Home Podcasts Coming Out & Beyond Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life
Coming Out & Beyond  Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life

Coming Out & Beyond Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life

Anne-Marie Zanzal 1ac1f670-c17c-11f0-806a-ef1502adef07 181 Episodes Aug 21, 2026

Coming Out & Beyond is a podcast for women questioning their sexuality later in life. Hosted by Anne-Marie Zanzal, a Yale Divinity School graduate and LGBTQ+ coach who came out in midlife, it offers real conversations and emotional clarity. Topics include late bloomer experiences, being married with kids and questioning, faith deconstruction, divorce, grief, and identity shifts. The podcast provides grounded support for women coming out after 30, 40, 50, and beyond.

Episodes

Coming Out at 39: When the Puzzle Pieces Finally Fit
Coming Out at 39: When the Puzzle Pieces Finally Fit Aug 21, 2026 41:53 Some mornings change everything. Marissa Mitchell was 39, a teacher and army veteran in southern Indiana, married to her junior high sweetheart and quietly certain that the distance she felt in her marriage was a problem she could fix if she only tried harder. Then one ordinary morning, about a week into summer break, she woke up understanding something that reordered her whole life. She was in lo
High Libidos, Straight Girl Crushes & Coming Out Later
High Libidos, Straight Girl Crushes & Coming Out Later Aug 14, 2026 46:14 It is the second Friday of the month, which means Anne-Marie is back with the company she loves most: her fellow coach Barbara Rowlandson and her wife Tonda McKay. This is the monthly conversation so many of you tell us is your favorite, where we take the real questions women ask about sapphic dating and answer them with honesty, humor, and a lot of love.This month we open four questions from the
How to Stop Letting Fear Run Your Life
How to Stop Letting Fear Run Your Life Aug 7, 2026 31:57 What if fear is not a stop sign but a signal that you are growing?In this month's first Friday conversation, Anne-Marie is joined by regular guest Anna Empey, business development consultant and LGBTQ+ coach, for an honest look at fear. Not how to get rid of it, because we cannot, but how to stop letting it make our decisions for us.Together they explore why the brain works so hard to keep us in o
Compulsory Heterosexuality and Coming Home to Yourself (Originally Aired Season 5)
Compulsory Heterosexuality and Coming Home to Yourself (Originally Aired Season 5) Jul 31, 2026 45:00 This week we return to one of our most beloved conversations from the archives, my talk with Dr. Mallory Hanfling, a fellow later in life queer woman, therapist, and the creator of the term Firefly. Mallory shares her story with such honesty. She married a kind man, built a genuine friendship with him, and still felt that something was quietly wrong. Like so many of us, she searched everywhere for
The Firefly Journey: What the Research Tells Us About Coming Out Later in Life
The Firefly Journey: What the Research Tells Us About Coming Out Later in Life Jul 24, 2026 52:21 What if the single biggest factor in whether we come out, when we come out, and how we heal along the way is the community around us? Dr. Mallory Hanfling returns to the show, this time with research in hand. Mallory recently completed her PhD in human sexuality, and her dissertation explored how community mitigates the impact of compulsory heterosexuality on the Firefly experience, the journey of
The Boy Who Skated Anyway: Stef Vachon's Story
The Boy Who Skated Anyway: Stef Vachon's Story Jul 17, 2026 40:45 Content note: This conversation includes language that references homophobic slurs and a discussion of suicidal ideation and mental health struggles. Please listen with care, and reach out for support if you need it.What happens when the thing you love most is the very thing the world tells you is wrong?This week we sit down with Stef Vachon, a proud queer man, husband, father, keynote speaker, an
Real Talk on Sapphic Dating and Relationships
Real Talk on Sapphic Dating and Relationships Jul 10, 2026 55:08 It is the second Friday of the month, which means Anne-Marie is joined by dating coach Barbara Rowlandson and Nashville photographer Tonda McKay, to talk all things sapphic dating and relationships. This month the trio takes on four real questions from women navigating the queer dating world. How do you slow down when every connection turns intense within weeks? Are you a jerk for losing interest
🏳️‍🌈Allyship That Truly Matters
🏳️‍🌈Allyship That Truly Matters Jul 3, 2026 51:09 When you come out to someone, you learn very quickly to tell the difference between the half embrace and the full embrace. The half embrace turns the conversation back to your husband, your children, your family system within the first thirty seconds. The full embrace simply asks, how are you doing.In this episode, Anne-Marie sits down with frequent guest Anna Empey for a tender and honest convers
Finding a Self I Couldn't Name: Part 2 - Dahron Johnson's Story of Coming Out as Trans & Learning to Trust Her Inner Voice
Finding a Self I Couldn't Name: Part 2 - Dahron Johnson's Story of Coming Out as Trans & Learning to Trust Her Inner Voice Jun 26, 2026 44:27 In Part 2 of this conversation, Anne-Marie Zanzal continues her talk with Dahron Johnson, a trans woman, advocate, lifelong cyclist, and chair of the Metro Human Relations Commission in Nashville, who came out in her late forties after decades of quietly knowing.Dahron shares the rush of the days right after she realized a change had to be made, from calling care providers within 48 hours to playi
Finding a Self I Couldn't Name, Part I: Dahron Johnson on Faith, Advocacy, and Making Room for More of Us.
Finding a Self I Couldn't Name, Part I: Dahron Johnson on Faith, Advocacy, and Making Room for More of Us. Jun 19, 2026 43:53 Dahron Johnson grew up surrounded by voices. Thousands of books in her parents' home, two people who met in divinity school, and a faith that taught her every person is fearfully and wonderfully made. And still, for decades, she could not find the words for who she was.In this episode, Anne-Marie sits down with her dear friend Dahron, a clinically trained chaplain, a tireless advocate, and the fir
Your Sapphic Dating Dilemmas, Answered with Love (and Zero Filter)
Your Sapphic Dating Dilemmas, Answered with Love (and Zero Filter) Jun 12, 2026 47:17 This month we return to our lesbian dating and relationship conversation, the one we share on the second Friday of every month, and by popular request Tonda is back at the table! Anne-Marie is joined by her wife, Tonda McKay, our longtime out lesbian and resident truth teller, and by Barbara Rowlandson, fellow coach and the woman who helps lead our Authentically Us community. Together we work thro
Grieving the Living: The Estrangement No One Prepares You For
Grieving the Living: The Estrangement No One Prepares You For Jun 5, 2026 42:29 TW: This episode includes honest discussion about grief, estrangement and suicidal ideation. Listener discretion is advised. There is a kind of loss that arrives without a funeral. No casserole on the doorstep, no card in the mail, no ritual to mark it. It is the loss of people who are still alive, of communities that keep meeting without us, of the versions of ourselves we performed for decades.

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