This conversation with Roanna White—senior teacher, mum of three, and unapologetic solo traveller—is a grounded and generous exploration of how women can turn upheaval into agency.
We talk through the real stuff: leading a team while quietly battling anxiety, parenting teens who test every limit, and the moment somatic therapy surfaced repressed memories that finally explained years of physical symptoms. It’s vulnerable, practical, and quietly radical.
What sets Ro apart is her body-first approach to healing. When CBT couldn’t reach the root, somatic experiencing helped her nervous system complete what trauma began. She reframed intrusive thoughts as messages of safety, learned to pause before reacting, and began using simple mantras—power, boundaries, worth—to guide choices under pressure.
That inner recalibration opened space for joy: Bollywood dance that celebrates imperfect hips and full hearts, and solo travel that rebuilt self-trust from Thailand to Vietnam, and now to India and Nepal.
We also dive into the loneliness epidemic and how Western communities have felt thinner than ever since COVID. Ro’s response is both personal and pioneering: build connection on purpose. That’s why she’s launching Yankyr, a hire-a-friend platform for safe, paid companionship—coffee, theatre, a concert—designed so people actually show up.
If you’ve ever felt unseen in a crowded life, this will land.
Midlife isn’t the beginning of the end—it’s a second debut.
Choose yourself, without apology. Book the class. Say no sooner. Put your health first. Ask for help.
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to connect with Roanna and explore more conversations like this one.
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Chapters:
0:00 – Rewriting Midlife For Women
0:21 – Meet Ro: Teacher, Mum, Traveller
2:09 – Invisible Struggle At Work And Home
4:43 – Teen Parenting, Guilt, And Boundaries
8:39 – Somatic Therapy And Recovered Memories
12:20 – Intrusive Thoughts As Safety Signals
15:09 – Mantras, Power, And Self-Respect
18:11 – Telling Parents And Seeking Support
20:12 – Time Off, Bollywood Dance, And Joy
22:07 – Solo Travel And Finding Connection
24:08 – Building Yankyr To Tackle Loneliness
27:03 – Why Disconnection Is Growing
30:01 – Community, Culture, And Showing Up
32:06 – A New Midlife Story For Women
34:35 – Closing And Listener Support