1229: From Proving You’re Good to Being Fully Alive with Elise Loehnen
Release Date: 09/10/2025
Emotionally Uncomfortable
In this episode, Heather sits down with Elise Loehnen, New York Times bestselling author of On Our Best Behavior, to unpack what it really means to break free from the pressure to be “good” and start living from a place of wholeness. Together, they explore how generational and cultural conditioning shapes women’s roles, the emotional cost of over functioning, and how to rewrite the stories we’ve been taught to live by. This conversation pulls back the curtain on the invisible scripts running your life and invites you to stop performing, start feeling, and come home to yourself. What we...
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“She’s so strong.” That’s what people say when a woman holds it all together on the outside but what happens when she’s quietly suffering inside? In this episode, Heather sits down with entrepreneur and mother Lily Walla, the founder + CEO of Auggie, for a conversation about the stories women often don’t tell—the health scares, the quiet fears, the identity crises, and the hidden rage that shapes how we show up as mothers, leaders, and humans. Lily shares how a life-threatening tumor reshaped her sense of self, why she built a parenting community rooted in honesty, and how...
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The older your kids get, the more they need you. Not for rides to soccer practice or packed lunches, but for leadership, boundaries, and emotional presence. In this life update, Heather pulls back the curtain on a summer filled with big transitions, personal growth, and hard choices. From her oldest son moving across the country on short notice, to restructuring her business and team, to dialing in her health with more intentional energy management, she’s sharing what’s working, what’s not, and the uncomfortable truths she’s had to face to stay in alignment. Listen in as Heather breaks...
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What does it really look like to reclaim your power after years of people-pleasing, perfectionism, and putting everyone else first? In this episode, Heather sits down with educator, coach, and mother Adriana Mastronardi to explore the transformation that begins the moment a woman stops asking for permission. From redefining fun and food to building a thriving business and becoming the breadwinner in her household, Adriana shares how she learned to question everything—and create a life that reflects who she really is. In this episode, they cover: 🩶 The identity shift that happens when...
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"I don’t want to watch my kids play the same game I had to play growing up." What happens when a mom watches her bright, curious daughters slowly lose their love of learning in traditional school? MacKenzie Price didn't just complain she revolutionized education entirely. In this powerful conversation, MacKenzie shares how she went from frustrated parent to education innovator, creating Alpha School and the 2H Learning model that's transforming how kids learn across North America. In this episode, we cover: 🩶 How to spot the signs that your child is checked out and what to do about it....
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If you’ve been telling yourself you’re stuck, overwhelmed, or waiting for clarity… this one’s for you. In this episode, Heather unpacks the illusion of "stuckness" and how it’s often a sign of avoidance, not incapacity. Drawing parallels between human emotion and the laws of nature, she explains why resistance to discomfort is the very thing holding us back from growth and how we can reclaim our energy by leaning into contrast, not running from it. In this episode, you’ll hear: 🩶 Why “feeling stuck” is often a choice, not a circumstance 🩶 What nature teaches us about...
info_outlineIn this episode, Heather sits down with Elise Loehnen, New York Times bestselling author of On Our Best Behavior, to unpack what it really means to break free from the pressure to be “good” and start living from a place of wholeness. Together, they explore how generational and cultural conditioning shapes women’s roles, the emotional cost of over functioning, and how to rewrite the stories we’ve been taught to live by.
This conversation pulls back the curtain on the invisible scripts running your life and invites you to stop performing, start feeling, and come home to yourself.
What we cover:
🩶Why women are unconsciously conditioned to perform “goodness” (and how it shows up)
🩶The deeper fears and attachments underneath the ‘do-it-all’ identity
🩶How to begin choosing wholeness over goodness—and what makes that so emotionally uncomfortable
About Elise
Elise Loehnen is the New York Times bestselling author of On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to be Good and the host of the podcast, Pulling the Thread, where she interviews cultural luminaries about the big questions of today, including people like Joy Harjo, John & Julie Gottman, Dr. Gabor Maté, and Esther Perel.
In addition to On Our Best Behavior, she is the author of a corresponding workbook—Choosing Wholeness Over Goodness—with coach Courtney Smith (July 2025), and the co-author of True & False Magic, which legendary psychiatrist Phil Stutz. Elise lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Rob, and their sons, Max and Sam.
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