Creating Safe Spaces and Empowering Women with Hannah Sol Marie

When Not Yet Becomes Right Now (00:00)
Welcome to When Not Yet Becomes Right Now, the podcast where we dive deep into the moments of transformation, the times when not yet shifts into right now and everything changes. I'm your host, Jen Ginty and this podcast is all about those pivotal moments in our life journeys. You know the ones when the hesitation fades, when we take that first step, even if it feels like a leap. It's in these moments that growth and healing begins. Each episode will explore stories of resilience,

moments of clarity, and the sparks that ignite real change. From personal experiences to expert insights, we'll uncover how people navigate the complex journey we call life and come out stronger on the other side. Whether you're searching for that spark in your own life or just curious about how change unfolds for others, you're in the right place. We'll discuss the ups and downs, the breakthroughs and setbacks, and how to embrace the right now, even when it feels out of reach. Because sometimes,

The hardest part of the journey is realizing that the moment you've been waiting for has already arrived. So take a deep breath, settle in, and let's get started.

Jen (01:13)
Hello and welcome to When Not Yet Becomes Right Now. I have an amazing guest on our show today. Her name is Hannah Sol Marie and she's a woman on a mission to help other women break through their blocks, ditch the shame and embrace deep transformative intimacy. Her journey has been anything but ordinary, raised in a big loving religious family.

She spent years tying her worth to others' expectations until walking away from the church changed everything. She lost her identity, her community, and her sense of safety, but in that unraveling, she found true freedom. Now, living her best life in Peru with her husband and their wildly confident orange cat, Hannah is all about self-growth, adventure, and creating spaces where women can show up exactly as they are.

Through her work, she's helping women redefine connection, embrace their truth, and build relationships that actually feel good. Welcome, Hannah.

Hannah Sol Marie (02:16)
Thank you, such a sweet greeting. I so appreciate it. I'm so happy to be here and share my story a little bit with you.

Jen (02:22)
Yes,

yes, I'm so excited for you to share your story. So let's get into it. What is your origin story?

Hannah Sol Marie (02:30)
Yeah, my origin story. Obviously there's a lot to it, but I think a big pivotal moment for me and something that I kind of look at as the crossroads of my life where a lot of things shifted, which is something that you also just shared of my stories when I left the Christian Church. So I was raised homeschooled and I was a part of a big family and one of five kids. So there was, you know,

a lot of busyness, a lot of activity in the home, and we also all grew up very religious. So that was a huge part of my life. I was in church multiple times a week. My entire curriculum was religious based, Christianity based. And so there really wasn't a part of my life that didn't have that as the anchor. And so, yeah, I went on mission trips in high school. I was all over the world, you know, doing what at the time was a

what drove me to live my life. And when I was 19, I got engaged to a man who was a leader in the church and we started planning our life and know, the wedding, I bought a dress, we booked a venue and all this stuff. And I started to experience some pretty significant health issues. So I started experiencing insomnia, headaches for the first time in my life, things that I just had never really had at all until

I got engaged and I started to realize the correlation here was something was not jiving right with my body and the decisions I was making. And so I kind of freaked out and broke up with my fiance, chopped my hair off and dyed it blonde. And I left the church all within like a one month period. You know, hair is such a like thing tied with change, I feel. And yeah, so I ended up leaving the church.

which was kind of this first off felt super empowering, this amazing choice for myself where I was like, yes, I feel so free. I'm making choices for myself now and felt so good. And then there ended up being kind of the crash and the facing of, you know, the trauma that I experienced and the betrayal I felt and just all this anger that I was holding and harboring towards.

basically the people that I had grown up with. And then when I left the church, I didn't hear from anybody in my life or didn't hear from any of my friends again. And so it became this thing where I felt like so rejected because I wasn't a part of this religious organization anymore. And so I kind of lost everything. I lost my friends. I lost my relationship. my relationship with my family was super tumultuous at the time and I totally lost my identity and just

who I was. I was like, this has been my life. My entire self has been Christianity. I don't even know who I am without this. And so yeah, that was a huge pivotal moment for me. And it took years and I'm still learning who I am on the daily. But yeah, that was the major moment for me for sure.

