In this inspiring episode, Stephanie sits down with Jenny Quartano, a physical therapist and wellness coach who shares her transformative journey through personal hardships to a life of health and fulfillment. Jenny opens up about her challenging divorce, her past relationship with an alcoholic, and how these experiences propelled her towards a healthier lifestyle and a new career path in functional medicine and wellness coaching. This episode is a deep dive into how personal struggles can lead to profound life changes and a renewed focus on what truly matters.

Episode Highlights: 

• Jenny's challenging divorce and the realization that led her to leave a deteriorating relationship.
• The parallels between Jenny's experiences and Stephanie's own past relationship with an alcoholic.
• How Jenny redirected her focus towards health and wellness, including her approach to functional medicine.
• The impact of diet and lifestyle changes on Jenny's life, and how she now helps other families navigate similar transformations.
• Jenny's personal motivations and the "why" behind her lifestyle choices, emphasizing the importance of having a strong personal reason for change.

Today’s episode offers a compelling look at how personal adversity can lead to significant life improvements and a career dedicated to helping others. Jenny's story is a powerful reminder of the strength found in overcoming challenges and the importance of focusing on what we can control. 

If you found inspiration in Jenny's journey and our discussion, please remember to rate, follow, and review the podcast. Your feedback helps us bring more stories like Jenny's to you!

Sponsor

The Forty Drinks Podcast is produced and presented by Savoir Faire Marketing/Communications

Find Joanne Online

Website: www.joannemorton.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/positiveenergyartist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/positive_energy_artist/

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Stephanie: Hi, Joanne. Thanks so much for joining me today.

Joanne: Thank you, Stephanie. I am so grateful to be here, too.

Stephanie: Grateful to have you and so interested to hear your story. You were living in New York City when you turned 40. Is that right?

Joanne: Yep.

Stephanie: Tell me a little bit about your life there.

Stephanie: Oh wow. Oh wow.

Joanne: 40 gig iPod.

Stephanie: That's awesome.

Joanne: Cause I'm 40. So that was kind of fun, but, yeah, I moved to New York and I was 29, so I've turned 30 in New York City. So I'm really grateful I got to 40. I see how, when you're in your twenties and your thirties, especially in your twenties, when you're just coming out into the real world and we don't really prepare ourselves for that at all.

Joanne: I gotta find this TED talk but I listened to this TED talk once where they were talking about our formative years are between the ages of six months and four years or whatever it is, but it's also 20 and 24. And we just expect us to know about stuff, you know, and then you're becoming sexually active, you're getting married, which is way too young, so way too much when we're still in our formative adult years. Of course, I didn't know that back then. So I question myself, I often, like there's something wrong with me because I wasn't married. I wasn't following the traditional, get a job. I did go to college, but it took me 10 years. I graduated college at 28. So there was things, but at the same time, looking back, it was the perfect path for me to go on. You know, that's the thing about aging.

Joanne: And then when I moved to New York, when I was turned 30, I got to spend 10 years being a 30 year old living in New York City. And there's a lot of fun things. This was the late nineties. So it was a, you know, very interesting time in New York and I'm just grateful I got to live in Manhattan, you know? So then I turned 40 and I really do feel like that's when I first felt like a woman and something was shifting. And I also don't wanna go too deep in this in, but I ended up a couple years earlier than that, was at this place where I was kind of done trying to look for relationships and casual sex. I was, you know, trying to find out who I was and so I said, I'm just not gonna do that anymore.

Stephanie: That's fantastic.

Joanne: Yeah.

Stephanie: You had a little bit of an identity shift as well, though. When you turned 40 you told me that you started calling yourself an artist.

Joanne: Oh, you're right. I forgot about that.

Stephanie: Let's talk about that a little.

Joanne: Yeah. Well, that's interesting. This is something else I think is right out of a movie, the summer of my 39th year, right before I turned 40, I was in between jobs. So a friend of mine who lives in out north of Miami Beach offered me to stay in his sunroom for the summer for free. He lived three blocks from the ocean. I'll do that. Rent my apartment to interns, I'm out of there. And I went there thinking I was gonna write my one woman show I had started. That was when I was just kind of getting into my understanding of what manifesting is and law of attraction, reading all these metaphysical and new age books. So I was really wanted to write my one woman's show about who I am, but instead I started painting and drawing and photographing mangoes. I love mangoes and they were falling from my friend's neighbor's tree into our backyard. So the whole month of June, I had actually had to freeze a lot of them. I had so many mangoes. And and that's when I was like, oh, you know, I was always afraid to call myself an artist because I don't think I can draw. But a very wise woman, friend of mine said, "No, Joanne, you can draw, you just have to accept the way you draw."

Stephanie: Interesting.

