Have you spent your whole life saying yes when you meant no? You are not alone, and midlife might be the best time yet to change that.

In this episode of Menopause Reimagined, Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, author, soon to be 10x published menopause researcher, educator, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with her childhood friend, Sharon Neiss-Arbess, a copywriter-turned-novelist who finally wrote the book she had been carrying around for years. They have known each other since grade five, so this one feels less like an interview and more like hanging out with two old friends over coffee.

Sharon's newest book, How I Learned to Pee in the Forest, is a collection of 18 short, true stories about everyday moments that taught her how to stand up for herself, set boundaries, and stop apologizing for taking up space. It is real talk about people-pleasing, asking for help, and giving yourself permission to start something new, no matter your age.

Topics:

• Why "no" really is a full sentence, and how to stop being a people-pleaser in midlife
• How to set boundaries without guilt (and why so many women learn this late)
• A simple bedtime habit that may help you wind down for better sleep
• What it actually takes to start something new after 40 or 50, in any area of life
• The difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing, in plain language

Chapters:

0:00 Intro: Empowering Yourself in Perimenopause and Menopause
2:30 From Sears Copywriter to Self-Published Author
7:00 The First Three Books and Where the Ideas Came From
11:30 "How I Learned to Pee in the Forest": 18 Real-Life Stories
14:30 Boundaries, People-Pleasing, and Why "No" Is a Full Sentence
18:30 Short Stories for Better Sleep at Night
21:00 Self-Publishing vs Traditional Publishing
25:30 Why Art Can Bring People Together
29:30 Where to Find the Books + Final Thoughts

Learn more about Sharon and her books at sharonneissarbess.com

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Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
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FOLLOW US:

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Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

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DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

I wore the Leela Quantum necklace for months before recording this episode because I wanted to experience it day to day before sharing it with you. I took it to California and had a really interesting experience with my daughter that I'll tell you about in this interview with Todd Shipman, a wellness entrepreneur who came into this space as a skeptic and stayed because of what he found. We explore what "quantum energy" actually means, what EMFs from your phone, car, and AirPods may be doing to your body, and how to stay both open-minded and discerning. I ask the questions you'd want answered.

What you'll learn:

• Whether "quantum energy" is woo-woo or actually rooted in real physics (and what the 2022 Nobel Prize did and didn't prove)
• Why some people wonder whether everyday EMF from phones, cars, and AirPods affects how they feel, and what the open questions are
• What Todd says his company's own testing looks at, like HRV.
• How sleep and brain fog in perimenopause relate to the nervous system, as general education
• The honest questions to ask before you spend money on any "energy" wellness product

Chapters:

0:00 Is Quantum Energy Woo Woo? Why This Isn't What You Think
3:04 Meet Todd Shipman + What Quantum Energy Actually Means
7:08 The 2022 Nobel Prize, Entanglement & Why He Tried to Debunk It
10:17 EMF and How You Might Feel: Sleep, Stress & the Questions to Ask
16:06 The Tesla Headache Story: My Daughter and the Necklace
24:12 Food Sensitivities, Structured Water & the Claims to Question
32:54 Inside the Necklace: Brass, Titanium Spheres & Frequency Recipes
42:24 Bloating, Digestion, Sleep & Wearing It Every Day
51:43 Where to Start, the Discount & Final Thoughts

Learn more about Leela Quantum.

A quick note: this is an education-first conversation, not medical advice. Todd is sharing his company's research and personal experience—nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any condition. If you have a serious health condition or a food allergy, always work with your doctor and never substitute any wellness product for medical care or your EpiPen.

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======
Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

Dry, irritated, and every lubricant burns or makes a mess? You're not alone. 91% of women say their libido changes in menopause.

Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, author of Nourishing Menopause, 7x published menopause researcher and menopause educator, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with Deborah Porteous, co-founder of The Pleasure Pods Company, who hit vaginal dryness in her early 50s and couldn't find a single product that didn't irritate her, ran everywhere, or ruined the sheets. So she and her partner Brian spent two years with a formulator and a team of plant scientists building something better: a 100% plant-based solid that melts at body temperature. This is the honest, slightly cheeky conversation about dryness, painful sex, and pleasure that most of us never got to have.

Topics:

• Why vaginal dryness hits almost 40% of women in perimenopause and menopause, and why it's nothing to be embarrassed about
• The difference between a lubricant, a vaginal moisturizer, and vaginal estrogen, and why it's not either/or
• What's inside Pleasure Pods and why the solid format matters
• How women are using the pods beyond intimacy: massage oil, face, dry skin, even travel
• Why sexual wellness products for women are still so hard to advertise, and what that stigma costs us

Chapters:

0:00 How a solid-to-liquid lubricant works (cold open demo)

1:10 Libido in menopause: what almost 1,400 women told our survey

5:00 Meet Deborah Porteous and the story behind Pleasure Pods

9:30 Talking vaginal dryness on a pitch stage: the CHFA launchpad story

13:00 Why so many lubricants burn, itch, or irritate after 50

18:00 Mango, cocoa, and kokum butter: what's actually in the formula

23:30 How to use it: palms, warm massage oil, face, and dry skin

29:00 Lubricant vs vaginal moisturizer vs vaginal estrogen

35:00 Cutting a pod into pieces for overnight vaginal moisture

39:30 The stigma of marketing women's sexual wellness products

44:00 Deborah's panel podcast and where to buy Pleasure Pods

Learn more about Pleasure Pods here: https://thepleasurepods.com/

Watch the interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n1odK1pPdV8

Send us Fan Mail

======
Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.