Jen (05:37)
Wow, isn't it amazing how our bodies can just react subconsciously to the things around us. It's just giving us little clues. And sometimes we listen to them and sometimes we don't, but it sounds like you listen to them after a while.

Hannah Sol Marie (05:53)
Yeah, I mean at the time I don't even know if I really was correlating it together. Now I look back and I'm like, whoa, that was so my body talking to me and telling me messages. I think at the time I just was so stressed out. so, yeah, I don't even know if I necessarily was listening to my body consciously, maybe subconsciously I was. I was like, okay, something's not right. I'm not sleeping. I feel terrible. getting, I had my first panic attack.

things like that all in that time. so, yeah, it was more just me like, can't live like this. This is not sustainable. Yeah.

Jen (06:30)
Yeah, that must have been such a undertaking to remove yourself from something that you, like you said, is your identity, that you grew up this way and suddenly making the step to just step out of that situation, step out of that life. And what ended up happening after? Were you able to transition well?

Hannah Sol Marie (07:00)
Yeah, mean, took, like I said, many years of facing my own shit, facing my old difficulties that I had experienced when I was younger and stuff like that. yeah, it's really important to me that the life that I live...

that enjoy my life. Like that's such a, that's a very important value for me. And so as that was like kind of the anchor that kept me going through my healing process was like, I don't want to just live in this moment and have happy moments occasionally. Like I want to actually live a life that feels really fulfilling and good for me. And so, yeah, I experienced, I went through a period of anger. I went through a period of kind of

detachment from everything, where I really wasn't even connected to my emotions at all. yeah, it's little step by little step. There were lot of things that contributed to it. For one, my current husband now, when we first started dating, was, he was not, not grow up religious at all. And so he had literally no experience or knowledge with that. And so he was very curious. And so we had lots of conversations where he would ask me things about this. And so it allowed me to kind of go back and

explore what I believed and what I believe now and how that's different. And so we talked a lot about that. He's also such a person that likes to challenge you. And so he'd be like, why do feel that way? Maybe? Why do you believe in hell? Why is that a thing that, you know, you know, what is the shame that you're feeling, you know, and like really kind of prodded me to explore myself. And so I'm so thankful for that, because that allowed me to really

have permission to kind of experience the full range of feelings. And when I would get really angry, I would get really this, he'd be like, okay, there you go. There it is. There it is, you know? And so that was a huge part of it. Another part was I spent some time in Nepal. I went and stayed in a monastery there. And so I really processed a lot of my experience with religion there because I was faced with a different religion telling me things and teaching me things. And I felt so,

Confused and angry there. Like I just didn't know how to process someone teaching me something to me It felt like this I wanted to reject it like don't try to control me I don't I don't want to be in that situation again I want to be free right and what I didn't realize is how actually unfree I was because I was still being held to these tethers of religion and Things that it was like I was like no, no, no, don't do this And so that was an amazing experience for me to to realize how much I hadn't faced

And yeah, so a lot of that, then a really big part that I feel like still contributes to me growing and being the best version of myself is just the community and friends I have in my life. And so I kind of hit a point a few years ago where I was really craving friendships and community. And I'm like, I want to be able to just talk about life and not feel like I need to show up a certain way or that I need to, you know, put on some face mask.

but like I just want some connections. And so I started to really make an effort with that. Like some of that came with me apologizing to past friendships where I hadn't been the greatest friend. And some of them was just like reaching out and saying, I just want to let you know, like I really appreciated how you showed up for me here. And then that's also the time when I started my women's circles that I was doing in person in San Diego. And

I had gone to a few like women's events in the area and just none of them had felt like I was really fully connecting. So I was like, what if I just create something? Like, what if I just start this circle and maybe nothing will come of it, but maybe it'll be really freaking awesome. And it ended up being really freaking awesome. So I started those circles and it was just like my whole goal was just to pick a topic where maybe we don't normally talk about it and how...

create some open ended questions and just talk. And so like I was picking topics like anger or sex or things like that. And there'd be questions like, okay, what's the most recent thing that pissed you off? And so we would just get to talk and be like, okay. And there was like no judgment, there was no fixing. I'm not educating you, just creating an opportunity for us to just talk and connect and be ourselves.

