Over 50 and Transforming Trauma into Freedom

05/23/23 • 30 min

Host Sherrilynne Starkie welcomes decorated endurance athlete and author Susan Gold to episode 33 of the 50 Women Over 50 podcast.

Susan’s new book, Toxic Family: Transforming Childhood Trauma into Adult Freedom is a powerful memoire of her own journey of growing up in a troubled home and using self empathy and kindness to heal and thrive.

She ended her marriage when she was 53 and entered process of self discovery. Writing her memoire was a part of it. She explains, “It was the way I navigated through that ending. I wrote him a six-figure check, he went on to his next source of supply and I walked into the gift of understanding my power, my accomplishments for the first time. My heart started to open authentically.”

In this interview Susan shares her lessons about kindness and empathy, especially towards yourself. She talks about remembering the child you once were and about forgiving yourself for mistakes you might have made and chances you didn’t take.

Susan Gold :

Navigating a ferociously challenging upbringing, while bravely moving forward as an adult to face ingrained, outdated, and patriarchal programming head-on, Susan Gold now shares a unique perspective in viewing life challenges as occasions for transformation. She’s excited to help others all over the globe transform their traumatic experiences into peace. Through her book, Toxic Family: Transforming Childhood Trauma into Adult Freedom, Susan turns the standard paradigm on its head courageously leading others through her own journey of abuse, addiction, and surviving narcissism all while creating a distinctly empowering personal and professional life.

Susan Gold
Toxic Family: Transforming Childhood Trauma into Adult Freedom
Quiet Marketing by Danielle M. Gardner
Age is a Mental State: An interview with Basia Vanderveen

About the 50 Women Over 50 Podcast:

Sherrilynne Starkie started this show as a creative project with the goal of interviewing 50 women past their 50th birthday to learn how they see the world, what lessons they’ve learned and what advice they have for us all. She’s been blogging and podcasting for 18+ years as part of a successful marketing and communications career and loves learning from all the women she interviews. Subscribe to 50 Women Over 50 wherever you get your podcasts and please share it with your friends. Get each weekly episode dropped into your inbox by subscribing here. If you’d like to be one of the 50 Women over 50 featured on this podcast apply by clicking here.

Elevating the voices and stories of women navigating the enriching complexities of midlife, '50 Women Over 50' is an empowering podcast that draws inspiration from the experiences of 50 incredible women.

Host Sherrilynne Starkie welcomes decorated endurance athlete and author Susan Gold to episode 33 of the 50 Women Over 50 podcast.

Susan Gold :

Susan Gold
Toxic Family: Transforming Childhood Trauma into Adult Freedom
Quiet Marketing by Danielle M. Gardner
Age is a Mental State: An interview with Basia Vanderveen

About the 50 Women Over 50 Podcast:

Previous Episode

Over 50 and Starting a New Chapter

Host Sherrilynne Starkie welcomes Publisher Nancy Erickson, owner of Stonebrook Publishing and an award-winning book coach to episode 32 of the 50 Women Over 50 podcast.

At age 50 Nancy left a bad marriage, got sober and walked away from a promising career at Oracle, the world’s third largest software company. Now 65, she says she’s in the prime of her life.

She explains, “About 90 per cent of life is about showing up. When you're in a troubled situation, know that you can walk out of it into something better by getting up every day and showing up. Just walk out of your troubles step by step and when you follow the things that you're interested in, it's amazing where it can lead.”

In this interview she shares with us her optimistic view of the future where each of us offers hope and help to others by simply telling our own stories about what we have discovered in life.

Nancy Erickson :

Nancy Erickson is the owner of two book-related businesses, The Book Professor® and Stonebrook Publishing, an award-winning nonfiction publishing house. In 2022, she was named a Top 10 Book Coach in the US by The Coach Federation. She coaches business professionals to become authors of high-impact nonfiction books that will establish them as experts in their fields, increase their credibility, help attract a following, and expand their business.

About the 50 Women Over 50 Podcast:

Next Episode

Over 50 and Focusing on Faith Over Fear

Host Sherrilynne Starkie welcomes author and certified financial coach Patti Handy to episode 34 of the 50 Women Over 50 podcast.

As a divorced mother, Patti has learned firsthand that a marital breakdown can be financially devastating. She raised her son single-handedly while working as a financial advisor and then at age 62, a time when many people are thinking of retiring, she’s made a career pivot and has started a whole new business helping women especially those who are divorced, widowed or single, learn how to manage their finances.

Patti focuses on living in faith over fear. She says, “My life experiences have made me smarter, wiser, more intuitive. I trust myself more. I fall back on my intuition too, but really focus on living in faith over fear and just trusting that things are working out the way they're supposed to.”

In this interview Patti discusses taking on life over 50 with boundless energy, optimism and a deep faith that will set up her new venture for success and will, no doubt, bring much prosperity to her clients too.

Patti Handy :

As a former Financial Advisor and Mortgage Advisor, Patti has had countless conversations with women, specifically divorced, widowed and single women, who felt overwhelmed, embarrassed and frustrated when it came to their finances, investing and money. She’s a Certified Life Coach, Certified Executive Coach and published author of four books. With that said, soaring solo in life as a divorced, single mom, has taught her a lot.