Thrive Solo

Send us a textIn this week’s episode of Spinsterhood Reimagined, I talk to founder of the Savvy Auntie Community, author and entrepreneur, Melanie Notkin.Melanie is an entrepreneur, author, media contributor, speaker, marketer, and a leading voice of childless, often single, women and men. In 2008, she founded ‘Savvy Auntie: A Celebration Of Modern Aunthood,’ a multiplatform lifestyle brand for cool aunts, great-aunts, godmothers and all women who love kids. Melanie is author of two books, ‘Savvy Auntie: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Love Kids’; and ‘Otherhood: Modern Women Finding A New Kind Of Happiness.’ In this episode, Melanie and I talk about how she set up the Savvy Auntie community in 2008; her six nieces and nephews (including two sets of twin girls!); and how she coined the term PANK (Professional Aunt No Kids).We discuss Melanie’s journey of not having children, and how she always had a vision of what she thought her life would be, which included a wedding in her back yard and twin girls; how in her mid-30s she went through an incredibly difficult time as she realised she may not have children of her own; how she wrote about her grief of not having children in her book, Otherhood, and how her desire for children felt like an ‘existential yearning.’Melanie also talks about being happy that she never had her eggs frozen; how feelings of desperation and anxiety around not having children can come to an end with the arrival of menopause; and how those women who aren’t willing to settle for a ‘lesser love’ - the ‘reinvented spinsters’ - tend to be at a certain level of success in their lives. Follow Melanie on Instagram: @savvyauntieFollow Melanie on Twitter: @SavvyAuntieUK Link to Melanie’s book, Savvy Auntie: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Savvy-Auntie-Ultimate-Great-Aunts-Godmothers/dp/0061999970 UK Link to Melanie’s book, Otherhood: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Otherhood-Modern-Women-Finding-Happiness/dp/1580055710/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3CCW1PZSI3BZ4&keywords=otherhood&qid=1663096908&s=books&sprefix=otherhood%2Cstripbooks%2C80&sr=1-1 US Link to Melanie’s book, Savvy Auntie: Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!

Send us a textIn this week's minisode, I'm talking about top podcaster, Cathy Heller, who also happens to be my coach, mentor and daily inspiration.I discovered Cathy less than a year ago, in November 2021, and not a day has gone by when I haven't had her voice in my ears via my headphones - either listening to her podcast, Don't Keep Your Day Job, (which has been downloaded 40 million times and counting), live coaching calls in various courses that I've been lucky enough to take part in, or listening to the recordings of those calls. She is the reason that Spinsterhood Reimagined exists, because if it wasn't for her I would never have started this podcast.So...do yourself a favour and go and check out her podcast because it just might, as it has for me, change your life. Oh, and here's a Spotify link to some of my favourite episodes if you're not too sure where to begin with her 650+ episodes. You're welcome! ;) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1X1SE1bwY9SCAEkDctApEp?si=87fbe1c4f47d4b23 Fancy getting your hands on my FREE Top 10 Mindset Tips? Head over to: www.lucymeggeson.comInterested in my 6-week group coaching course (starting in October) to upgrade your spinster mindset? DM me on Instagram or e-mail me at lucy@lucymeggeson.com for more details.Join my private Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=shareFollow me on Instagram: @spinsterhoodreimaginedFollow me on Twitter: @LucyMeggesonEmail me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com  Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!

Send us a textThis is an addition to my usual two episodes per week, because I wanted to tell you about my 6-week group coaching course which begins on Wednesday 12th October 2022 at 19:00 GMT, called 'Upgrade Your Spinster Mindset.'It's a 6-week group coaching course for just 10 women, which will take place with me, live on Zoom, every week. As well as the 6 weekly sessions, there will be two extra sessions, one of which will be a Q&A where you can ask me anything, the other of which will involve meditation.I'm super excited about it! Why? Because I know that those of you who join me for the ride will finish the course feeling more empowered, more positive, more hopeful, and more excited about your spinster-ness!Press 'Play' now!!!If you have any questions, and / or to register your interest, e-mail me at:lucy@lucymeggeson.comThe closing date for applications is Sunday 25th September.Join my private Facebook Group: Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=shareFollow me on Instagram: @spinsterhoodreimaginedFollow me on Twitter: @LucyMeggesonEmail me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com  Check out my website: www.lucymeggeson.com  Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!