So that was kind of the start of it and that's what's led to me starting the Brave Bitches Club and why I do all the women's events I do now is like still that same core of just a space where we can show up, be ourselves and talk about things and feel seen and heard hopefully.

Jen (11:42)
Yeah, you know, I am a part of a women's circle that I absolutely love. it's, yeah, it really is so important to have those friends that understand you, but aren't going to challenge you, like to, push you too hard and, they want you to be.

happy and I think that's really important that we all have those friendships. I I have friendships from when I was young but you know also this group of women they're just so amazing to me and we all have similar feelings on life and how to grow as individuals so I definitely want to talk more about that but I think that it might be really important for us to kind of talk about religious trauma.

You know, I don't know if that's how you feel about your background, if there is like trauma connected to that. But I think a lot of people, they do have a little bit of religious PTSD. I know I do. I used to go to church every Sunday with my abuser and be told, you you have to honor your father and mother. And it felt...

like I was being, sentenced to this awful forever, you know what I mean? So what would you say is, a way for people to better understand their religious trauma and how they can proceed forward?

Hannah Sol Marie (13:14)
Totally. I definitely...

have, I think, full spectrum of how I perceive my upbringing. There's so much thankfulness. I really feel like overall I was raised in a very warm, loving home. And so for that, I'm very thankful. But I definitely do feel that there, I did experience religious trauma and things that I had to handle and I'm still juggling now as an adult. But I feel like it's such a personal journey. I mean, for me, and I think a

of women have experiences too that grew up in religious households or were married and experienced that is like this perception of sexuality and our bodies. For me that was a huge thing was I developed when I was in high school and got bigger boobs than most people in my life and so when I would wear those same t-shirts I wore when I was you know 13 that were like tighter

and I would get these comments about how I'm trying to seduce the men in my church or that I, is my intention behind wearing these shirts? And I was so ashamed and embarrassed of my body and feeling like, oh my gosh, like, am I at fault here because I have this body that I have? And so there was like this idea that I needed to wear big t-shirts, which I still think that maybe that's part of why I love to wear baggy clothes now.

And that could be a part of because of the way I was raised where there was this idea that if you showed any sort of body part that was tempting, whether or not that was your choice to get a body like that or not, then you were at fault, right? You were at fault because a man looked at you or you were at fault because some husband had his eyes straight over to you. And so now the wife is angry at you as well. And like the interesting thing that I experienced with that is the majority of the time it came from other women.

And so the shame and this idea of wanting to like cover you up primarily came from the women leaders in my church, the other women that I lived with would say these comments. so I think that's so interesting that we ended up being the ones that tear each other apart. And that's like why I still, like, we need each other women. why, let's not be competition. Let's not try to tear each other apart.

that's a side thing. And so I feel like a lot of people have experienced that. For me, how I've handled my trauma is just like, I mean, I don't even know other than to say, but just acknowledging it and talking about it and facing it. And I'm so thankful that I also have experienced other women that have left the church. I think that we kind of magnetize to each other because I would just meet them in random places and be like, my gosh, you left the church too.

And so a lot of that was so healing for me was to connect with other people that have experienced similar things and to be like, yes, this sucked. This was really hard. This is how I'm handling it. And just talking through that was huge. I also something that I really tried to do because I saw people in my life that are still very much in the church and Christian, like my parents, for example, my sister, one of my closest friends is

still very Christian. And so for me, like a huge part of it is allowing them to live their lives that they want to live. And when they speak to me, like when my mom sends me a Bible verse, they're a text message or something like that. That used to make me so angry. I'd be like, why are you trying? You know, I'm not a Christian anymore. Why are you sending me this Bible verse or why are you saying you're praying for me? Like this doesn't matter to me. And so trying to translate that stuff now as, um,

They're doing the best that they can do with the knowledge that they have. And so the choice that my parents have made to be Christian is because they truly believe that that is the best thing for them in their life. And so when she shares it with me, she's saying, I want to share with you something that's working so amazing for me. I want to share with you the tools that are feeding my life. And so I try to see it as like, I'm praying for you is like, I love you. Here's this Bible verse.

