Episode 18: Authentic Marketing That Feels Good to Create with Joanne Homestead

Can Marketing Feel Good? A Soulful Conversation with Joanne Homestead

What if writing emails could feel like a journey of self-discovery instead of just another sales tactic? In the latest episode of Redefining Us, host Stephanie Konter-O’Hara sits down with Joanne Homestead—email copywriter, coach, and founder of Desk Plant Creatives—to explore just that.

Joanne’s path from a 15-year teaching career to soulful storytelling began in a graduate school memoir class, where she discovered the power of personal narrative. Now, she helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs turn marketing into a meaningful, values-aligned practice.

In this heart-opening conversation, Stephanie and Joanne dive into:

  • The importance of your origin story—and how to uncover its power

  • How personal storytelling deepens emotional connection in marketing

  • Why values are essential for authentic branding

  • The role of safe vulnerability in content creation

  • The three pillars of a strong email sequence: value, connection, and promotion

  • What to do when perfectionism or marketing "rules" block your creativity

  • How messy first drafts (“zero drafts”) can lead to surprising clarity

For therapists, coaches, and creatives alike, this episode offers a fresh, affirming perspective on marketing that feels good, does good, and stays true to who you are.

Tune in and discover: That telling your story—your real, messy, beautifully imperfect story—might be the key to standing out, serving your people, and reclaiming your voice.

Connect with Joanne:

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Episode 17: Using Body Neutrality to Navigate Change and Build Confidence with Eada Gendelman

In this episode of Redefining Us, I speak with Eada Gendelman, a licensed counselor and founder of Morning Bird Therapy in Denver. Eada specializes in helping adults and teens heal their relationship with food, body, and exercise. Drawing from her own experience with an eating disorder, she offers a compassionate perspective on navigating body image struggles today.

Eada's journey into therapy was personal—having battled an eating disorder herself, she now helps others heal. While traditional therapy discourages personal disclosures, Eada finds that sharing her experience fosters deep connections with clients.

We discuss barriers to seeking help, especially for men, who often feel that eating disorders are a "woman’s issue." Eada highlights how cultural norms and family dynamics can reinforce unhealthy relationships with food and body image. The conversation also explores the shift away from toxic diet culture, which has left many women unsure of how to discuss body image in a healthy way.

Eada emphasizes that the first step in healing is awareness. She integrates tools from DBT and ACT to help clients identify triggers and develop healthier coping mechanisms. Self-compassion is key to this process, fueling motivation and resilience.

Eada encourages women to reclaim their energy, challenge societal standards, and focus on meaningful change. Her message is clear: healing is possible, and the world needs more women who are free from body insecurity.

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Episode 16: Mothering the Mother: Honoring our Grief with Kelle Myers

Motherhood is a profound transformation, yet society rarely gives mothers the space to fully honor this shift. In the latest episode of Redefining Us, host Stephanie Konter-O’Hara speaks with Licensed Professional Counselor Kellee Meyers about the power of ritual, grief, and reclaiming sacred spaces for mothers.

The Unspoken Grief of Motherhood

Kellee shares how her own experiences of birth, trauma, and recovery led her to explore ceremony. Motherhood often comes with silent grief—mourning the self before children, unmet expectations, and the emotional toll of birth. Too often, mothers are told to "just be grateful," leaving them without space to process their pain. Kellee’s work challenges this, offering structured ways to heal.

The Closing the Bones Ceremony

This four-hour, in-home ritual helps mothers feel seen, held, and honored. Through storytelling, somatic practices, music, and swaddling, the ceremony mirrors the care we give to newborns—care that mothers rarely allow themselves. Whether done postpartum or years later, it provides a way to close one chapter and step into the next.

The Power of Being Witnessed

Healing happens in community. Kellee highlights the importance of being seen—not just through words, but through presence and ritual. Much like group therapy, the act of being witnessed can transform how we relate to our experiences.

Reclaiming the Divine Feminine

Stephanie and Kellee explore how this ceremony aligns with the essence of feminine energy—receiving, creating, and allowing care. In a world that constantly demands more from mothers, prioritizing self-nourishment is a radical act.

Why This Matters Now

With mothers more stretched than ever, intentional healing spaces are crucial. By prioritizing their well-being, mothers create healthier families, stronger communities, and a more balanced world.