Send us a textIn this week’s episode of Spinsterhood Reimagined, I talk to photographer, Jackie Dives.Jackie is a lens-based artist focused on issues of grief and identity, who lives in Vancouver, Canada. She has been working within the topic of the overdose crisis in her community since 2016. She is trained as an addictions counsellor and volunteers as a bereavement photographer, wherein she is invited into hospitals to make the first and last family portraits in the event of the loss of a baby during childbirth. Her work has been exhibited and published internationally, including in The New York Times, The Guardian, and Time Magazine. Jackie is also single and childfree and has always known that she didn't want to have children. In this conversation, Jackie and I talk about the art project for which she set up a gift registry to celebrate her choice to be childfree; how she’s known since she was a child that she didn’t want children, and has never doubted her thoughts and feelings on the subject; and the 5-year relationship that came to an end because she didn’t want kids, as well as the pain that ensued following the split.We also discuss how many women get married and have children because they think it’s what they’re supposed / expected to do; how people telling women that they’ll ‘change their minds’ when it comes to having children actually shows a complete disregard for their feelings; how getting married and having children is still the only thing that is truly celebrated in our society; and how being different and living a life that is ‘outside of the norm’ can be both lonely and difficult. Jackie and I also chat about how being partnered is only ever seen as ‘adding’ to your life, whereas the things that can be ‘lost’ by getting into a relationship are largely disregarded and ignored; how she does not care about being single at the age of 38 and how a relationship isn’t something that she ‘needs’ in her life; and finally, how her father tragically died from a drug overdose in 2017 and how photography helped her to process the extremely confusing and upsetting emotions that followed his death.   Follow Jackie on TikTok: @jackiedivesFollow Jackie on Instagram: @jackiedivesphotoLink to Jackie’s Gift Registry: https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/2HGU9FYMLYQCG?ref_=wl_shareLink to Jackie’s book, Becoming Not A Mother Book:https://www.jackiedivesphoto.com/becoming-not-a-mother-bookJackie’s Websit Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!

Send us a textIn this week's minisode, I'm talking about the crucial difference between the term 'toxic positivity' and what it means to have a positive mindset.I think that people can sometimes conflate the concept of having a positive mindset, with the more negative term 'toxic positivity'. And whereas the latter can mean avoiding or rejecting negative emotions, or those of someone else's, the former is more about being able to cope better with much of what life decides to throw at you.Toxic positivity has garnered much attention in recent times, and is certainly something that can be, well, toxic; so there is a danger that confusing this with having an optimistic mindset detracts from something that can potentially improve our lives.  Have a listen and let me know what you think!Fancy getting your hands on my FREE Top 10 Mindset Tips? Head over to: www.lucymeggeson.comInterested in my 6-week group coaching course (starting in October) to upgrade your spinster mindset? DM me on Instagram or e-mail me at lucy@lucymeggeson.com for more details.Join my private Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=shareFollow me on Instagram: @spinsterhoodreimaginedFollow me on Twitter: @LucyMeggesonEmail me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com  Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!

Send us a textSupport the showIn this week's episode of Spinsterhood Reimagined, I'm talking all about...erm, sex. Or rather my lack thereof!Being single, I'm not exactly getting regular sex, and it's been a while since I last did it. Maybe they've changed it?! In today's episode, I'm sharing my thoughts and feelings around whether or not I miss sex, whether or not I actually think it's important, as well as the story of the last time I had it (not my finest hour).Whether you're single and getting it, or single and can't even remember how to do it, there is something for everyone in this episode.So...go ahead and press 'Play'. I hope you enjoy it!Fancy getting your hands on my FREE Top 10 Mindset Tips? Head over to: www.lucymeggeson.comInterested in my 6-week group coaching course (starting in October) to upgrade your spinster mindset? DM me on Instagram or e-mail me at lucy@lucymeggeson.com for more details.Join my private Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=shareFollow me on Instagram: @spinsterhoodreimaginedFollow me on Twitter: @LucyMeggesonEmail me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com Check out my website: www.lucymeggeson.com  Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!

Send us a textIn this week's minisode, I'm talking about how fabulous women are in so many ways, and how the world might just be a better place if there were more of us in positions of leadership and power.I talk about how, whilst feminism has got us so far, we still live in a very patriarchal society where many women - unconsciously or consciously - still feel a sense of being 'lesser' than men. It seems to me that it really is time that this changed once and for all.  For those of us who find ourselves single and childfree, shouldn't we be focusing our energies on things other than our next relationship?  Shouldn't we be looking at our situation as an opportunity to really go out there and create the best possible lives for ourselves, and for other women? Whoever we are and wherever we've come from, we are afforded so many freedoms because our time isn't spent with a husband / wife / boyfriend / girlfriend, and children. So let's see our situation for what it truly is - a gift, and an opportunity to be forces for change in a world that is still dominated by men. Go ahead and press 'Play'! Fancy getting your hands on my FREE Top 10 Mindset Tips? Head over to: www.lucymeggeson.comInterested in my 6-week group coaching course (starting in October) to upgrade your spinster mindset? DM me on Instagram or e-mail me at lucy@lucymeggeson.com for more details.Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=shareFollow me on Instagram: @spinsterhoodreimaginedFollow me on Twitter: @LucyMeggesonEmail me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com  Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!