I hope that you come back to God and she's saying, love you and I hope that you find hope and joy and all the things that I'm experiencing. And so that's something that I've tried to understand is like, I'm living my life the best I can with the info I have. And I just am trying to assume everybody else is doing the same, even if I don't necessarily agree with it.

Jen (17:53)
What a great perspective, I've never really looked at it that way because my mother, she became more religious with age. And yeah, when she tells me, I said a prayer for you at Mass, this kind of thing, I'm like, so? But you're right. She just wants to tell me that she loves me in her way. And I think that's important that we don't strike down other people's ability to share their love.

and their compassion with others. So I think that's such a great perspective.

Hannah Sol Marie (18:24)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think that's a huge reason why I'm thankful I have a very healthy relationship with my parents now, even though it's been very different. But I also can contribute to them that they've had a lot of growth as well and compassion. They still very much believe I'm going to hell. And so that's not really fun. And I think that breaks their heart. That was a tough thing for me to grapple with is...

you know, I love my parents and to think of the pain that they must feel to imagine that someone they love is going to literally experience torture for all of eternity. That's horrible. That's so horrible. I'm like, I'm so sorry that you feel that way and that burdens you, you know, and, so that's another reason why I feel like I have compassion too, because I'm like, that's a really heavy thing that they're carrying. And so when she shares with me, she's like, I'm just telling you, I don't want you to suffer. And so

Yeah, but that's been something that I've had to grapple with because there was shame attached to that at first. Like, why am a terrible daughter? Am I a bad person that has caused pain to people I love because, you know, I'm choosing the way I live? And yeah, that's not always easy.

Jen (19:36)
Yeah, I can completely understand your feelings on that. But that's their burden to carry and you're living your life the way that you feel happiest. Right? So I totally agree that if there is that shame to it that, I'm not following in the footsteps of my parents and they think that that's going to destroy me in the end. I definitely feel that.

So when you got out and you met your husband, I love that your husband gets into these conversations with you. It sounds like such a wonderful interactions that you have together. When did you decide to start creating this group?

Hannah Sol Marie (20:24)
Mm hmm. Yeah, the women's circles. Yeah. So actually I started in 2020. I think a lot of us experienced that isolation. Right. And so I already was feeling like I was craving community and connection. And then at the end of December of 2020, I was like, okay, I lived in San Diego. Luckily you can do everything outdoors in San Diego year round. So I thought, okay, what if I just start this?

this event and you know, just see who shows up. And so I called it like women's connection circle. And the first one no one came. And so I brought my book and I read my book instead and it ended up being okay. The next one, one woman came, the next it was like two and it was slow growing but I just continued to show up and yeah, it ended up growing to about 25 to 30 women averaging each circle and that was so special. I loved it.

And I was like, is one, that was the first time in my life where I really felt like I was in my purpose. I would show up to this circle. I would finish a circle and every single time I would feel like I was like, I am meant to do this. Like, this is so, I felt magical. That's the best word I can use is like, this is so magical that I'm experiencing this. Life is hard. Humans suck sometimes. And so when you experience those moments of like,

the goodness of humanity, the beauty of us supporting each other. It really feels, can't think of any other word than magical. And so I was like, I'm going to continue to do this. And so even though I moved and I'm moving to Idaho, Northern Idaho, and I started again. So I was like, okay, we're going to start from scratch here. And so I started leading women's events there too. And now I live outside the country in Peru. And so now I'm doing it all virtual, but I really just still feel that same like,

desire and deep, deep longing to keep continuing to show up and do this because I feel like it's such a gift to not just me, but everyone that gets to show up. Like I just had one last night. It was so cool. It was the coolest thing ever. And I just, every time I'm like, is this real life? Like I got off the call and I started crying and I talked to my husband. I was like, this is so cool. Like how am I getting to do this in my life? Like I feel so special and so honored and yeah, so.

