We talk all day long.

At work. At home. With friends, colleagues, strangers.

But how often are we actually communicating?

In this episode, I sit down with communication consultant Dee Dee Fisher to explore a powerful (and slightly uncomfortable) idea: many of our conversations aren't actually exchanging information at all.

We're reacting. We're making assumptions. We're talking—but not connecting.

Dee Dee shares the moment she first recognized this pattern as a teenager working in her family's gas station—and how that early insight turned into the work she does today helping individuals and organizations communicate more clearly, effectively, and with far less conflict.

We talk about what gets in the way of real communication, how to "function past the reaction" in difficult moments, and why changing just one thing in how you show up can completely shift the outcome of a conversation.

This is a conversation about being more intentional with your words, your reactions, and your assumptions—and what becomes possible when you are.

• Why many conversations don't actually go anywhere

• The difference between reacting and communicating

• How to "function past the reaction" in difficult conversations

• A simple framework (who, what, when, where, why, how) to improve clarity

• The role of assumptions—and how they derail communication

• Why you don't have to change the other person to change the conversation

• A powerful story about stopping bullying by shifting internal response

• How better communication impacts work, relationships, and self-talk

The next time you feel yourself reacting in a conversation, pause and ask:

"What is actually trying to be communicated here?"

That one question can change everything.

Find DeeDee on LinkedIn by clicking here and her website here.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who would benefit—and as always, thank you for listening to Real Women's Work.

What do you say to someone who's grieving?

Most of us don't know. So we send flowers. We drop off food. And then… we disappear.

Today's guest, Kelly Edmondson, is here to change that.

Kelly is a nurse executive, grief counselor, and founder of Timely Presence—a service created after the death of her son, Darius. Through her own experience of profound loss, she's learned something most of us never have:

Grief doesn't need fixing. It needs presence.

In this conversation, Kelly shares what people got right—and wrong—after her son passed, and gives us practical, deeply human ways to show up for the people we love when they need it most.

This episode will change how you think about grief, support, and connection.

• Why "What can I do?" is often the wrong question
• What actually helps someone in grief (and when it matters most)
• How to support someone weeks and months after a loss
• Why saying the person's name matters
• The real impact of not showing up
• How grief connects to long-term health (yes, really)

• "Your absence… is louder than anything you could say."
• "There's not a day I don't know my son is dead."
• "Don't ask what you can do. Name the thing."
• "Tears are love."

Kelly is a nurse executive, grief counselor, and founder of Timely Presence, a service designed to help people show up consistently for loved ones during the first year of grief through meaningful, timed gifts and reminders.

Her work is rooted in both clinical experience and personal loss—and a mission to make sure no one grieves alone.

• Timely Presence: https://thetimelypresence.com
• Follow Kelly on Instagram: @thetimelypresence
• Connect on LinkedIn: Kelly Edmondson

If this episode made you think of someone— text them. Call them. Say their person's name.

That's the work.

This episode is part of Podcasthon, a global podcasting event spotlighting meaningful causes and stories that matter.

What happens when fear becomes belief—and belief becomes certainty?

In this episode, I speak with Kathryn Rutkowski, president of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, about one of the most devastating stories from the Salem witch trials. Rebecca Nurse was a 71-year-old woman, deeply respected in her community, who was accused, tried, and executed for a crime she did not commit.

But this conversation doesn't stay in 1692.

As we explore Rebecca's story—her arrest, her quiet certainty in her innocence, and the people who risked everything to stand by her—we begin to uncover something deeper: how ordinary people become capable of extraordinary harm.

We talk about fear, belief, moral panic, forgiveness, and what it means to remember history as something real—not distant, not abstract, but human.

Because the question isn't just what happened in Salem.

It's whether we are any different.

• Who Rebecca Nurse was—and why her story stands out

• The role of fear, belief, and community in the Salem witch trials

• Why people truly believed what was happening

• What it meant to stand up for the accused—and the risks involved

• The power of remembering one person, not just an event

• How history becomes distorted—and how to reclaim its truth

• Ann Putnam Jr.'s apology and the complexity of forgiveness

• Why "we're no better than the Puritans" might be true

Kathryn Rutkowski is the president of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers, Massachusetts. She began working there at 14 years old and has spent decades preserving and sharing the story of Rebecca Nurse with care, depth, and reverence.