Joanne: Game changer. So I was sort of embracing that and I've always wanted to go to art school, but I instead going to film school because I didn't have the courage or the, just the confidence to do that. So that summer, I was like, I'm, I'm, I'm an artist. I'm gonna start calling myself an artist. And I'm studying the law of attraction and manifesting. So if I think it, feel it, take action, it will manifest. And I went back to New York after the summer and I would say, within five months, I had manifested an amazing art studio in Chinatown.

Stephanie: Wow.

Joanne: I decided I wanted an art studio. So I just started looking at, advertisements that were up in the, you know, art stores and things like that. And somebody randomly sent me an email saying "My friend's looking for an art studio mate. If you're interested, give her a call." I called her, went down and it was this amazing loft department in Chinatown, this little crooked street. And I had a pretty good job at the time and when she said it was $450 a month to share, I said, I can't afford not to take this. You know? And so I had it for three years and she, she eventually moved out. So I got the lease and I was able to control who came in and shared it. I'm so grateful that I had that opportunity. So I was in my early forties. Did you ever, have you ever read the books, Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin?

Stephanie: Yeah, I read the first one.

Stephanie: Wow.

Stephanie: Oh, wow. Those are lovely bookends.

Joanne: Right. I also am so grateful that I left New York still loving it and still having a relationship with it because, some relation advice: end it before becomes too bad. I still wanna love you. I still wanna, like you. Recognize if it's not working, let's make it better for both of us. So that's kind of how I felt. So I went to Atlanta and then from there I got guided to Tybee Island, which is just outside of Savannah. I spent my first summer outside of New York, what was gonna be a couple days, ended up being six months. Six months without paying rent after 16 years of paying New York City rent was a gift, a gift. And I had a little part-time job but literally because I had a little bit of money from the letting go of my apartment in New York City, I was able to spend that summer just writing and riding my bike and painting and just sketching out and, and imagining and manifesting what kinda life I wanna create.

Joanne: Occupy Wall Street had started that September 2009 and all these different other locations were opening up, so I wanted to check them out. So I went to a lot of different occupied sites. That was a nice little path to take. Along the way, what I was doing was inviting people to add to this hanging mobile project, this large scale, hanging mobile. It's an interactive community art project, but I'm inviting people to share their visions, their messages, their dreams for the planet, the people, prosperity and peace. And it was fun to have these conversations. When you have a project, you can like have a reason to talk to someone. So I was traveling, I was couch surfing. It was an amazing experience to couch surf. I don't know if we'll ever go back to being able to couch surf so openly, like we did back then, complete strangers, there's this website would open you to your house and it was so magical. But I ended up traveling out to California and then went back to Ohio, by July, see my parents.

Joanne: So it was six months total that I was on the road and I traveled by myself the whole time, I had a couple ride shares, especially across Texas, it's really long, so people needed a ride, you know, couch surfers that needed rides. And I spent my 46th birthday out in Arizona, I was heading to the Grand Canyon where I'd lived for a short time when I was 21. I wanted to go back and see it, 'cause if you've never seen it, it really is like awe-inspiring. I didn't get to Flagstaff as soon as I wanted. So I ended up spending the night I had set up this minivan, it was a Ford Family Windstar minivan, but I set it up so I could sleep in it. It was very comfortable. So I spent the night in my minivan and some roadside parking lot where a motel was. So I had a little safety and but got to the Grand Canyon for my birthday and it was magical and cold, but it's okay. But then, like I said, I got back to my parents' house three months later and I stayed there for a short period and then I decided to come back to Savannah and live to get some grounding, because having a home for 16 years in New York City, when I lived for my twenties, till New York, I lived, I moved apartments every year. I lived lots of places and bounced around and it was really strange that first year when I moved to New York and I signed another a year lease, and then you sign signed two year leases, ' cause you have better rent that way. So I started two year leases, but it took me like three years to realize I'm gonna stay here for a while and there's something so important to have grounding, but I was looking for that and found it in Savannah. And it's a beautiful place here. The trees here, it's gorgeous.

Joanne: And so I'm here and now I'm 57 and I'm just really in awe of how aging can really be a fun thing. There's some things about it that are, you know, that can feel a little troubling. It's especially menopause for women and I've never been pregnant, so my hormones were never turned on like that. So it's an interesting experience, but at the same time, it's who we are. So let's celebrate it, let's embody it. And I also feel like if you are of a certain age, if you are in your forties, especially if you are single and you're able to do this, even if you're not single, but taking road trips by yourself, it doesn't have to be six months with everything in your car. Don't do that if you don't want to, but it was fascinating when you're on the road traveling: there's a lot of men of all ages, a lot of young women, but very few women over the age of 38, 40,

Stephanie: interesting.

