LIFE IS BETTER WITH SISTERS
Welcome, Sister! We’re real-life sisters psychotherapist Abby Rodman and leadership and life coach (and former beauty executive) Julie Howard. Like most women, we've been through some of life's highs and lows, having had our share of blessings and heartaches.
We've laughed and cried our way through the challenges of parenting, empty nests, aging and body image concerns, caring for elderly parents, and menopause. We've faced divorce and second marriage, career transition and reinvention, depression, anxiety, and the frustrations and heartbreak of dealing with family members with mental health and addiction issues.
But, through it all, we've held each other up when everything else seemed to be falling down around us.
We feel extraordinarily lucky to have one another. That's why we created Sisters Cracking Up. We believe everyone needs a sister (biological or otherwise) to share in our joys and successes -- and to help right our ships (or, frankly, our shit) when storms hit.
Our podcast is a labor of love, sisterhood, and curiosity. In it, we look for answers to the questions and issues we face in midlife and beyond -- and know you do, too.
We interview really smart, engaging, and funny people and we offer our decades of expertise in psychology, relationships, beauty, and well-being to the mix as well. With every episode, our goal is to listen, learn, share, laugh, and connect without judgment or expectation -- as any good sister would.
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Abby is a psychotherapist, speaker, and author of the Amazon bestseller Without This Ring: A Woman’s Guide To Successfully Living Through And Beyond Midlife Divorce. She has appeared on the Today Show, HuffPost Live, and is regularly sought out by media outlets for her expertise on relationship and parenting issues. A featured contributor to the Huffington Post, her work has also appeared in the Boston Globe Magazine. Abby is the mom of three sons, two stepsons, and her rescue doggie, Desi. She also lives too far away from her sister, Julie.
Abby Rodman
Julie Howard is a Business Consultant and Coach with more than 25 years building teams, products, and brands for some of the world’s most beloved beauty companies; Clinique, Estee Lauder, MAC, Bath and Body Works, and more. She is also the author of two YA / middle-grade novels, The Third Coin and Rob Starr. A lifelong advocate for the healthy development and empowerment of girls, Julie often incorporates those themes into her writing.
Julie lives outside New York City with her husband. She has two daughters, as well as two very energetic German Shorthaired Pointers.
Julie Howard
Latest Episode
We love Steven Petrow for many reasons: he's funny, he's smart, he's a kickass writer, and he's tirelessly devoted to his beloved family.
Sadly, Steven lost his younger sister, Julie Petrow Cohen, to ovarian cancer in June 2023. From all accounts, Julie led a life that priortized joy, professionalism, social justice, and family. In essence, she lived her life in full throttle.
At the end of her life, Julie chose when to die, accessing a little-known right in her state of New Jersey to die with dignity -- also known as Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). (MAID is currently an option in 9 states and Washington, D.C.)
Steven promised his beloved sister he would write about her experience and choice so that others may learn about and consider this option if needed. In a New York Times article entitled, "I Promised My Sister I Would Write About How She Chose to Die," Steven did just that. The article, not surprisingly, resonated with thousands.
Listen in as Steven talks about losing his beloved sister, how their shared experiences and humor bonded them, and what he's learned about the grief journey.
Steven Petrow is an award-winning journalist and book author who is best known for his Washington Post and New York Times essays on aging, health, and civility. He’s also an opinion columnist for USA Today, where he writes about civil discourse and manners. Steven's 2019 TED Talk, “3 Ways to Practice Civility” has been viewed nearly two million times and translated into 16 languages.