129. The 15-minute method that carried one mom through the unthinkable - Michelle Hooey
Have you ever wondered what it would take to go from burned-out corporate climber to grounded, present mom — not because life got easier, but because you finally learned to regulate yourself through the hard stuff?
In this episode, I sit down with Michelle Hooey, life coach and author of The Goldie Effect, who shares how her signature 15-Minute Rewrite method was born in the most unlikely place: a hospital room. Michelle opens up about her daughter Goldie, navigating life with a child with "special rights" (we're making the switch to this term and we're not looking back!), and how nervous system regulation for parents isn't just a personal practice — it's what holds your marriage, your identity, and your sanity together when everything is on the line.
If you've ever felt like you have nothing left to give, tune in!
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Intro
(01:15) Who was Michelle Hooey before?
(03:25) Five pregnancy losses and the invisible toll on her body and marriage
(04:33) How Frankie's celiac diagnosis accidentally uncovered Michelle's own — and led to Goldie
(07:19) Goldie's emergency birth at 33 weeks
(11:20) Seizures, five months in the NICU, and learning to survive in uncertainty
(17:20) How Michelle started protecting her nervous system in 15-minute pockets of time
(18:36) Living without a diagnosis: navigating systems, insurance, and the world with a medically complex child
(26:00) The "special rights" movement — and why it needs to come to Canada
(28:39) The 15-Minute Rewrite explained: regulate, reflect, reclaim
(37:39) How their marriage survived — couples therapy, staggered breakdowns, and hard conversations
(43:46) The resentment that came to a head
(53:10) The Goldie Effect: Michelle's memoir-meets-self-help book, out March 6th, 2026
(55:52) How can people who don't have family members or children with special rights can be advocate
(57:38) What Michelle is still trying to figure out
KEY TAKEAWAY
You don't need a dramatic life overhaul to regulate your nervous system, you only need 15 intentional minutes and the willingness to ask yourself what you actually need.
About Michelle Hooey
Michelle Hooey is a bestselling author, speaker, and guide for women navigating real-life change. After years in corporate leadership, her life shifted with the birth of her second daughter, Goldie, who was born with complex medical needs. What followed wasn’t a reinvention. It was a reckoning with capacity, identity, grief, and what it means to stay present when life no longer follows the plan. Out of that season came The Goldie Effect and the 15-Minute Rewrite, grounded ways of turning lived experience into clarity, strength, and forward movement without burning yourself out.
Connect with Michelle Hooey
Website | https://anchorlesscoaching.com/
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/michelle_hooey
Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-hooey/
Book - The Goldie Effect | https://amzn.to/46MGlvL