We talk with family lawyer and mediator Christine Marquetti about why divorce often spikes during major life shifts and how midlife women start refusing the roles that kept them quiet. We break down smarter ways to separate, protect kids and finances, and rebuild without turning your former partner into an enemy.

• COVID pressures that magnify existing relationship cracks
• Midlife change and menopause as a catalyst for “gray divorce”
• Mental load dynamics and why imbalance becomes intolerable
• Reframing the idea of a “failed marriage”
• Why the second biggest decision is how you separate
• When court is necessary and when it is avoidable
• Negotiation, mediation, mediation arbitration, and arbitration explained
• Collaborative law basics and how neutral experts can help
• Children and conflict including the damage of silence
• Financial disclosure, records, and planning for post-divorce costs
• Repartnering later in life and why agreements protect everyone
• Choosing kindness over the “shark” approach and making generous assumptions

Follow Living Left for bold conversations by women for women on business, creativity, and comeback energy.

Find us on Instagram @living_left_​​

Because what’s left isn’t less. It’s everything.

We examine “give to gain” through lived experience, from financing roadblocks to subtle biases that still shape who gets credit. Practical allyship, better reviews, and showing up for community events become the through line for making equity real.

• Meaning of give to gain as shared responsibility
• The gap between progress and systemic barriers
• Financing hurdles and decision-making gatekeepers
• Simple ways to give credit and build allies
• Redesigning performance reviews to reduce bias
• Language shifts from apology to agency
• Why visibility and courage from allies matter
• Sharing the mental load at home and work
• Concrete steps to show up and invite others

Follow Living Left for bold conversations by women for women on business, creativity, and comeback energy.

Find us on Instagram @living_left_​​

Because what’s left isn’t less. It’s everything.

We laugh our way through the strange shift of midlife—cheering for the Olympians’ parents, noticing the doctors look younger than our kids, and choosing depth over years as our north star. Along the way we explore trust, shedding, neuroplasticity, and the joy of paying attention.

• Watching the Olympics as parents, not peers
• Feeling “good enough” next to elite achievements
• Cataract story and the “where are all the adults” moment
• Trusting younger professionals and reframing competence
• Kids nearing graduation and our changing perspective
• Shedding obligations to find momentum and play
• Training the mind through neuroplasticity and smaller reactions
• Seeking newness by lowering the noise and raising attention
• Grief, time, and valuing depth over longevity
• Building community through richer, more present conversations

Follow Living Left for bold conversations by women for women on business, creativity, and comeback energy.

Find us on Instagram @living_left_​​

Because what’s left isn’t less. It’s everything.