I just, I feel like this is something that I'll do until the day I die is just create women's communities. So.

Jen (22:54)
Yeah, keeping space for each other is really important. Yeah, I love my women's circle so much. you know, there are times where I'm just like, you know, I feel like maybe I need to isolate or something if I'm feeling down. But whenever I join the group, I get so uplifted. And I think I think it's important for us to talk about the that women we do need connection to each other. Like you had said, we sometimes turn on each other.

for really unfortunate reasons, fear or jealousy, that kind of thing. And I think it's important for women to recognize that friendship and community is so important for us to be able to continue our lives with purpose.

Hannah Sol Marie (23:43)
I think that I see women tend to do one of two things. Either they judge and not even on purpose, but judge and kind of place other women in a box like, I'm not that type of woman. I'm not this type of thing. Or like what I experienced in the church. Or the second thing is where they decide that they're all alone.

So no one else has experienced what I'm experiencing. So yes, my gosh, that woman's living all these amazing things. She has that marriage or she has that job. That's so awesome. And, and then they decide that they're the only ones that are experiencing whatever pain they have or whatever, you know, thing that they're working through in their life. And so they isolate themselves. And so that I find that like, when we can create these circles, like you were saying, or other types of things where we can show up for each other.

Both of those things get eradicated because for one, you start to hear and talk to other women sharing their stuff and you're like, my gosh, we're actually like really alike. You're experiencing a lot of things that I'm experiencing. This is crazy. And maybe you're 30 years older than me, or maybe you're, you know, living in a totally a different part of the country or the world, but like, whoa, we actually have a lot more like than I thought. And so that, that kind of fulfills both those things where you're like, I don't need a judge and push women away, but I also, I'm not doing this alone and I don't have to do this alone.

That, you know, that was the greatest text I got last night. My niece joined the circle for the first time and she's 15 and she's been begging me to attend these women's events for years, but I've always felt like she was a bit too young. And this year I was like, okay, 15, I think he's ready. Like she can come. And she texted me last night and was like, she was like, Auntie, I'm so proud of you, but also I just want you to know that I feel so much less alone. She's like, the conversations I had made me feel so much less alone. And like, oh, I was like, that's.

Jen (25:34)
That's beautiful.

Hannah Sol Marie (25:38)
That's what this is for. Look, look, I'm getting emotional. That's exactly what this is for is like for us to realize that we don't have to do this alone and we should not and that there's so much more common with each other than we even think until we're faced in this situation where we're talking about these things and we're like, holy crap. Whoa, we have so much that we can connect on and I think that's powerful.

Jen (26:01)
what I think is, I mean, honestly, it's beautiful that your niece was able to join and she experienced something that I think a lot of teenage girls don't experience in that sense is this positive community. Because I think out there it's rough being a teenage girl. I remember it being so incredibly hard, you know, getting made fun of and, you know, just little petty things that we were taught from society to do, right?

Hannah Sol Marie (26:31)
And we didn't have social media and all this other stuff that they have to grapple with too. Like, ugh, I really feel for teenagers nowadays. Yeah.

Jen (26:38)
I

do too. I tell my boys all the time, I'm so glad I grew up in the eighties where I didn't have a camera on me 24 seven. could get away with that, whatever I wanted. I didn't have people constantly, watching what I've been doing. But you know what? The other part that I think is so important is having that like face to face community, even if it's online.

I look at the communities we build on social media and they're false communities as far as I'm concerned. Getting on Facebook and any of them, TikTok, we're not actually connecting. They say it's a community, but we're not connecting with each other. And especially for women, I think it's really important for us to see each other, speak to each other, hear each other's voices.

it kind of puts you in a different vibration.

