Couverture de The Happily Never After

The Happily Never After

The Happily Never After

De : Heather McGinley
Écouter gratuitement

"The Happily Never After" is a podcast that features stories of big endings that led to personal breakthroughs. While endings can hurt, they also provide closure, provide opportunities to grow, and sometimes, they can even set us free. One thing we know for sure: if life is full of endings, it’s full of new beginnings too, and that’s what we’re here to talk about (alongside a good dose of humor too!) Welcome to "The Happily Never After", where sometimes the end is just the beginning. Learn more at https://heathermcg.com/Copyright Heather McGinley Relations Sciences sociales
Épisodes
  • S3E11: Medically Complex Families with Sarah Hilmer

    S3E11: Medically Complex Families with Sarah Hilmer
    Jun 16 2026
    Sarah Hilmer is a mother of three, a social advocate, a trail runner, and someone who has spent the last four years learning how to live a life that looks much different than the one she planned.

    In 2021, Sarah's daughter Juju was born healthy by every visible measure. But in the months that followed, signs of a feeding problem led to a hospitalization, then an X-ray that showed something unexpected, then a surgical call that changed everything. Juju had a Type 3 laryngeal cleft, a rare abnormality where the back wall of her airway had never fully formed. Every time she swallowed, she was slowly aspirating into her lungs.

    What followed was surgery using rib cartilage to reconstruct her airway, a tracheostomy, and over 15 surgeries and extensive hospitalization.

    Now, as a thriving five-year-old, Juju still breathes through the trach today. In this conversation, Sarah talks about what 2022 actually looked like for her family, managing without home health care support, finding ways to create fun family memories, then slowly shifting the goal from getting the trach out to helping Juju live her life as a fun-loving kid with a big personality.

    She also talks about what the medical system gets wrong when it uses the word "fix," working with Juju's specific needs, how her marriage held under the sustained pressure, and what it meant to prepare herself emotionally to bring her third child, into the same room where one of Juju's most serious emergencies occured.

    ABOUT SARAH HILMER
    Sarah is a mom of thre who lives, works, and adventures all around the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a social advocate, community builder, and trail runner. She is most happy when she's in the forest or at the ocean with her kids.
    • Follow Sarah on Instagram at @sarahhilmer
    ABOUT THE HAPPILY NEVER AFTER
    The Happily Never After is a podcast that features stories of big endings that led to personal breakthroughs. While endings can hurt, they also provide opportunities to heal and grow, and sometimes, they even set us free. Endings can offer an opportunity to begin anew, in a better way, and that’s what we’re here to talk about.
    • New episodes every Tuesday.
    • Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thatheathermcg⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG for related content and discussion.
    • Read The Happily Never After on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thehappilyneverafter.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • Learn more about Heather McG at ⁠⁠⁠www.heathermcg.com
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    43 min
  • S3E10: The End of Bad Sex with Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons

    S3E10: The End of Bad Sex with Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons
    Jun 9 2026
    You don't need new relationship energy to have the best sex of your life. You need a recipe.

    Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons is an award-winning psychologist, Emory University professor, and author of Good Sex: Stories, Science, and Strategies for Sexual Liberation. She's visiting The Happily Never After to dismantle basically everything we were taught about sex growing up.

    We cover a lot of ground in this one.
    • What sex positivity actually means (hint: it's not what you think).
    • Why emotional safety is harder to build than technique and why that matters more.
    • How a near-fatal ectopic pregnancy knocked Dr. Candice completely off her own sexual footing, even as a researcher who studies this for a living.
    • And why the pressure women put on themselves to perform for a partner while completely disappearing from the experience is something we seriously need to talk about.

    Dr. Candice breaks down her "good sex recipe" framework, and she makes the case that what you want in your forties shouldn't look like what you wanted in your twenties, and that's not a problem. It's the whole point.

    We also get into what to do when sex goes sideways in a long-term relationship, how your friend group is low-key one of your most important sexual wellness resources, and the one question you should be asking before you write someone off as a bad partner in bed.

    Dr. Candice's take on faking it, the orgasm gap, and the "I'm great at sex" guy will have you in your feelings in the best way.

    In this episode: What sex positivity actually means, the coital imperative and expanding your definition of sex, why technique can be learned faster than trust, the good sex recipe framework, navigating desire changes in long-term relationships, sexual liberation post-divorce, and how to tell if a partner is worth the work.

    ABOUT DR. CANDICE NICOLE HARGONS
    Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons is an award-winning psychologist and associate professor at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, where she studies sexual wellness and liberation. With over 90 published articles, Dr. Hargons has made substantial contributions to the field, positioning herself as one of the leading experts in her discipline. Her innovative work has been widely recognized and featured in major podcasts and publications such as the Huffington Post, Essence, Ebony, Wall Street Journal, Women's Health, Blavity, Cosmopolitan, and the New York Times. As a thought leader, Dr. Hargons continues to shape the conversation around sexual and mental health, advocating for liberation and wellness within marginalized communities.
    • Follow Dr. Hargons on Instagram at @drcandicenicole
    • Visit her website at drcandicenicole.com
    • Watch her TEDx talk "4 Ways to Season Your Sex Life"

    ABOUT THE HAPPILY NEVER AFTER
    The Happily Never After is a podcast that features stories of big endings that led to personal breakthroughs. While endings can hurt, they also provide opportunities to heal and grow, and sometimes, they even set us free. Endings can offer an opportunity to begin anew, in a better way, and that’s what we’re here to talk about.
    • New episodes every Tuesday.
    • Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thatheathermcg⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG for related content and discussion.
    • Read The Happily Never After on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thehappilyneverafter.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • Learn more about Heather McG at ⁠⁠⁠www.heathermcg.com
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    41 min
  • S3E9: Parenting Trans Kids with Rebecca Minor

    S3E9: Parenting Trans Kids with Rebecca Minor
    Jun 2 2026
    In this episode, author Rebecca Minor, talks about how supportive parenting can transform your child's well-being.

    Rebecca shares her messaging framework developed over a decade of working with queer and trans youth. Discover how gender works beyond binary myths and why understanding distinctions between gender identity, biological sex, and cultural expectations is crucial. Explore practical steps for parents, from creating openness to understanding gender affirming care. Learn how societal beliefs influence fears and misconceptions about medical interventions.

    Rebecca also covers insights on navigating sports, school policies, and societal bias. This episode is perfect for parents, educators, and allies committed to supporting gender-diverse youth with confidence and compassion.

    ABOUT REBECCA MINOR
    Rebecca, LICSW, is a queer clinician, educator, and gender specialist who works with trans and gender-expansive youth and their families. She is the founder of Prism Therapy Collective and the author of Raising Trans Kids: What To Expect When You Weren’t Expecting This.
    • Learn more about Rebecca's work at genderspecialist.com
    • Follow Rebecca on Instagram @gender.specialist
    • Evolving glossary of terms
    • My kid just came out, now what?!
    ABOUT THE HAPPILY NEVER AFTER
    The Happily Never After is a podcast that features stories of big endings that led to personal breakthroughs. While endings can hurt, they also provide opportunities to heal and grow, and sometimes, they even set us free. Endings can offer an opportunity to begin anew, in a better way, and that’s what we’re here to talk about.
    • New episodes every Tuesday.
    • Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thatheathermcg⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG for related content and discussion.
    • Read The Happily Never After on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thehappilyneverafter.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • Learn more about Heather McG at ⁠⁠⁠www.heathermcg.com
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    46 min
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
Aucun commentaire pour le moment