As we get closer to the release of my new book - A Difficult Woman, I have a number of speaking spots.

This keynote address was delivered in June 2025 to a large group of women sports leaders in Melbourne. The title was - Why we need to raise our daughters to be difficult and end the tyranny of niceness.

This is a special (in-between seasons) episode that was actually due 14 days ago. Oops!

I often get asked about my sober journey. Why did I give up alcohol? How did I do it? Do I miss it? Do I still have fun? What about my friends, how did they cope? Is it hard?

So to celebrate four years (and 14 days) on this path, I filmed a solo podcast to answer these questions and more.

Hopefully I've answered all your questions, if not reach out. I'm proud of my alcohol free life and I'm happy to share my journey (without judgment).

Cheers (with alcohol free bubbles)

Our guest for this episode - Zuzana Perraton is a specialist Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist. She has a PHD in hips (specifically investigating hip muscle size and adiposity in young adults with hip and groin pain). She is not only a practising Physiotherapist, but she also teaches at Monash and La Trobe universities and she has published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles in leading sports medicine and physiotherapy journals. This lady knows exercise!

As a fellow sports lover - Zuzana is definitely my sort of woman. She lives and breath movement and has a passion for sport, especially for women in midlife (and girls!). She has worked with elite athletes in numerous sports including her current role as physiotherapist with Vic Metro Girls Squad AFLW and previously with North Melbourne Football Club, Australian Paralympic Ski Team, Commonwealth Games Gymnastics and Melbourne University Blues Football Club.

This episode is full of practical tips and advice about movement for women in midlife and for our kids. Zuzana relays some very interesting anecdotes and as I am lucky enough to have seen Zuzana in action we have a chat about her approach to physiotherapy. This is definitely a not to be missed episode – as Zuzana says Motion is Lotion!

If you want to contact Zuzana, her website is https://www.perraton.physio/

⁠Dr Linda Schachter⁠ is not only a medical doctor and a respiratory and sleep specialist, she also has a PHD in sleep studies. She is also the owner of Sleep Services Australia which specialises in home based sleep monitoring and professional treatment for a broad range of sleep problems, including ⁠Sleep Apnoea⁠, ⁠Snoring⁠, ⁠Periodic Leg Movements⁠, and ⁠Insomnia⁠. This lady knows sleep!

You might have seen her on Sunrise where she regularly offers her no-nonsense advice on what to do about sleep issues.

Insomnia and sleep disturbance are in the top three symptoms perimenopausal and menopausal women in Australia report. They were also in the top three topics that our SHINE listeners wanted to discuss and Linda has a wealth of knowledge and advice to offer. She has walked the walk, having suffered significant sleep issues herself after her divorce.

Not only is Linda the definitive sleep expert - she generously shared her own story as a pioneering women specialist doctor in Australia and as a women who has tried hard to have it all. She is raw and honest and her story will inspire many.

Linda has developed her company - Sleep Services Australia to address the gap in the market and offer home-based monitoring for sleep disturbances. She explains why this is preferrable to hospital based testing and details what testing involves.

She also offers numerous practical tips to combat sleep disturbances. Linda clearly loves her work and her journey to this place is just as fascinating as the knowledge she conveys about sleep. I'm sure you'll enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.

From the ultimate party girl to a sobriety coach – Rebecca Perrone’s story has it all!

Bec is a qualified nurse and Master Grey Area Drinking Coach. She runs a highly successful 100-Day Alcohol-Free Program and coaches individuals to redefine their relationship with alcohol, through her company Real Transitions.

Bec isn't the coach I used when I gave up alcohol nearly four years ago, but I wish she was. Her approach is firm but gentle and understanding. She has truly walked the path, so understands each step of the way.

Bec’s story is vivid and raw. In her own words:

“I've always navigated the spectrum of Grey Area Drinking, starting with my first sips at 13. What began as socially acceptable drinking spiralled into a cycle of partying and evening wines. This changed drastically during early motherhood. With my newborn daughter, my drinking escalated out of control. This was a turning point.

When my daughter was one, I chose to seek treatment. Sobriety became my new path, each step an uncertain but necessary leap towards change. Confronting my inner struggles was tough, but I was determined to break generational patterns. In the depths of addiction, I found a resilience I didn't know I had. As I watch my 6-year-old daughter laugh and play, I'm reminded of the power of facing personal battles. It's about embracing vulnerabilities, finding strength in imperfections, and moving forward with resolve towards a future full of possibilities”.