Hannah Sol Marie (27:34)
Yeah, totally. Yeah, because I think you're so right. Social media can feel very one-sided sometimes. You post something and maybe you get a couple comments and so there's a little back and forth. But you know, it's not like this moment where you guys are both stopped and...

speaking to each other in the present. Like it's very delayed and there's different, you know, layers to it. And so, yeah, I so agree that social media really, I don't think fulfills that community aspect. I don't think it fulfills the connection need that we have because you see so many people, like especially teenagers now they talk about it, spend hours on social media and yet still feel desperately alone.

Jen (28:15)
And sometimes more negativity because they don't look like that girl. they don't have the popularity of that girl It's it's just showing them a false life, honestly, because people are putting up these fake lives to most people. We don't know what's going on in the background, but that's not what teenagers are seeing, right? They're seeing it. They're like.

Hannah Sol Marie (28:38)
one side of it, right? Yeah.

Jen (28:39)
Right, and they're believing that that's the way it's supposed to be and that they are at a loss of something and that they can't build their own. They have to be just like those others.

Hannah Sol Marie (28:52)
Yeah, I know. then I also think that it contributes. Everyone's feeding into it in a different way, too, because if you're also posting, there's this expectation. You're like, want to the best stuff. I want it to be the most positive view of my life. But then you post and like you feel like a fraud. You just really you if you're only showing one side of yourself.

Even if you don't necessarily consciously say I feel like a fraud, there's a piece of you that doesn't feel in alignment with the fact that you're not showing your true self. And I'm not saying that you need to be posting everything about your life on social media. But what I mean is I think that that social media feeds into that side of putting a mask on and that kind of eats you alive because you're like, no one's actually seeing me for me. And so even if they say they like me, even if I get a hundred comments on my thing that says you're beautiful, you're awesome, I wish I was you, you're like, well,

you don't actually know me. I don't feel connected to you at all. I don't feel seen at all. And so then there's like the two sides, no matter if you're the one posting or the one perceiving, you're both getting this negative drainage of just like your essence and who you are. it's so, ugh, it's so sad, it's frustrating.

Jen (30:04)
It really is frustrating. So when you do your groups, what's your favorite part about them?

Hannah Sol Marie (30:12)
Yeah. mean, my favorite part I think is I always start off every event with a little check-in with each other. So we do a group breakout room where we share three words to describe how we're feeling right now. And so it's just a nice little simple thing. That's like, okay. You know, most of the people are like, I feel nervous. I don't know what the heck I just got myself into, you know, and, or I'm exhausted and stressed out from work.

And, then like, we always do a checkout too, where I say, okay, three words to describe how you're feeling at the end of the event. And the words tend to be like, I feel seen. I feel loved or I feel safe. I feel, and sometimes it is like, I'm still feeling exhausted, but I also feel like, you know, at peace. And so there's like the, the, just seeing the transformation of women showing up. And a lot of times it's scary. Like you don't know who you're.

walking into you don't know what you're doing. You're like this girl Hannah what I barely know her and she's about to say we're have some conversations with strangers, you know, and, and so that's I value that too, like it takes bravery to show up and do that. And so the majority of people that show up feel really scared or they feel nervous or they feel anxious. And, and so I love to see that as they like settle back into themselves and they settle into these conversations, just seeing that like, comfortability show and that

warmth show and just getting to see people kind of go back into their natural selves. Like I like to think of like if you go into a coffee shop, right and you meet the barista and the barista is like, hi, how's it going? And then you're like, my God, you ask a question like, how's your day been? And then you see them kind of snap out of that and they're like, actually it's been really busy and I'm like really tired right now. And seeing that shift, I feel like I experienced out in the circles too. They show up and it's like,

Okay, got my mask on, here we go. And then seeing them that kind of crack open and they're like, actually for real, this is how I'm at. And that's the good stuff. That's the like juicy, I'm like, yes, I got to see you. Even if it was just a little sneak peek of it. It's like, I got to see you, you know, showing up as yourself. And that's so beautiful. And yeah, I love it.

