Feeling unfulfilled in her career as a journalist and Hollywood reporter, Sarah found her true calling when she happened upon the story of Arbella Stuart. Writing Arbella’s biography opened up a whole new path for Sarah, coupling her love of writing with her lifelong fascination with the untold stories of women throughout history. Sarah Gristwood is a journalist and author committed to publicizing women’s experiences throughout history. As a young journalist, she championed women’s voices through outlets such as the Guardian Women's Page and as a founder member of Women in Journalism and The Women’s Equality Party. As a historian, she has consistently explored the question of women and power through the ages. She now broadcasts regularly for Sky News, CNN and the BBC on royal and historical affairs. A graduate of Oxford University, she is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the RSA, who has been shortlisted for both the Marsh Biography Award and the Ben Pimlott Prize for Political Writing. Her most recent book, Secret Voices: A Year of Women's Diaries, is a captivating collection of extracts from women’s diaries, looking back over four centuries to discover how women’s experiences have changed down the years, and, of course, how they haven't.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

01:59 Sarah's Personal Story and Journey to Historical Biographies

05:11 Common Themes in Women's Diaries

08:40 Accessing Historical Diaries

11:15 Modern Diaries and Historical Perspectives

21:59 Personal Growth Through Journaling

32:24 Choosing the Diaries for the Book

35:27 Conclusion and Contact Information

Quotes

“One aspect of this book of Secret Voices for me was that in some ways the women in it were voicing some of my own concerns, thoughts, and traumas.”

“Frustration is the single greatest emotion across all these generations.”

"Journaling was a huge part of personal growth for many of these women."

"A number of these women were voicing feelings, ambition, anger, that they weren't allowed to express elsewhere in their society."

“I love that, for a number of these women, the battles were small personal ones. Some, like Charlotte Forton, were fighting huge public battles. But others were just opening the doors, moving, moving the goalposts on in their own small ways.

"The immediate privacy of the diary form allowed them to voice those unacceptable feelings, anger, ambition, discontent."

"Self-expression is so important, and for women, keeping a diary or journal is a great way to tell your truth and perhaps, as we talked about, never share it."

Mentioned:

SarahGristwood.com

Secret Voices. A Year of Women’s Diaries

eConnect with Bonnie

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon

If you enjoyed this episode of Badass Women Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review.

Pivoting through a number of different careers, it wasn’t until Lucy Ryan was in her 40s that she decided to follow her true passion and fascination with women in their midlife years. She became the first student in Europe to earn a masters in positive psychology and later a PhD. Lucy is a leadership coach, managing director of MindSpring for the last 20 years, a positive psychologist, advocate of women, a master practitioner coach, and she has trained and consulted with and coached 10, 000 leaders in global blue chip companies across 29 countries. In 2021, Lucy published the best selling Lunchtime Learning for Leaders. She's a passionate advocate for women development, helping organizations attract, retain, and promote their female leaders, and gender proof their success in plans. Her latest book is called Revolting Women, Why Mid Left Women Are Walking Out, and What to Do About It.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

01:55 Lucy's Personal Journey: From Singer to Scholar

03:09 The Turning Point: Embracing Education and Research

06:16 Challenges and Triumphs: Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

11:12 The Silent Revolution: Gendered Ageism in the Workplace

17:17 Strategies for Retaining and Valuing Midlife Women

27:43 Empowering Women: Building Networks and Finding Voices

32:02 Conclusion: Advocating for Midlife Women

Quotes

“Women at midlife have a massive capacity for resilience.”

“So many women feel the same as you and that gorgeous strength of the revolution comes from togetherness”

“We have the wisdom and experience and a lifetime of lessons learned.”

“Every revolution starts with a conversation.”

.

Mentioned:

www.lucyryan.co.uk

Lunchtime Learning for Leaders

Revolting Women: Why Midlife Women Are Walking Out and What to Do About It

eConnect with Bonnie

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon:

If you enjoyed this episode of Badass Women Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review.

When Lesley Hensell’s oldest son was diagnosed with autism, focusing on him became a priority. Deciding to quit her job, Lesley found a way to supplement her lost income by pivoting from marketing consulting to online retail, a change that led her down an unexpectedly successful path. Lesley is the co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, whose 85 plus employees solve problems for e-commerce sellers. Lesley oversees the Riverbend service team, and she has personally helped hundreds of sellers get their suspended Amazon accounts and ISINs up and running. She has been an Amazon seller for more than a decade. And her new book is the Amazon Incubator: Grow Your Business or Hatch a New One. Lesley earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from university of Texas at Austin. She volunteers for A Wish With Wings, a wish granting organization for little Texans with life threatening conditions and serves on the board of directors for Hallie's Heroes, which funds bone marrow matches and medical research for kids with cancer and critical illnesses.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

1:31 Lesley’s personal story

5:46 Challenges and lessons

10:28 Amazon strategy and skill set for success

17:26 Suspended accounts, Amazon ads, algorithms, editor’s picks and Amazon’s choice

25:21 What people don’t know about being a seller on Amazon

33:15 Testimonials and verified reviews

Quotes

“I had to really learn to take joy in the small accomplishments that we had as a family.”

“As a seller, one of your top goals is to develop a good BSR or best seller rate.”

”What people don't realize is that you make or lose money at the moment you buy your inventory….Make sure the item is profitable first that is the number one thing you can do to Set yourself up for success because if you overpay when you purchase the product, there's just no way to recoup that money.”

Mentioned:

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

RvierbendConsulting.com

The Amazon Incubator

eConnect with Bonnie

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon:

If you enjoyed this episode of Badass Women Podcast, then make sure to subscribe to the podcast and drop us a five-star review.