Experiencing Novelty  Together Makes You Grow Fonder of Each Other Today our guest is Xiaomeng Xu, who asks others to call her Mona, and also goes by Professor X for her students because her name is tricky to pronounce. Mona was born in Fuling, China and immigrated to the United States at age 5. Raised in New York City, she graduated in psychology from NYU and got her PhD from Stony Brook University.  Now she’s...Read More

Transitioning from Adolescence into Adulthood: Mark McConville is a family clinical psychologist who focuses on young adults who are struggling to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Mark is a senior faculty member at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and a consulting psychologist to the Hathaway Brown School and University School in Cleveland, Ohio. He also has written a book: Failure To Launch: Why Your Twenty-something Hasn’t Grown up and What to do About It. If you like...Read More

Navigating the Ups and Downs of Friendships: Suzanne Degges-White is professor of counseling, adult and higher Education at Northern Illinois University.  Her research interests include intimate relationships, friendship and motherhood. Suzanne is also a blogger for Psychology Today. She is author of Toxic Relationships: Knowing the Rules and Dealing with the Friends who Break Them. If you like what you hear, I’d really appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate and review the show. It’s...Read More

Integrating Ancient Teachings into Modern Life to Create a Much Better You Laurie J. Cameron is the author of The Mindful Day: How to Find Focus, Calm and Joy from Morning to Evening. In her book, Laurie offers practical, step-by-step methods for being mindful–from the morning commute to the dinner table. Laurie is also a leadership coach, teacher and fellow at the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being at George Mason. She is founder of...Read More

Purging Perfectionism: Elizabeth Lombardo is a psychologist on a mission to free people from their inner critic. She is also Shaquille O’Neal’s “Head Coach for Happiness!”  She authored the book Better Than Perfect: 7 Strategies to Crush Your Inner Critic and Create a Life You Love. In Elizabeth’s book,  she writes about ramping up self-confidence and gaining skills you need to flourish. Elizabeth says perfectionists are everywhere. And they are often unhappy and unfulfilled. They thrive...Read More

Want to jump-start romance and joy in your Empty Nest Marriage? Elizabeth Rubin is a psychotherapist who helps couples keep love and passion in marriage. She’s also on the clinical faculty at the Yale school of Medicine and advises students at Timothy Dwight Residential college. Elizabeth practices what she preaches: She’s been happily married to Dr. Richard Rubin, a psychiatrist, for close to 50 years. That’s a lot of know-how about romance in one household!...Read More

Tap into Passion to Push Past Fear, Empower and Reinvent Yourself Gina Warner is founder of the Badass Women’s Book Club, which has more than 14,000 followers.  Her goal is to prompt women to lead intentionally empowered lives by speaking up and going forward with strength and confidence. Here’s why she launched it:  Gina was on her way home from a leadership conference, where she hadn’t spoken up for three days, which made her feel...Read More

A Single Mom Walks The Camino De Santiago and Reflects on the Gifts of Motherhood After raising her son Joe as a single mother then taking him to college to pursue an acting career, writer Michelle Fiordaliso is taking a “Mom’s Gap Year.” She says she’s “utterly thrilled to be alive and for the gift of who mothering made me.” And she is taking a sabbatical of sorts. She embarked on a solo eighteen-day pilgrimage...Read More

Boomerang Kids Abound Because of Low Wages and The High Cost of Education and Housing Katherine Newman is a professor of sociology at UMass and author of The Accordion Family: Boomerang Kids, Anxious Parents, and the Private Toll of Global Competition. She is the author of 15 books and has taught and run academic programs at many universities, including Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley and Johns Hopkins. She  has conducted research around the globe on boomerang kids—young...Read More