It was the advice, stories and “beautiful wisdom” that emanated from a monthly gathering of girlfriends that sparked an idea for a podcast in York Region that is now attracting an international audience.
“The advice and the stories and the wisdom that came out of those conversations — whether it was marital advice or advice on kids or whatever — there was always such beautiful wisdom that came from these women and I thought, 'my gosh, I want to share this wisdom with the world',” said Kim Short, creator, host and producer of the What Led Her Here podcast, which launched in 2020.
With the mission of empowering women and girls by exploring the defining experiences of women’s lives, the Richmond Hill resident began sharing the powerful and inspiring stories of a carefully curated list of women in York Region, including Newmarket, and across the GTA.
“Basically it’s to recognize the power of storytelling and that when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and share our truth, we can create deep personal connections with other people. And that is so, so important,” said Short, who describes herself as “a girl mom, an entrepreneur, podcaster, story crafter, and dog lover.”
Season one featured six guests who had unique stories and a willingness to “go deep,” she said.
Like Michelle Anhang, who had learned the importance of living life on her own terms and without apology.
The mother of two sons became a widow in her early 30s, following the devastating death of her husband by suicide. Because of the stigma of mental illness, her in-laws decided they would say he died in an accident, Short said.
“She held onto the secret for many years — including (from) her sons — and it weighed on her mental health and well-being for so long. Once she decided to let go of the shame around that secret and tell the truth, she started to truly heal,” Short said.
Living a life that was a lie had hampered her ability to have meaningful relationships.
“Her lesson was about taking those masks off, and showing up authentically,” Short said of her guest who is now a certified coach helping individuals and families living with mental health challenges to find balance and build resilience. (Shedding the masks that hide our true selves)
“Her experience was that when she did share her true story, she was met with so much love and support … she finally experienced a depth and a richness in her relationships because she was able to share her complete self.”
Season two includes Newmarket resident Amanda Gobatto, a mom of two teenagers and owner of Digital Girl Consulting, who shared a lesson about the importance of making her own needs a priority. (Achieving my unique purpose: Lessons from motherhood)
“She had always had a dream of being a mom, and we talked about the dream versus the reality, and when she became a mom of two kids, how she sort of lost herself in motherhood, and the guilt that came from doing anything that wasn’t for the kids or the house or the family,” Short said.
“It was about her journey back to herself, how she started to put herself first again, and started to do things that brought her joy.”
And, then Newmarket resident Amina Mohamed, a photographer who empowers young women in Africa aspiring to be journalists by providing the training and tools needed to make their dreams come true — and to then pay it forward to other women.
“Her passion for female empowerment came to her after adopting her daughter and wanting a better world for her. Amina reminds us that if we have a dream, there’s always a way to make it a reality through hard work and commitment,” Short said. (From passion to action: Changing the world one girl at a time)
When asked which guest has had the most impact on listeners, Short quickly answers with Anya Romanova, whose message in season one was about kicking the addiction of being liked and pleasing others, and knowing that we always have the power to make the choice to live a different life if that suits us.
After coming here from Eastern Europe by herself as a teenager, Romanova built a life, getting married and having two children ― “living the dream kind of thing,” Short said.
However, she came to realize that life “was not really genuine to her.” Eventually divorcing, she is now married to a woman. (A life of choice: The power of living in your truth and authenticity)
Short doesn’t hesitate either in answering which guest has most impacted her.
Angel Freedman, also in season one, has a mission to promote awareness about issues — particularly domestic violence — “to make this a better world, one community at a time". The Whitchurch-Stouffville social worker and founder of two charitable organizations is a "frilly feminist" who is passionate about gender equality.
“She gave me an education about what it means to be a feminist. I had grown up thinking that was a negative thing, if you’re for women, then you have to be against men, and obviously that’s not what it’s about, it’s about equality,” Short said. “She has been a mentor to me for many years now and has really helped me tap into my passion and mission for female empowerment.” (Walk your talk: Becoming a force for change)
With 40 episodes produced to date, ranging from 20 to 60 minutes in length, What Led Her Here launched its third season last month and passed the milestone of 2,000 downloads, Short said.
Promoted mostly through her social media, the networks of her guests and word of mouth, the podcast has extended its reach well beyond the GTA with guests now from the other coast of Canada and the United States.
Initially, her challenge was overcoming the technical aspect of editing and producing a podcast — a friend loaned her a mic and did the editing for season one, until she “got out of (her) own way” and learned how to do it herself.
Now, as the reach of the podcast has grown, she said, “I will be honest and say that the biggest challenge is saying no to people who aren’t quite in alignment with my mission. I value everyone’s stories, and the courage to get vulnerable and share them is a big deal, but some people just aren’t in alignment with my mission with this podcast.”
Which means no “diet culture” — as in weight loss stories — or religion or politics, she said.
“It’s so messed up, I spent decades criticizing myself, and it wasn’t until I had my girls that I was like I cannot be negative about myself. Society has a narrow definition for what beautiful is, of what’s acceptable, and I hate that and that’s part of what I’m trying to blow up, not only in terms of body image but just everything, like gender roles, like all of it,” she explained.
“Women are now coming to me, saying, ‘I love what you’re doing, I’d love to share my story' and that makes me happy. There’s a lot of trust that goes into sharing and they trust me to go on that journey,” Short said.
What Led Her Here has been a personal journey of empowerment for Short herself.
She kicked off season two by being interviewed by a guest host, discussing the challenges of her dysfunctional childhood and the lessons of motherhood that led to her passion for women’s empowerment. (Get real: Creating authentic connections by embracing vulnerability.)
Last August, she achieved another goal by adding the title of story crafter to her resume. Her business helps female entrepreneurs identify and promote their stories with authentic messaging. She has collaborated with a life coach to create Building Authentic Connections, monthly "UNnetworking events," which "unlike traditional networking helps people connect in a deeper way."
She aims to continue growing distributorship, and empowering more women to use their voice to share their stories.
“The opportunity for connection there is so real, I see it all the time. Even if you haven’t had that same experience, there’s always a take-away in the way that we can relate to women’s stories, and we know we’re not alone — that’s important, especially nowadays, that connection is a big deal,” Short said.
And while the podcast will continue to be a large part of her mission to empower women and girls, “As I evolve as a woman … I want to keep myself open to learning more all the time and keep myself open to what other things I can do to serve women,” she added.