Stephanie: Interesting, right. Well, this was let's remind ourselves that this was long before van life, right? This was long before this current era of people converting Sprinter vans into mobile apartments and spending six or 12 months or, or the foreseeable future on the road. I mean, to be honest, this is outlandish, you know, for someone like myself to hear this. I've always been rooted in places. I lived in Boston for a dozen years and then I came home and I've been back in New Hampshire for longer than I was in Boston now. But the thought, and I love to travel, but the thought of being on the road for six months at a time, or, or several years at a time is, is not something I can really wrap my head around.

Joanne: I think we all have different things, you know, I've lived in lots of cities and coming to Savannah where it's a small town, never thought I'd ever live in a small town. And I think that's something to remind ourselves too. Never say you're never gonna do something 'cause you just never know. I never thought I'd leave New York and I'm not there anymore. Don't

Stephanie: right.

Joanne: even want to live there anymore. But it's so important. I think, to have those people who are from someplace to keep it grounded and being open and not being closed minded about it, of course. But then there's also those people like myself who travel, because then we get to share the information. Because even in New York City, you know, let's just go, even in the East Village, there were people in the East Village that never left. They were born there and they live there. So they are just as small town

Stephanie: right,

Joanne: as people who live in Savannah.

Stephanie: Right. Right. Oh, that's an, that's an interesting perspective, right. Just 'cause you live in New York City doesn't mean you're worldly.

Stephanie: Yeah. Yeah. Right. And, and I do know some worldly people who live up here in Manchester, New Hampshire. Exceptionally worldly.

Joanne: yeah.

Stephanie: yeah.

Joanne: for sure. It's a state of mind, a state of being, not a state of place.

Stephanie: I think the thing that really stands out to me about the choices that you made in your forties was that they were so bold. They, were audacious I talked to someone a few episodes ago, who said, when people turn 40, their, their thing is, they wanna run a marathon and, they've gotta make some sort of physical challenge. So there are bold things that people do when they turn 40, but waving a wand and deciding that you are an artist and then divesting yourself of your roots to go and pollinate the country sounds magical.

Joanne: But you think about what's happened over the last couple years, more and more moments of where we're getting to have understanding about what's happening other places of the world, even with climate change, you know, when the fires are happening in California or Australia, we're feeling it, right? And so for me, I started recognizing that if you have the ability to talk about this kind of stuff, you should, because the more of us that talk about positive energy, magic, passion, love, as I like to call it.

Joanne: And I was like, no, I can take my stuff on my front porch. I can paint. And that the sun painting behind me, actually I painted it on Summer Solstice this past year. First time I painted in almost, you know, six months or so. And I was like, that's why I get kind of bitchy because I don't do what my heart's telling me to do. So when you start feeling a little "errt" what is it that you should do? If you're listening, you know, 'cause we all know what we're supposed to do. Even the most uneducated, everybody knows, we all have that inner power. We all do. Whether or not we're taking advantage of or not

Stephanie: Well, and whether or not we're able to tune into it. I mean, some people have the volume turned all the way down and they don't want to listen to it. You know, and that's just, that's a different way of life and that's okay.

Stephanie: Yeah, yeah, yeah,

Stephanie: that's that's okay.

Joanne: Yeah, yeah,

Stephanie: right.

Joanne: It's choice.

Stephanie: right, right,

Joanne: geez. pro choice along the book.

Stephanie: Tell me a Tell me a little bit about your artwork. What kind of art do you do?

Joanne: People sent us love and New Yorkers, we felt it. I have never, ever it's a lot of people. I have never, ever experienced that emotional love in the moment of such tragedy. So surreal. So I started painting We Are Here to Love. I, in 2000, well, 2015, maybe there was a Kickstarter campaign going on, "make a hundred pieces of something" so I painted 100 We Are Here to Love and I still have that. I'm still doing it. So back there I have these, We Are Here to Love and it reminds me that we have to love humanity. We may not like them every time, but there's a difference between liking and love 'cause you can't love other people. How can you love yourself? Because I believe we're all connected. And then of course, right, when the pandemic happened, Love is The Cure. If we're living our purpose, which is love, then love is the cure to everything, to every disease, racism, sexism, classism, 'cause if you love humanity, you're gonna take care of humanity.

Stephanie: Those are some big themes.

Joanne: I, I had a lot to think of when I was driving

Stephanie: Oh, sure. Yeah. Right. That's a lot of open, open road and open brain space.

Joanne: Yeah. But again, these are just inspirations from other people and of

Stephanie: Mm-hmm

Joanne: listening to not only myself to divine, but I'm listening to other people.

Stephanie: Tell me about the project you did tell me about the project you did on the road.