"The further away history gets, the less connected people feel to the tragedy of it."

What if talking about death actually helped us live better?

In this episode of Real Women's Work, Jen Keefe sits down with Laura Cleminson, a death doula and founder of the Pre-Dead Social Club, where people gather to talk openly about mortality, dying, and what matters most in life.

Laura's work began after walking alongside her mother through the dying process. That experience opened her eyes to something many of us never learn: we often face death without the language, awareness, or confidence to navigate it.

Instead of avoiding these conversations, Laura helps people explore them together—because, as she says in this episode:

"Every conversation about dying is really a conversation about living."

In this thoughtful and surprisingly hopeful conversation, Jen and Laura explore how becoming more aware of mortality can bring clarity, connection, and compassion into our everyday lives.

• Why Laura believes there is no expert on death
• How her mother's diagnosis changed the course of her life
• What a death doula actually does
• The story behind the Pre-Dead Social Club
• Why talking about dying helps people understand how they want to live
• The importance of asking medical providers "What happens if I do nothing?"
• How community conversations about mortality are helping people support loved ones through end-of-life experiences

"Every conversation about dying is really a conversation about living."

"There is no expert on death."

"If we talk about dying before we need to, we show up differently when it matters."

Laura Cleminson is an end-of-life doula and the founder of the Pre-Dead Social Club, a growing community where people gather to have open conversations about mortality, dying, and living with greater awareness.

Through community events, conversations, and education, Laura helps people develop what she calls death awareness—the ability to approach mortality with curiosity, clarity, and compassion.

Website:

https://www.predeadsocialclub.com

Instagram:

PreDeadSocialClub

Real Women's Work explores the lives, lessons, and perspectives of women doing meaningful work in the world—often work we rarely hear about.

Through honest conversations, host Jen Keefe highlights the many ways women contribute, lead, and shape the world around them.

If you enjoyed this conversation, please follow Real Women's Work and share the episode with someone who might find it meaningful.

Some people find their calling in the most unexpected places.

And for Brenda Sullivan, that calling happened… in the cemetery.

In this two-part conversation, I'm joined by the fascinating, funny, wildly knowledgeable founder of The Gravestone Girls — cemetery artists and historians who are helping people all over the country reconnect with history, symbolism, mortality, and the stories literally carved into stone.

I first discovered Brenda's work a couple of years ago when my daughter and I attended one of her talks at a library here in New Hampshire. I honestly didn't know what to expect — I assumed it might be spooky or "oddity-adjacent."

But within minutes of listening to her, my entire world expanded.

What Brenda does is deeply fact-based, richly historical, and surprisingly emotional. She teaches us that cemeteries are not just places of death — they are places of culture, meaning, artistry, community, and connection.

Brenda shares her incredible story of leaving behind a high-powered corporate career — what she calls a "soul-sucking day job" — to fully step into the work she truly loved.

She talks about:

• Being a "corporate dropout" and finally changing her seat

• How a hobby turned into a thriving business and national following

• Why the cemetery world is much bigger and more mainstream than people assume

• The surprising hunger people have to be "invited in" to these spaces

• How gravestones tell us not only who died — but how people lived

We also explore the powerful idea that the more specific you get about what you love, the bigger your world becomes.

Our conversation deepens into the history and symbolism of early New England burial grounds.

Brenda walks us through:

• The earliest burial practices in the 1600s

• Why colonial gravestones were meant as messages to the living

• Winged skulls, hourglasses, soul symbols, and the "scared straight" visual language of death

• How modern medicine has changed our relationship with mortality

• Why Victorians picnicked in cemeteries — and what we've lost in our disconnection from death

This is one of those conversations that makes you look at something familiar — a graveyard, a headstone, a symbol you've passed a hundred times — and suddenly see an entire world underneath it.

Brenda is passionate, hilarious, deeply thoughtful, and proof that following what fascinates you can open doors you never imagined.

This episode is split into two parts at around the 42-minute mark — so make sure to listen to both.