Jen (32:28)
Yeah, I think a lot of women, they look at these groups and they're like, I don't want to join. It's all woo woo. It's all positivity, toxic positivity in a sense. And that's not true. So they fear getting into a woo woo group when most of the time when you're in a group of women who are all in the same boat, basically, same, maybe same age range, maybe not, just, just, being authentic.

and giving authenticity to the circle, I think, is so important. And when these women do actually witness it, there's that relief that, yes, okay, I can be myself.

Hannah Sol Marie (33:06)
Yeah, it's so special. feel, yeah, and I think that like a lot of us, we have this idea of woo woo and all these scenes too where we're like, okay, that's not actually gonna help me or that's not gonna benefit me and that kind of stuff. And I think that some of those communities people do feel connected in and they feel loved in and I love that. And also that's not really what I'm doing.

I got not woo woo. I have like a little snippet in here once in a while. I'm like, sure, give me my, you know, astrology thing for this week. once in a while, but most of the time that's why I gave a name like brave bitches too. Cause I'm like, that kind of tells you straight up. We're a little different. And that's like the vibe I want it to be as like show up as yourself. I want to be able to say in my circle, all the colorful language that I say in my day to day life. And so that's like the, the.

that's maybe I'm reaching a different community than some of the people that are doing those other circles and they're reaching their different community. But I just want to create spaces for everybody. And so my space might not be for all the people in the world, but it is for someone. And those are the people that I want to come, you know? So yeah, that's what I'm a little more practical side on here, a little more funky, you know, but it's good time.

Jen (34:27)
Yeah, and I think that women also should know that there are different circles out there. There are different communities that, you if one is too much for you, don't say communities wrong for me. Totally. Right. There's another community out there. Try them. And you'll find your tribe in that sense.

Hannah Sol Marie (34:49)
Yeah, you gotta kind of experiment a little bit, you know? It's like, you might not join your first community that's like, this feels super good for you. And maybe you come to one of my circles and you're like, that was not my vibe. That's why, like, I just hope that you go and seek out and that that was your first step to finding your community because yeah, I mean, I have people, like I had a girl tell me that I needed to change my name for the group because she said that I'm disempowering women. She said, when you use a word like bitches, you disempower women.

and you are like feeding into misogyny in the way that it's contributed to society now. And so I just lovingly told her, I so appreciate you telling me that and how you feel. And also I just think this group is not for you and that's okay. And I send you on with love and I know there are other groups for you but there are a lot of women that hear that name and they are like, yes, I love that we're rebranding a word that could be like.

so used to bring women down and instead we're like, no, we're brave. We're showing up, we're doing this. And so I was like, that's not for you and that's okay. Like so much love to you, but I can't be for everyone. so I can't switch, you know, I'm not gonna switch the name because it hurts you. What I'm asking you is to take care of yourself and step away and choose something else. Cause this is obviously triggering. It's not for you and that's okay. But yeah, we just got to find what works for us and

what feeds our little soul and meet the people that we feel like we actually can connect with, know? And like, there's so many communities, there's so much online, in person, all of that. And so, however you find it, I feel like it's such a gift.

Jen (36:29)
Yes, absolutely. Now, did the podcast come a little while after? And could you tell us a little about the podcast?

Hannah Sol Marie (36:38)
Yeah, so I started the podcast beginning of last year and basically I just kind of was thinking I wanted to have the vibe of the conversations of the circles, but just me and a woman chatting for like 45 minutes to an hour. And so yeah, thought that I had honestly, I've started like four different podcasts before I got to this one.

And I was like, no, and none of them I really stuck with. There's like a backlog on my laptop of episodes I recorded and never released. And so finally I got to this one and I was like, okay, you know what actually will be sustainable is if I just have conversations with people because I love connecting with people. love women. I love hearing their stories. And I, so I just decided to start it and it was really fun because I started reaching out to people in my life to be on the podcast. And a lot of them were people that

You know, they didn't have a business to promote. They're not life coaches. They're not things like they're just regular women living their day to day life. And so when I'd say, Hey, you want to be in the podcast? We're like, a story to tell. Who wants to listen to what I have to share? And I'm like, that's why I want you on because yes, you do have a story to share. And guess what? Like there's going to be, if one woman listens to your episode and they're like, Whoa, they're speaking a piece of my story. I feel so heard. Oh my gosh. She's living this regular life.