Listen to the full conversation on Redefining Us to learn more about honoring motherhood through ritual and healing.

Connect with Kellee
Kellee is the founder of Wild Transformations, where she offers Closing the Bones ceremonies, maternal mental health support, and workshops for mothers. You can find Website: wildtransformations.com 

IG and FB: @wildtransformations. 

Sign up for her monthly newsletter filled with raw, real reflections on motherhood.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a mother in your life who needs to hear that she is worthy of care, too.

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Episode 15: Midlife Priceless: Reinventing Yourself at Any Age with Sairan Aqrawi

In this episode of Redefining Us, I sit down with Sairan Aqrawi, an engineer and business strategist, who redefines midlife as a time for reinvention, not crisis. She introduces the concept of "midlife priceless," encouraging women to embrace their evolving journey with confidence. Sairan challenges the idea that midlife is a decline, instead presenting it as an opportunity for growth, fulfillment, and pursuing forgotten dreams.

With a unique mix of technical expertise and strategic insight, Sairan empowers individuals and organizations to reach their full potential. She dives into common barriers women face—feeling stuck, seeking validation, and losing a sense of purpose—and stresses the importance of curiosity, resilience, and taking action. Confidence, she says, is built through movement, not passive reflection.

Sairan also discusses how to overcome fear, rejection, and self-doubt, urging women to leverage their hidden talents and passions to create meaningful side businesses or pivot careers. A major theme of the episode is embracing change and lifelong learning, especially in the face of technological advances like AI. Rather than resisting change, she encourages women to lean into new opportunities and continuously evolve.

Sairan’s energy and wisdom shine throughout the conversation as she challenges listeners to redefine success, embrace their next phase with courage, and remind us that it's never too late to take risks and create a life that’s fulfilling and exciting.

Want to connect with Sairan? She’s offering a complimentary one-hour consultation for Redefining Us listeners! Mention this episode when reaching out:
LinkedIn: Sairan Aqrawi
Instagram: @sairan_aqrawi

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Episode 14: The Connection Between Disordered Eating and Nervous System Dysregulation with Ashlyn Burnett

This episode of Redefining Us features Ashlyn Burnett, a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, discussing the deep connection between the nervous system and struggles with food. She explains how polyvagal theory helps us understand how different nervous system states influence eating behaviors, from restriction and obsession to binge eating and disconnection.

Ashlyn highlights how trauma, perfectionism, and control affect eating habits and offers practical tools for nervous system regulation, inner healing, and somatic work. By addressing the root causes of food struggles, she teaches how to develop a healthier, more intuitive relationship with food—free from anxiety, guilt, and shame.

If you've ever felt trapped in cycles of restriction or bingeing, this episode provides insight and strategies for healing. Ashlyn shares resources, including her podcast Heart Led Wellness, a free root cause quiz, and a 12-week coaching program to support listeners in their journey toward food freedom.

Join the Conversation:
If this episode resonated with you, let us know! Leave a review, share this episode with a friend, or tag us on social media. Your story matters, and healing is possible.

 Connect with Ashlyn:
Podcast: Heart Led Wellness
Free Root Cause Quiz: http://heartledwellness.com/quiz
Instagram: @heartledwellness
12-Week Coaching Program: https://www.heartledwellness.com/hle

About Ashlyn: As a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach and BS in Integrative Healthcare, I specialize in guiding women to find peace in their relationship with food, body, and life as a whole. I work with my clients to address the deeper roots of WHY they feel out of balance in their physical and mental health, through healing the nervous system and doing the deep inner work.

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Episode 13: Redefining Rest, and Overcoming Overwhelm with Caitlin Morris

Caitlin Morris, an Overcoming Overwhelm Coach and mother of three, helps moms redefine overwhelm and create space for rest and self-care in a way that works for them. Drawing from her own experience navigating the challenges of early motherhood, grief, and societal pressures, she empowers mothers to break free from unrealistic expectations and prioritize their well-being.

What to Expect:

  • Caitlin’s Story – From fitness professional to mother of three, Caitlin shares how motherhood transformed her perspective on self-care and personal growth.

  • The "ReRooted" Paradigm – Her unique framework for sustainable change, inspired by nature’s cycles, trimesters, and seasons of life.