Send us a textIn this week’s episode of Spinsterhood Reimagined, I talk to writer, blogger and author, Aimée Lutkin.Aimée is a writer and editor from NYC. Her work has appeared in Jezebel, W Mag, Elle, Glamour, and more. The Lonely Hunter: How Our Search For Love Is Broken is her first book. In this conversation, Aimée and I talk about a multitude of topics including: the dinner party in NYC when she was 32 years old which prompted her to write an article, and subsequently a book; how the friends at said dinner party reacted with resistance to her admission that she thought she might be alone forever; and how our cultural expectations of the future have changed, including what we believe we can expect from relationships.Aimée also tells me about the transformation she felt with respect to her single status whilst writing her book, and how it resulted in her working on herself to achieve a feeling of direction and purpose in her life outside of a relationship; how the pandemic has caused many people to rethink their lives and relationships; how singlehood and loneliness are often conflated despite the former not necessarily resulting in the latter; and how many more women are starting to speak more openly about what they require from a relationship, including what they will no longer tolerate.We chat about how expectations of a romantic partner have changed dramatically in as much as marriage used to be more of an economic decision, whereas now a partner is supposed to be your everything - lover, best friend, co-parent etc; how Aimée believes that marriage has been re-branded as a validation for who you are as a person vs the more practical choice that it used to be; and how she thinks non-monogamy, open relationships and polyamory are on the rise. Finally, Aimée tells me her thoughts on the word ‘spinster’, and how single women are starting to use the word differently; how she would like to live in a world where being single is irrelevant and where we don’t depend on a romantic relationship in order to feel safe; how her book, The Lonely Hunter, started as an essay called ‘When Can I Say I’ll Be Alone Forever’; and how you can do everything right in terms of looking for love, but it still doesn’t necessarily work out. Follow Aimée on Twitter: @alutkinFollow Aimée on Instagram: @aalutkinAimée’s Website: http://www.aimeelutkin.com/US Link to Aimée’s Book, The Lonely Hunter: How Our Search For Love Is Broken: https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Hunter-Search-Broken-Memoir/dp/1984855883/ref=sr_1_1?crid=TXGGQTVLFRQC&keywords= Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!

Send us a textDo you dread the arrival of autumn because it marks the end of summer? Or do you, like me, get ridiculously excited that your favourite season is finally here again?!On this week's Saturday Minisode, I'm talking about why we shouldn't feel sad when August slips away into September, the leaves start turning, and the nights begin to draw in. Instead, we should be leaping with joy at the arrival of the best season of them all!Because autumn bloody rocks. The colours, the cosiness, the clothes, the kids going back to school...what's not to love?Press 'Play' to hear my ode to autumn. By the end of it, you'll be pulling your chunky knits out from the back of your wardrobe in gleeful anticipation!Fancy getting your hands on my FREE Top 10 Mindset Tips? Head over to: www.lucymeggeson.comJoin my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=shareFollow me on Instagram: @spinsterhoodreimaginedFollow me on Twitter: @LucyMeggesonEmail me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com  Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!

Send us a textIn this week’s episode of Spinsterhood Reimagined, I talk to journalist, presenter, and podcaster, Geeta Pendse.Geeta is a freelance journalist and presenter with 15 years’ experience delivering content for broadcasters, who is based in Nottingham, UK. She has worked for BBC Sunday Morning Live, BBC Radio 4, BBC Breakfast, BBC Politics, East Midlands Today, BBC Three and Sky Arts as a reporter and presenter. She presents the weekly politics show on BBC One in the East Midlands, and anchored the BBC’s General Election Debate for the region.Geeta has developed a specialism as an Arts reporter, and alongside creating original and daily content for BBC news outlets, she has also presented the Sky Arts series ‘Music of India’, BBC Radio 4’s flagship arts programme ‘Front Row’ and ‘Civilisations Stories: The Art of Mining’, a half-hour documentary for BBC One in the East Midlands and BBC Four.In this conversation, Geeta and I talk about a range of subjects including how she never wanted to be in a relationship just for the sake of it; the emotions she experienced as the majority of her friends began to ‘pair off’ and her particular life path began to feel like the less common one; and how she navigated those changing friendships in her life. We also discuss how Geeta decided to train as a yoga teacher in her mid-thirties, and how that helped her find role models in her life who didn’t have children; how her podcast has made her realise that there is no one story of childlessness and how each different story comes with many, many nuances; and how she has subsequently spoken to all kinds of women who don’t have children - from those who are childless by circumstance, to those who are childless by choice, as well as those who have felt ambivalent about it.Geeta and I also chat about the stigma that can come from not having children, including how some women suffer the implication that they are ‘pointless’ or ‘selfish’; the sense of failure that can come as a result of societal projections onto those women who find themselves without children, whether by choice or not; and what ‘active choice’ means when it comes to making a decision about whether or not to have kids. In this episode, we also cover turning forty, and the increasing number of female role models in their forties and above who are empowering women to embrace the ageing process; learning to care less about what people think and how freeing it can be; and how ultimately, any one of us can have a good life whether with children or without. Apple Podcast link to ‘The 1 in 5 Podcast: Leading A Life Without Children’ Support the showPre-Order my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book Download my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Answers To The Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/questions Join the waitlist for my membership, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/ Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!