Bec tells her story with deep candour. The insidious nature of alcohol addiction is a key take away from this episode and the fact that physically giving up alcohol isn’t the hard part, learning how to deal with the emotions that alcohol masked is the real journey.

Bec offers hope and light to those of us who have struggled with alcohol addiction. She is six years sober and grateful for every day she gets to live alcohol free. She truly is shining in her sobriety!

Bec's website is: www.realtransitions.com.au

Welcome to our third season of the SHINE podcast. In this season I am looking at ways we can ease into midlife with particular emphasis on perimenopause and menopause symptoms. We will be talking to a Sleep Doctor, a Grey Area Drinking Coach, a Nutritionist and many more experts.

We open our season with the amazing Kelly Allison.

Kelly has taken her lived experience and channelled it into healing other women. Her raw narrative is both heartwarming and relatable.

Kelly was a high flying corporate real estate agent living a hectic life. Motherhood changed everything and her journey from the corporate world to becoming a highly sought after certified Kinesiologist, holistic counsellor and medical intuitive, as well as the owner of a Wellness Centre, is beyond fascinating.

As well as practising kinesiology, Kelly delivers accredited kinesiology training and is a spokesperson for her profession.

In this episode Kelly takes us through the fundamentals of kinesiology. She explains what would happen in a consult and how kinesiology can help with healing. She discusses the mind body connection and where kinesiology developed from. This is a highly informative episode with some wonderful insights.

Kelly plans to run self-healing courses for women, so they don’t need to see specialists. She is passionate about educating women to heal themselves. Her vision is for a world in which we heal ourselves.

Kelly has a wait list, but call be contacted at www.kellyallison.com.au

Ros Cardinal lives and breaths women’s empowerment. She is a workplace culture guru with a passion for smashing the glass ceiling.

This podcast episode has it all.

From a dynamic corporate human resources career, to surviving a life-threatening illness, to embracing a new career direction – Ros truly embodies a woman who shines.

Ros heads up her own consultancy - Shaping Change. She describes her work as equipping leaders and employees with the skills, tools, and strategies they need to be more resilient in the face of change and thrive in new environments. She coaches, mentors and develops people, using science-based approaches drawn from neuroscience, emotional intelligence, human behaviour, human instincts, and organisational behaviour to help create thriving constructive cultures, great leaders, and engaged and productive teams. Ros specialises in developing woman leaders and this podcast episode includes a fascinating discussion on why so many women exit the corporate world at the middle rungs of the ladder.

After working for so long with female leaders, Ros developed a Women’s Leader Archetypes model and assessment for women in leadership roles. Over 10,000 women have completed the assessment, and many more have provided additional insights into women’s leadership issues via email and interviews. Ros takes us through the archetypes and provides a fascinating insight into the difference between gendered management styles.

If you’re a female leader, you aspire to become one or you want to understand female leader styles, this podcast episode is for you. Donna ordered 14 (yes 14) books to further research some discussion after this interview. This episode will blow your mind!

Mish Wright is a fitness educator, speaker and a much revered women's health advocate. She won the Fuel Woman of the Year for women’s health advocacy in the fitness industry and has created EVEolution™. This course addresses the critical gaps in fitness education by debunking harmful myths and setting new standards that recognise women’s unique health needs. It has become a cornerstone in fitness education, empowering professionals to better serve their female clients. Mish has created over 30 online courses and runs her own fitness education and consulting business.

In this SHINE podcast episode Mish tells us her remarkable story. From nearly having it all, to chronic illness and how she embraced the transformative power of exercise in her healing journey. Mish understands adversity and cultivates perseverance. She discussed the program she created to help women understand how to incorporate their pelvic floor in exercise and she talks us through exercise and menopause - and how we can manage the transition.

This is a highly informative and frank episode full of practical tips real life examples. Mish is deeply passionate about being an advocate for women’s health and this episode is a must listen if you want to know more about our transition to menopause.

Mish has generously offered all listeners a free Perimenopause checklist. You can claim it at the link below:

https://go.mishwright.com/mailing-list/