  • Life and Loss – How Caitlin balanced the joy of new motherhood with the grief of losing loved ones, shaping her approach to resilience.

  • Redefining Rest – Exploring how rest looks different for everyone and the power of integrating small moments of rest into daily life.

  • Breaking Free from Mom Guilt – Challenging the pressure to "do it all" and embracing the importance of prioritizing personal needs.

Through honesty and wisdom, Caitlin reminds mothers that motherhood is a continuous cycle of growth, not a final destination. Whether you're in the newborn phase, balancing a career, or seeking clarity on self-care, her insights offer a path to reclaiming time and energy.

Connect with Caitlin Morris:

Subscribe to her newsletter or book a free "Possibility Call" to start overcoming overwhelm and creating space for what truly matters.

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Episode 12: Embracing Pleasure and Redefining Sexuality with Dr. Rosalyn Dischiavo

What does embracing pleasure look like as a woman whether your a woman without kids, a mom, a woman in menopause, a grandmother, etc? In this conversation with Dr. Rosalyn Dischiavo, founder of the Institute for Sexuality Education and Enlightenment and author of The Deep Yes: The Lost Art of True Receiving, she shares her personal and professional journey into sex education and therapy, exploring the profound intersections of sexual health, mental well-being, and personal identity. She dives into her story of overcoming infertility, pursuing a doctoral degree, and the importance of integrating pleasure and desire into our holistic health practices.

We discuss:

  • The cultural stigmas surrounding sexuality and how they disconnect us from our bodies.

  • Why sexual health is essential to mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

  • The often-overlooked connection between receiving and pleasure and how embracing both can lead to healing and growth.

  • The creation of the Institute for Sexuality Education and Enlightenment and its mission to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and personal empowerment.

  • Rosalyn’s book The Deep Yes: The Lost Art of True Receiving and the powerful practices it offers for embracing pleasure, nature, and rest without guilt.

Rosalyn reflects on how societal messages, like the Madonna-whore complex and hustle culture, inhibit our ability to truly experience life’s joys like enjoying a sunset or embracing intimacy. She wants us to rethink our relationship with pleasure and provides actionable insights for cultivating deeper connections with themselves and our partners.

This is a conversation that goes beyond sex. It’s about reclaiming wholeness, honoring our bodies, and redefining how we show up in the world.

Links and Resources:
Learn more about Rosalyn Devo and her work at the Institute for Sexuality Education and Enlightenment.
Check out Rosalyn's book, The Deep Yes: The Lost Art of True Receiving, available on Amazon.
Follow us on Instagram @RedefiningUsPodcast for more empowering conversations.

Connect with Dr. Roz:
http://instituteforsexuality.com
IG: @HolisticSexEd https://www.instagram.com/holisticsexed/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/InstituteforSEE
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Yes-Lost-True-Receiving-ebook/dp/B01COCGE74/ref=monarch_sidesheet_image

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Episode 11: Talking Money and Motherhood with Financial Therapist Khara Croswaite Brindle

We are talking about the deeply emotional and often taboo topic of money, especially as it relates to parenting.

Guest, Khara Croswaite Brindle shares her journey into the field of financial therapy and sheds light on the unique challenges parents face. Like psychological weight of financial fears and the practical considerations of budgeting for the costs of raising children.

Money is never just about dollars and cents. What us mother’s know is that money is also about exhaustion, comfort, and survival. Financial therapist, Khara Croswaite Brindle reminds us that compassion is essential when reflecting on our financial decisions.

What need was left unmet? What led you here? Instead of judgment, try curiosity. Instead of shame, try understanding. You're human. It’s not the mistakes that define you, it’s how you move forward.

We talk about:

  1. The Emotional Weight of Money: How inherited beliefs and personal fears shape our financial decisions.

  2. The Real Costs of Parenthood: From childbirth expenses to everyday spending habits, Brindle breaks down how to adapt budgets for family life.

  3. Predatory Marketing and Parental Guilt: Insight into how marketers target parents’ pain points and practical strategies to navigate these pressures.

  4. Curiosity and Compassion in Financial Healing: Why approaching money conversations with understanding instead of judgment is essential.

  5. Generosity and Stability: Balancing financial generosity with the need to maintain personal financial security.

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