 📱 Instagram: @itsjennfast 📧 Email: info@reinventionwithjennfast.com 💌 Newsletter: Subscribe to The Comeback Letter on Substack If this episode landed for you, please share it with someone who might need it — a friend in the middle of a hard chapter, or a colleague who’s been saying she’s fine for a little too long. And if you haven’t yet, subscribe and leave a review. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comebackletter.substack.com

    15 min
  7. Special Guest: Carla See on Executive Function, ADHD, and the Parent Who's Been the Reminder System Too Long

    Apr 20

    Special Guest: Carla See on Executive Function, ADHD, and the Parent Who's Been the Reminder System Too Long

    Why Your ADHD Teen Can't Start Homework (It's Not What You Think) About This Episode If you've ever watched your teen sit in front of an open assignment and do absolutely nothing — and felt yourself cycling through frustration, guilt, and confusion — this episode is for you. Because what looks like avoidance, defiance, or not caring is very often something else entirely: a skill gap. And skill gaps can be taught. That's a fundamentally different conversation than the one most families are having at 7pm over a backpack full of missing assignments. Carla See is an executive function coach for teens ages 12 and up, and a former special education educator with more than two decades in the field. What makes her work different isn't just the experience — it's that she's lived this from the inside. Her daughter was diagnosed with ADHD with anxiety, and Carla found herself sitting at that same homework table, watching the same tension build, asking herself the same questions she'd heard from parents for years. That experience changed everything about how she does this work. In this episode, Jenn shares her own family's journey through ADHD and autism diagnoses — and the strange combination of grief and relief that came with finally having language for decades of struggles she'd quietly blamed herself for. Together, Jenn and Carla talk about what executive function actually is, why capable teens get stuck, what parents do that unintentionally makes it worse, and what a different approach looks like — one that builds real skills while protecting the parent-child relationship. What You'll Hear Why a teen who "understands the material" can still be completely unable to start — and what's actually happening in their brain when they freeze The difference between a skill gap and a choice not to try (and why it matters more than you think) How becoming your teen's reminder system quietly damages your relationship — and what to step into instead Why Carla asks parents to stop asking about homework during her program, and the "living document" that makes stepping back feel safe instead of scary The one-phrase technique — say it before your teen even starts a task — that builds momentum where reminders never could What resilience actually looks like for exhausted families (hint: it's not positivity, it's persistence) The small, early signs that coaching is working — before grades change, before everything feels fixed What Jenn's own recognition moment felt like, and why so many midlife women are carrying silent self-blame that finally has a name Key Takeaway "Homework will pass. Assignments will pass. Grades will pass. But what you really want to nourish and take care of is the relationship you have with your son or with your daughter." — Carla See Timestamps 00:00 — When Diagnosis Mirrors You 01:10 — Jenn's Family Wake Up 02:02 — Meet Carla See 03:37 — From Educator to Mom 05:44 — Why Go Solo Online 08:37 — The Homework Table Click 10:47 — Executive Function Explained 13:47 — Skill Gap or Defiance 15:07 — Grief, Relief, Recognition 17:58 — Stop Policing Homework 20:29 — When Parents Over-Function 22:27 — Stepping Back With Structure 24:45 — Why She Says "Class" 26:27 — Building Teen Trust 27:14 — Praise Effort Fast 28:59 — Trust Fuels Learning 29:20 — Resilience With Compassion 32:01 — Personal Resilience Story 35:30 — You Are Not Failing 36:54 — When to Get Help 37:58 — Signs Support Works 39:39 — Adult Self Discovery 42:34 — What Families Keep 44:34 — Small Moments Matter 47:24 — Closing Resources Connect with Carla See Website — ADHD Teen Executive Function Coach Linktree — coaching program, resources, and all links Connect with Jenn Fast If anything in this episode made you wonder about your own executive function, Jenn has a free self-assessment for adults — a gentle starting place for naming what you've been living with: → Free Adult EF Self-Assessment Jenn is also writing a book called Executive Function Unlocked, with a course to accompany it. Join the waitlist to hear about it first: → Executive Function Unlocked Waitlist Instagram: @itsjennfastEmail: info@reinventionwithjennfast.com If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, share it with a parent who needs to hear it, and consider leaving a five-star review — it helps more families find the show. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comebackletter.substack.com

