In this episode of Grit, Grace, Growth, hosts Kim & Ken welcome Lori Heller, a certified divorce coach who helps women navigate divorce with greater clarity, confidence, and support—particularly after a long-term marriage or later in life.

After 25 years of marriage, Lori’s husband returned home from a family dinner and told her he was leaving. Lori initially thought he meant he was going back to work. Instead, that one sentence changed the future she believed they were building together.

At the time, Lori had been a stay-at-home mother for nearly 15 years. Her oldest child had recently started college, her younger children were in middle and high school, and she was also helping care for her aging parents. Although Lori managed the household’s daily responsibilities, she had not been involved in many of the larger financial decisions and was terrified by the thought of reentering a workforce transformed by new technology and younger competition.

As she tried to understand the legal, financial, and emotional realities of divorce, Lori received another life-changing diagnosis: breast cancer.

After the divorce, Lori returned to her earlier career in marketing. The work, however, no longer felt like the right fit. A chance conversation with her former attorney introduced her to divorce coaching, a profession she had never heard of but immediately recognized as the support she had needed during her own experience.

Lori became certified and began working with women part-time before eventually making divorce coaching her full-time career. Today, she serves as a “thinking partner,” helping clients organize their concerns, prepare for conversations with legal and financial professionals, communicate more effectively, and make decisions based on the future they want rather than the fear they feel in the moment.

At the heart of this conversation is the reminder that grief and opportunity can exist at the same time. Divorce may bring the end of a familiar life, but it can also create space to recover forgotten parts of yourself, establish new traditions, and build a next chapter that feels like your own.

In this episode, we talk about:

• An artificial-intelligence-themed “Two Truths and a Lie” featuring ELIZA, Deep Blue, and Terminator 2
• The moment Lori learned her 25-year marriage was ending
• Facing divorce after nearly 15 years as a stay-at-home mother
• Reentering the workforce after years spent raising children
• Navigating divorce while caring for children and aging parents
• Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis during an already overwhelming period

• How the spouse initiating a divorce may have had more time to process the decision
• Protecting children from becoming leverage during conflict
• Creating thoughtful parenting plans and new family traditions

• How a divorce coach differs from an attorney, therapist, or financial professional
• Why attorneys often appreciate clients receiving separate emotional support

• Preparing organized questions before professional appointments
• Separating emotional attachment from practical decisions, including whether to keep the family home
• Identifying what keeps someone awake at 2:00 a.m. to understand the fears shaping daytime decisions
• Why confidence often follows action rather than preceding it
• Lori’s “trust in the tiny” approach to taking one steady step at a time
• Supporting women before, during, and even years after divorce
• Lori’s Rewritten program for people navigating divorce, loss, career changes, empty nesting, and other new chapters
• Creating a future that feels like your own again

Connect with Lori:

Website: womenanddivorce.com

Connect with Grit, Grace, Growth:

Email: support@gritgracegrowth.com

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow, rate, and share it with someone who may be navigating an unexpected ending and needs the reminder that they do not have to solve everything at once. One steady step can be the beginning of a future that feels like their own again.