I cannot wait for you to step into this world with us.

Find Brenda and her work by clicking here.

Some places change you the moment you arrive. Alnoba is one of them.

In this conversation, Wendy Peirce, Vice President of Salles, shares how her path led her to Alnoba—and why this land, this work, and this community feel so deeply alive. What begins as a leadership and team development retreat quickly reveals itself as something much more: a space where nature, spirituality, and real human connection come together in a way that's hard to put into words… but impossible to forget.

We talk about the vision of Alnoba's founders, Alan and Harriet Lewis, and their deep reverence for the land—how conservation, philanthropy, and community impact aren't side notes here, they're the foundation. Wendy reflects on how being in nature naturally softens us, opens us, and invites the kind of curiosity and honesty that real growth requires.

There's a strong throughline in this conversation: growth doesn't happen when we're comfortable. It happens when we're willing to step into the unknown, ask better questions, and stay present—even when it's uncomfortable. Alnoba creates the conditions for that kind of transformation, both for individuals and for teams trying to lead with more alignment, purpose, and heart.

This episode is about leadership, yes—but it's also about listening, relationships, and what becomes possible when we slow down enough to let a place work on us.

Find Alnoba by clicking here.

We have all heard the term "Life Coach" but what does it actually mean? What does a LIfe Coach do?

Trisha Gudka was at a dangerous point in her life. The joy was gone. As a mom of two young children the expectations and realities did not line up. This led to unhappiness and depression. She was at a critical moment.

Fortunately, Trisha was able to find resources, tools, and practices that brought her out of deperession and into happiness, joy, and love. Now, she spends her life helping other mums who want it do the same.

This interview is so relatable. We all know the moment of responding to our children in a way that is disconnected, not present, and even unkind. We wish we had done better.

This is where Trisha's work comes in. She helps busy mums who are looking for it find tools and resources to help them get connected to their life again. To help them do what might feel impossible... find joy in the every day.

I know it sounds grandiose or like a pipe dream. But a lot of people experience a major shift when they use the right tools and practices.

Trisha spends her days not only finding tools and resources but learning how to put them into practice. She runs group coaching programs so that mums can learn together and from each other. Trisha's work provides hope-- often times to those who need it the most; mums.

Listen in as Trisha shares her vulnerable story, what led her to this work, and how she does it.

Find Trisha by clicking here.

Yes, Cheryl Holling talks about what it was like to create a podcast out of thin air and bring it to a multiple award winning pocast. Yes, Cheryl talks about her exiting work as a voice talent.

This conversation veers deeper. In her incredible, love-filled voice, Cheryl offers us practical inspiration on how to offer kindness to those who are having a hard time. Her experience with her two pocasts; 19 Stories and The Voice Kitchen meld together beautifully to remind us why belonging matters, how kindness and love can positively shape a life, and the importance of staying flexible.

Listen in not only to Cheryl's unique experience but to her beautiful thoughts and words that can make each of our lives better!

Find Cheryl and her work by clicking here.

Not a sports fan? No worries—this episode is still absolutely for you.

Sasha Graham, former Walt Disney executive and Oregon farm kid turned award-winning podcaster, joins me to talk about what it really means to live a life that feels good, positive, and meaningful. Her podcast, Sports Will Save Us All, has earned multiple awards and now sits in the top 2% of podcasts globally.

I wasn't just curious about how she built all this as a fellow podcast host—I was curious as someone who's ambitious, but who sometimes lets self-doubt get in the way. So when our conversation quickly turned toward self-limiting beliefs, it felt perfectly on cue.

Yes, we talk about sports. But we also talk about the warm, vulnerable space Sports Will Save Us All creates in the world, and the unexpected real-time coaching Sasha gives on how to bring an idea not only to life, but beyond anywhere we imagined it could go.

Listen in as Sasha and I explore how sports—and storytelling—just might save us all.

Find Sasha here: Sports Will Save Us All Website

Sports Will Save Us All on Instagram

In this episode, I step back from interviewing and instead reflect on what I learned while hosting my three-part series on the Salem witch trials. These conversations left a mark on me—deeply, unexpectedly—and today I'm sharing the insights that stayed long after the microphones were turned off.