Midlife Reinvention — Her Story of Grief, Grace and Laughter with Donna Johnsen

“You are responsible for your own actions, your own behaviors, your own reactions. You cannot control the actions, reactions of others.” — Donna JohnsenTwenty-three years. That's how long Donna Johnsen was with her husband when an unplanned divorce rewrote everything she thought she knew about her own life. This week on Her Story Unscripted, she shares what happened when the identity she'd built inside a marriage suddenly wasn't there to stand on anymore.Donna Johnsen talks with me about the messy, real work of rebuilding — journaling her way through the rumination, reading a memoir that gave her permission to stop performing grace, and eventually finding her way to humor as a way to heal out loud instead of hide. We also get into what it's like helping teenagers navigate a divorce without projecting your own feelings onto theirs, and the almost-empty nest she's facing now that her kids are grown.If you've ever felt like you were standing at the edge of a cliff, unable to go back and scared to go forward, this conversation is for you. New episodes every Thursday on all major podcast platforms.Connect with Heather: WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInYouTubeTimestamps00:46 Introduction — Heather welcomes Donna Johnsen.07:48 Donna opens up about the unplanned end of her 23-year relationship.10:15 The memoir that gave her permission to move beyond society's expectations after divorce.13:02 Why she started journaling in her Notes app to stop the constant rumination.17:30 How humor became part of her healing journey.31:19 Navigating teenagers through divorce and letting them have their own feelings.40:33 The almost-empty nest, midlife reinvention, and becoming "Mama D."42:22 Where to connect with Donna Johnsen. About Donna JohnsenDonna Johnsen is the voice behind Laugh Lines and Life Goals, where she shares an honest, funny, and refreshingly unfiltered take on midlife, motherhood, and reinvention. After an unplanned divorce ended a 23-year relationship, Donna turned to journaling — and eventually to social media — as a way to process what she was going through, and has since built a community of women who find comfort in her humor and her honesty. She's the mom of two, with one child already away at college and the other headed there this fall.Pinterest Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Support the show