Legacy, Not Lists: What Really Matters Now (Conversations about impact, meaning, and letting go of “doing it all.”)
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
Release Date: 11/14/2025
The Loneliness Nobody Talks About: What happens after you get well, and why it surprised me
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt discusses: The specific loneliness of recovery — the silence on the other side of getting well, when you've become yourself, and nobody around you quite speaks your language yet. That loneliness was the foundation of Brave Enough — not as a business decision, but as a response to a feeling. The story of the first conference — what she hoped for, what she was afraid of, and what actually happened in that room of women physicians. The identity...
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The Mirror Moment: What I saw in a Chicago hotel room and why I couldn't look away
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt discusses: The unedited, unpolished version of what burnout looked like for me The overfunctioning pattern of what it actually feels like to be boundary-less, saying yes to everything The biggest promise I made to myself, and how it changed everything. How I got well, kept my promise, found health and joy — then discovered something no one had warned me about. “The version of me that had dreams and...
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Designing a Life That Can Evolve: Building a Life That Doesn’t Trap You
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Terri Hanson Mead discuss: Creating flexibility instead of rigid success Values-based decision-making How to future-proof yourself against burnout Teaching women to check in before crisis hits “Rather than seeing midlife as a crisis, I want women to see midlife as an opportunity.” - Terri Hanson Mead For ten years, women have gathered at the to step away from the demands of medicine and into a space of renewal. This anniversary year, we celebrate...
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The In-Between Is Not a Failure: Why the Waiting Season Feels So Hard—and How to Survive It
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt discusses: Why women hate uncertainty The nervous system during transition How to stop rushing clarity Anchoring yourself when there are no answers “There is a period of time, a few minutes, where you have intubated an hypoxic patient, and the sats are still low. Everyone around you is second-guessing you, because the pulse ox sound is still ominous. But you know the tube is in the trachea…you watched it go in. The worst thing you can do is doubt...
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Motherhood Transitions & the Empty Nest: Who Are You When They Don’t Need You the Same Way?
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr. Barb Edelheit discuss: The silent grief of the empty nest Reclaiming desire, ambition, and agency Redefining purpose beyond caretaking Giving yourself permission to want more again “Not every stage of life is fabulous, and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves as working moms. We can be intentional in the moments of motherhood and enjoy the moments we can, even in the busy years.” Dr. Barb Edelheit Guest Bio: Barbara Edelheit, MD, is...
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Career Pivots Without Imploding Your Life: Changing Careers Without Panic, Shame, or Financial Recklessness
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt discusses: Myth: You must blow it all up to be brave How to test change safely Strategic vs. emotional decision-making Regulating fear while planning next steps “Quitting things, and removing tasks are key to growing as a woman. Otherwise, if you try and evolve without quitting, you will end up in two places: staying stagnant, or burning out from too many responsibilities on your plate.” - Dr Shillcutt For ten years, women have...
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Grief, Guilt, and the Cost of Change: Why Every Transition Comes with Loss (Even the Right Ones)
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr. Brittney Anderson discuss: Naming ambiguous grief Letting yourself mourn what could have been Guilt about leaving roles, teams, versions of yourself Rituals for closure "With changes in our jobs and our lives, we mourn the loss of the expectation. How we thought our life would be, and what we expected to happen." -Dr Brittany Anderson For ten years, women have gathered at the to step away from the demands of medicine and into a space...
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The Loneliness of Outgrowing People: When Not Everyone Comes With You
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt discusses: Why growth often means relational loss The grief of being misunderstood Releasing the need for approval Making peace with changing friendships "Growth often costs you proximity, but it gives you alignment." - Dr. Sasha Shillcutt For ten years, women have gathered at the to step away from the demands of medicine and into a space of renewal. This anniversary year, we celebrate a decade of empowerment and sisterhood—ten years of...
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Becoming Her Before You Feel Ready: How to Step Into the Next Version of You Before Confidence Shows Up
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr. Christina Radics discuss: Confidence follows action—not the other way around Taking routine mini retreats to hold yourself accountable Normalizing career pivots “We must be brave enough to take time to ask ourselves what is it that I really want? And not be afraid to follow the answer.” - Dr. Christina Radics Dr. Christina Radics is a dentist and former clinic owner who understands leadership from the inside. She created Leadership Pulse™ to...
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Leaving Without Burning Bridges: How to Leave Jobs, Roles, and Relationships with Integrity
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt discusses: When it’s time to leave vs. when it’s time to renegotiate How to exit without over-explaining Letting go of the need to be “the good one” Scripts for graceful transitions “One of the hardest things high-achieving women do isn’t starting something. It’s leaving something.” - Dr. Sasha Shillcutt For ten years, women have gathered at the to step away from the demands of...
info_outlineIn this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr Karyn Shanks discuss:
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Holding space for yourself through hard times
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Being brave enough to pause and be
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Overcoming the need to constantly do more
“Our addiction to distraction have led us to not be able to just ‘be’.” - Dr. Karyn Shanks
Guest Bio:
Karyn Shanks, MD is a board-certified physician, author, and pioneer in the field of root-cause healing, with over forty years of experience helping clients recover their lives from chronic, complex illness. A graduate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, she is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Functional Medicine, and a founding diplomat of the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine. She is also trained in trauma-informed psychotherapy through Dr. Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry Professional Training Program.
Dr. Shanks brings together the sciences of directable human potential—epigenetics, neuroplasticity, systems biology—with the deep wisdom of lived experience, spiritual inquiry, and narrative transformation. Her work centers on the belief that people are not broken, but wise and whole, and that sustainable healing begins with reclaiming that truth. Her private practice, teaching, and writing are deeply influenced by her own journey through illness and recovery.
Karyn is the founder of the Unbroken Academy, an online educational platform for healing through story, self-trust, and embodied resilience. She is the author of two previous books—Heal: A Nine-Stage Roadmap to Recover Energy, Reverse Chronic Illness, and Claim the Potential of a Vibrant New You and The Wisdom of COVID-19—as well as dozens of essays published in Thrive Global, Holstee, Huffington Post, and MindBodyGreen. Her voice is known for its clarity, warmth, and fierce compassion.
Through her work, writing, and lived wisdom, Karyn is trusted by both patients and professionals alike—as a guide, mentor, and visionary voice in a new healing paradigm.
Website: www.KarynShanksMD.com
Instagram: @karynshanksmd
Facebook: Karyn Shanks MD
Sasha’s greatest passion is empowering and encouraging others to achieve wellbeing in their professional and personal lives. She speaks frequently to executives and leaders on the topics of professional burnout, resilience, and gender equity.
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