In this week’s episode of Wild Wise and Curious, we are joined by Laura, calling in from Spain, for a beautifully honest conversation about navigating perimenopause while parenting teenagers and managing the realities of single‑parent life.

Laura shares how she first recognised she was entering perimenopause when her period became increasingly irregular over eleven months, followed by brain fog and memory challenges that made daily life feel heavier. She talks openly about the coping strategies that help her stay grounded - meditation, mindfulness practices and writing exercises that support her emotional well-being.

The conversation also explores the complexities of parenting teens, setting boundaries and practicing patience, especially while working from home and carrying the mental load alone. Laura discusses her practical tools... like keeping to-do lists, staying present with family and the deeper emotional work of offering oneself compassion during difficult seasons.

It’s a tender, relatable and deeply human episode about holding many roles at once - and finding moments of steadiness in the middle of it all.

To find out more about what Laura is up to, check out her info & website below:

Laura Brodie is an Operations and Outreach Coordinator, Resilience Trainer, and facilitator specialising in emotional regulation and performance under pressure.

She designs and delivers practical, experience-based trainings that support teams and professionals working in high-responsibility or support roles, particularly in educational and rehabilitation settings. Her work helps individuals move from overwhelm and uncertainty to clarity, confidence, and purposeful action.

As the founder of Adventures in Albinism and creator of The Teacher’s Compass, Laura brings a unique perspective that combines education and positive psychology. Through these mindfulness-based initiatives, she supports individuals with albinism, as well as the parents and teachers who guide them, while also working more broadly with professionals navigating complex challenges, including those related to visual impairment.

With over 25 years of teaching experience and lived experience with low vision, Laura integrates theory and practice to create accessible, impactful learning experiences.

She believes resilience is not about pushing through, but about learning to pause, choose, and respond with intention.

Linked in-(3) Laura Brodie | LinkedIn

Website- https://adventuresinalbinism.com/home

Perimenopause often arrives quietly, disguised as something ordinary - a restless night, a stressful week, a sudden wave of heat you put down to a new deodorant. In this episode, Angie shares her personal journey into recognising those early signs for what they truly were: the beginning of a profound hormonal transition.

We talk about the moment of realisation, the overlap between perimenopause and her work in women’s health, and how supporting rites‑of‑passage ceremonies deepened her understanding of this life stage.

From drumming to sleep rituals to stepping away from alcohol, Angie opens up about the self‑care practices that help her stay grounded. And woven through it all is the reminder that listening to the body, making space for expression, and sharing stories with other women can transform this transition from something endured into something deeply held.

Find out more about Angie’s work below:

https://www.angielitvinoff.com

https://www.instagram.com/angie_the_medicine_woman

https://www.angielitvinoff.com/podcast

This week, Kerstin shares a story that began with a body in distress and a mind trying to make sense of it. She experienced heart palpitations, shortness of breath, adrenaline‑rush reactions to food and almost fainted at work. She also had an electrical sensation in her chest that eventually led to a small cardiac procedure. When she finally saw a cardiologist, he told her, ‘Women can get this in perimenopause’, and it was the first time anything she was experiencing made sense.

Alongside the physical symptoms came something she didn’t expect: emotional numbness. She didn’t feel anything - no joy, no sadness, no spark - and the flatness left her feeling... nothing.

With no guidance from her mum, who’d had a hysterectomy in her 30s and never went through natural menopause, Kerstin had no roadmap. Her symptoms fed into health anxiety and she became convinced something was seriously wrong with her.

In this episode, Kerstin talks about the anxiety, the numbness, the impact on her marriage and the frustration of being dismissed or left without answers. She also shares the relief she found through hormone therapy and lifestyle changes, and why she now believes women deserve far better information and support.

This is an episode for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed, numb or anxious about symptoms they didn’t recognise - and for anyone who has had to find their own answers when no one else could give them.

*There are a couple of moments of lag and the odd bark from the dog, but none of it takes away from the importance of adding Kerstin’s voice to the growing chorus of women whose stories need to be heard so they can help others find their way.