And I feel so like connected to this person. I'm like, we've won. That's such a win right here. And so I was like, yes, your story is so valuable and I really want to hear it. No matter if you think it's some big, great accomplishment or not, you you still are valuable. And so that was such a fun part of it is getting to have these conversations with people that were like, I'm not important. And then we would talk and they would...

dive and we would dive into all these topics and I'm like that was so cool! Was that the coolest thing ever? And so yeah I just I feel like I was planning on just doing one season 10 episodes and then I just had so much fun and now I'm just like going and I don't see the end to it because I just keep meeting the coolest people and getting to know them and yeah the the spark hasn't died at all.

Jen (38:49)
that's phenomenal. I love hearing that. And I think it's beautiful that you are empowering people who don't feel like they have something to share with others. We all have something to share. It doesn't have to be this huge, big, meaningful life story, but we have, we do have a life story and it's important to share it.

Hannah Sol Marie (39:13)
Yeah, I mean, that's how we connect with each other's through stories, whether or not we're, you know, acknowledging that, but yeah, vulnerability through stories when we can express pieces of ourself, like that's how you connect. And so I hope that people are able to do that as well through the podcast where they listen to different episodes and they're like, wow, I feel connected to this person or I feel heard or I feel, like they're speaking through me. And so, yeah, that's, that's.

It's been a really cool experience and I have gotten a lot of feedback where people do send me messages and they're like, my gosh, I'm so glad you interviewed this girl. That was so cool for me to listen to. yeah, so it's been a really special experience.

Jen (39:56)
Yeah, I just listened to your most recent one with Joan and I'm sitting there and I'm like, she's talking about building friendships and you don't hear that often. I was so excited to listen to her, views on building friendships. yeah, the podcast is really positive and...

Hannah Sol Marie (40:15)
I love

Joan. She's awesome. She's got this like, fiery-ness to her that is so great. And so we had a lot of fun with our conversation.

Jen (40:23)
Yeah, everybody should go listen to Joan's episode. It was great. So tell us where we can find you. And we know we have the podcast and all that in the communities. How do we find those?

Hannah Sol Marie (40:37)
Yeah, so basically you can look up Hannah Sol Marie everywhere. Instagram is Hannah Sol Marie. My YouTube where the podcast is on is youtube.com at Hannah Sol Marie. My website is hannahsolemarie.com. So all of that stuff you can find if you just look at my name, you will find all of the links. I'm also on Spotify, Google podcasts and all those things. But you can also look up Brave Bitches and that's everywhere as well.

Without the I, there's a little star in the I part. yeah, all my events are on my website. So if you wanna join any future events, they're virtual so you can be anywhere in the world. And yeah, I would love to connect with you. So even if you just DM me on Instagram, be like sup girl, love what you're doing, would love to chat.

Jen (41:24)
Yes, yes, please do. Well, thank you so much, Hannah, for coming on the show. I love your perspective. I love what you're doing for women and you're a brave woman yourself. And I appreciate you.

Hannah Sol Marie (41:40)
Thank you so much. really appreciate you having me on. This was really great to talk with you.

Jen (41:44)
Yeah, I was. Thank you.

When Not Yet Becomes Right Now (41:50)
Can we talk about how empowering it is to share parts of ourselves and community? Women need connection to other women to just feel heard and seen and feel safe. Hannah has built an amazing way to be a part of the group online because seeing and hearing other women is so important and promotes a true community. No frills, no need to show up putting on a mask of positivity when you're not feeling it.

Please check out the Brave Bitches podcast. I have spent time listening to the wonderful stories women have to share with Hannah, and it's been so uplifting. All of Hannah's links will be in the show notes.