Leaving the Life You Thought You Were Supposed to Live

Have you ever felt the quiet pull to change everything you thought you were building?

For Marty Ross-Dolen, that moment came on September 11, 2001. She had devoted her entire life to psychiatry, but as she watched the towers fall with her children nearby, something in her said it was time to let go. That decision set her on a new course — one that led to motherhood, teaching, and eventually a memoir that uncovered the silence of multi-generational grief.

In this conversation, Marty shares what it means to step away from a lifelong identity and find a new one through writing and reflection.

• Why listening to the voice inside matters more than the expectations you were raised to follow
• How unspoken grief can ripple through generations and quietly shape a family’s story
• What happens when you allow yourself to change your mind, even after decades of commitment

Marty’s journey is both personal and universal, a reminder that it’s never too late to begin again.

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Guest Bio

Marty Ross-Dolen is a graduate of Wellesley College and Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is a retired child and adolescent psychiatrist. She holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her memoir, Always There, Always Gone: A Daughter’s Search for Truth, was released with She Writes Press in May 2025. She teaches writing and lives in Columbus, Ohio. Learn more at www.martyrossdolen.com.

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The Life Shift shares real and honest conversations about the moments that change us. Host Matt Gilhooly sits with guests as they tell true stories of life-changing events, unexpected challenges, and quiet awakenings that shaped who they are today.

Each episode offers meaningful and candid storytelling about grief, healing, resilience, identity, and growth. These are the personal stories that remind us what it feels like to be human. These are the turning points that stay with us.

If you are drawn to personal growth, emotional well-being, or stories of how people rebuild after loss, this show offers a gentle place to land. Listeners come for the life changes. They stay for the connection.

New episodes every Tuesday.

For more information, please visit https://www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com