    49 min
  8. Midlife, Hormones & Speaking Up: Tracey Willingham on Self-Trust, Advocacy & Being Unladylike

    Apr 13

    Midlife, Hormones & Speaking Up: Tracey Willingham on Self-Trust, Advocacy & Being Unladylike

    Episode 7 Show Notes — Tracey Willingham (That Hormone Girl) Episode Title: When Your Body Changes the Rules: Hormones, Self-Trust, and Speaking Up in Midlife --- About This Episode Have you ever walked out of a doctor's appointment feeling more dismissed than when you walked in? Or spent months second-guessing yourself, wondering if you were making it all up — only to realize that the second-guessing itself is a symptom? In Episode 7, host Jenn Fast welcomes Tracey Willingham — hormone health advocate, licensed social worker, and host of the That's Not Very Ladylike podcast — for a conversation that is equal parts permission slip and practical toolkit. Tracey left her VP role at a nonprofit after years of unaddressed perimenopause symptoms and a healthcare system that kept telling her everything was normal. She built her work, her brand, and her "Speak Up Membership" from that lived experience — and she is boldly, unapologetically not here to make anyone comfortable. This is not just a hormone conversation. It's a conversation about identity, burnout, self-trust, and what it means to stop shrinking yourself to stay comfortable for everyone else. --- What You'll Hear - Why women who are already on HRT still seek Tracey out — and what that reveals about what's missing - How hormonal shifts affect far more than physical symptoms: identity, relationships, work, and self-trust - Why the self-doubt and second-guessing you feel right now is a symptom, not a character flaw - Practical tools for speaking up in medical appointments — including the power of silence, bringing an advocate, and how to use the patient portal to create a paper trail - Why HR works for the company (and what to do instead) - What "unladylike on purpose" actually means — and what it costs women to stay ladylike - Tracey's "Speak Up Membership" — combining AI-based coaching tools, human support, and community for healthcare, workplace, and personal conversations - The concept of "second puberty" — and why midlife is actually your most powerful reinvention window --- Key Takeaway "Whatever you're experiencing right now — it is real. It doesn't have to make sense to exist." — Tracey Willingham --- Timestamps - 00:00 — The moment the old rules stopped working - 00:49 — Meet Tracey Willingham (That Hormone Girl) - 02:16 — Why she quit her nonprofit VP job - 04:08 — What "unladylike on purpose" really means - 07:07 — Hormones beyond physical symptoms - 09:31 — Self-blame, shame, and why women carry everyone else's feelings - 11:38 — Second-guessing as a symptom - 13:21 — What "speaking up" actually looks like (with yourself, your doctor, your partner, at work) - 17:22 — How to prepare for a doctor's appointment so you don't leave feeling dismissed - 21:05 — Advocacy scripts that work: silence, pausing, pushing back on "normal" - 25:01 — The Speak Up Membership: what it is, who it's for, and how the AI coaching works - 31:44 — Midlife as a "second puberty" — and what that means for you - 34:10 — Final thoughts and how to connect If today's episode resonated with you, please subscribe, share it with a woman who needs to hear it, and leave a five-star review. It helps other women find this show. Connect with Tracey: * Speak Up Membership * Instagram: @thathormonegirl * That’s Not Very Ladylike Podcast * Tracey’s Everything Page Want support with your own midlife hormone foundation? I put together the Menopause Foundations Program for exactly this moment — when you know something has shifted and you’re ready to understand it, address it, and build from it. 👉 Learn more here Connect with Jenn Fast Website: reinventionwithjennfast.com If you have any questions or are interested in being on this show, please reach to me at info@reinventionwithjennfast.com Instagram: @reinventionwithjennfast As always — I’m glad you’re here. Jenn Fast This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comebackletter.substack.com

    36 min
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About

The Comeback Show is the official podcast of Reinvention with Jenn Fast, where women (and a few brave men) share the real, unfiltered stories of how they reinvented their lives. Every episode offers honest conversation and hard-won wisdom to remind you that your own comeback is always possible. comebackletter.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    J. Friedman Fast, MBA
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © J. Friedman Fast, MBA
  • Show Website
    The Comeback Show