When your kids leave the nest and the Caregiving finally stops — who are you?

That question can stop you cold. And if you've been living it, you already know how disorienting that silence can be. This honest, heartfelt conversation is for every person standing in that in-between space, wondering who they are. 

My guest today is Jay Ramsden — podcaster, Empty Nest coach, and someone who has lived this reckoning from the inside out. After a 30-year career in Education and years as a primary caregiver, Jay didn't just adjust to the empty nest. He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. He walked the Camino de Santiago. And somewhere between the altitude and the miles, he found a philosophy that changed everything: Mpole, Mpole — Swahili for slowly, slowly. One intentional step at a time.

In this episode, Jay and I go deep on what it really takes to rebuild your identity, shed the roles that no longer fit, and step into a second act that finally feels like yours.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why pivoting your career can feel unsettling even when every part of you knows it's time
• How to rebuild your self-identity and what intentional living looks like day in and day out — not just in theory
• How to use “what's in the way” as your map toward more freedom and self-discovery
• What Jay learned from getting comfortable with going slow — and why lasting personal reinvention requires exactly that
• How to recognize when caregiving has quietly become your whole identity, and what it takes to reclaim yourself from the inside out
• What JOMO is and how shifting your FOMO opens the door to truly liberated living
• How to start trusting yourself again to create a more meaningful, purpose-driven second act

If you've been feeling stretched between who you were and who you're becoming — this episode is your reminder that there is still so much of you left to discover.

This chapter gets to belong to you too. 

Cheers to more Love and freedom,

Laurie

Click here to learn about my NEW “Nervous System Regulation Starter Kit” 

Click here to purchase my book: Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go

Free Resources

Click here to schedule a FREE inquiry call with me.

Click here for my FREE “Beginner’s Guide to Somatic Healing”

Click here for my FREE Core Values Exercise

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Connect with Jay Ramsden
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RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Strength to Strength: A book by Arthur C. Brooks mentioned for its insights on managing life transitions and shifting focus from external achievements

The Obstacle Is the Way: A book by Ryan Holiday that explores using challenges as opportunities for Growth

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DISCLAIMER: THE COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS AVAILABLE ON THIS PODCAST ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL AND Entertainment PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEGAL, MEDICAL OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LICENSED THERAPIST IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS. YOU SHOULD CONTACT AN ATTORNEY IN YOUR STATE TO OBTAIN LEGAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LICENSED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL WITH RESPECT TO ANY MEDICAL ISSUE OR PROBLEM.

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Laurie James Laurie James, Author, Podcaster, and Somatic Relationship Coach

Hi, I'm Laurie James...a mother, divorcée, recovering caregiver turned author, somatic relationship coach, and podcaster. My podcast, Confessions of a Freebird, was inspired by my youngest of four children leaving the nest and is the sequel to my book, Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go.

My memoir is about my journey from loneliness to finding belonging during a time when I was raising four teenage daughters, my mother had a heart attack and needed care, all while my marriage began to crumble underneath me.

Now I love helping people divorce, heal, and date differently in midlife. I love blending my somatic training and coaching to help clients develop a better relationship with their bodies and nervous system. Doing so allows them to find the inner freedom to experience more happiness, joy and create the life they desire through nervous system regulation.

When I'm not coaching clients or podcasting, I can be found nurturing my free spirit by walking my adopted husky Lu, skiing, sailing, hiking, spending time with my four adult daughters, close friends or planning my next adventure.