Joanne: So, I, at the time I was calling it the Manifesting Mobile, because I've took the idea of a vision board, which is images and words, that things that you wanna create and bring into your life. I like the idea of changing that from a poster board to a hanging mobile. I don't know if you can see, but it's up there's video, but there's back. They're behind me if you can see me. These circles that have like little mini vision board. So when I was traveling, I was inviting people to make a circle. I was making them out of recycled cardboard food boxes. In Austin, I actually spent seven weeks there and I would a random outdoor event or farmer's market. And if they had a table, I just kind of took it over. I had my little folding table and I would just, "Hey everybody, I'm a traveling artist. What da, da, da, da," and they'd come and they'd make a circle. And so that was really fun. And I ended up collecting about probably three, almost 400 circles when I got back to Savannah. And then when I was in Savannah, what I started doing was installing them and have exhibitions. I'd hang them in a room where people can walk through the strands hanging from the ceiling and there's seven circles to a strand. It's not your typical balancing mobile, but it's, it's close enough, 'cause it moves you walk through it and then you read what other people have shared. Mini messages just for you. And there's something powerful in seeing what other people are wanting to create, right? And when you see what other people are creating, then you can put intention around it and it might even be something that you wanna create. So if it's something that you wanna create, you're putting intention, two people have the intention.

Joanne: Even this project it's taking time, I've had moments where it's the momentum's going fast and then, then it's like slowing down a little bit and 'cause you have, life happens, you know? And so but I'm definitely wanting to really kinda rev it up a little bit more. So I'm talking to people about it. And when I hung it in the tent this past April, I had this other like, aha, wouldn't it be really cool if we could make the world's largest hanging mobile, co-created by people from around the world. 'Cause I had a few people when I was in Arizona, I was at the Flagstaff hostel. So I met some Germans, some English people. So they made circles. the world's largest hanging mobile co-created by people from around the world, sharing our positive intentions for the planet, people, peace, prosperity.

Stephanie: That's beautiful.

Stephanie: It's interesting too. I just think your approach to it is also that of somebody, over 40, meaning you started it 12 years ago and you are gonna go for at least another eight years. You've got a longer view of this. You've got a bigger picture you're looking at, you're not this isn't a quick hit. This isn't something that's, one and done. And, and I think that comes with age and experience and wisdom as well. That that being able to zoom way out.

Joanne: Oh, you have to. Yeah. Yeah. And I, and I also wanna say this too. I think it's so important to zoom out. And I think it's, you're perfectly fine to start that at age 40. What do I wanna do in the next 10 years, 20 years 30.

Joanne: And if you don't start until you're 57, it's fine as well. But to put that much pressure on people, when you're your twenties or thirties, I think is unfair because you just, you, you haven't grown into yourself yet. And you change, even though you're the same person. You go through a lot of stuff and it's a lot to, you know, manage. So,

Stephanie: Yeah.

Stephanie: Well, and there's a lot of foundational things you're doing in that time period. You are are, learning how to be an adult. starting your career. You are, going through relationships. There's so many things that you're doing that maybe you, you're not able to zoom out and see these bigger pictures.

Stephanie: concept that I've read about that, that I like and really resonates with me is the concept of first adulthood and second adulthood. And that the, decade between 35 and 45 is the bridge. You know, people hit it at different times, but during first adulthood, you know, that sort of 18 to 35, or, you know, even 18 to 40, 20 to 40 time, there are lots of foundational, informational things that you're doing.

Stephanie: And then this period of reflection and introspection and growing into yourself really sets you up for your second adulthood, which is 40, 45 through 60, 65 kind of thing. And, you do have different perspectives and you do bring different things to the table. And, and that's why I'm so curious and interested in this, this 40 milestone, because it really just does feel like the linchpin between the two.

Stephanie: And so many people make such dramatic changes to their lives during this time. They come into themselves, they start trusting themselves. They start listening to the voices inside of them, whether it's their heart or their head, whatever they wanna call it, their intuition, their gut.

Stephanie: Taylor Tomlinson is a comedian who's about 26. Who's got this great line about, you know, people always tell me to listen to my intuition, but she said, I, I don't have one. I don't have a gut. What is there to listen to ? And I think by the time you're 40, there's, maybe there's some actual physical girth there that you can tune into that. You might not have in your twenties. But, that is why I'm so curious about this period in time and how other people deal with the transition. I know mine snuck up on me. I was surprised by it and and almost didn't really figure it out until I looked in the rear view and, and sort of put a few things together. But there are other people who are, some people certainly are, coming at this with open eyes and thoughtfulness. So I'm even learning from them. And then there are others like me who are, you know, things break down, things fall apart. You put together a whole new life and

Joanne: Yeah, I don't think I was thinking about. I wasn't prepared for turning 40. I wasn't dreading it or anything, but I didn't really know what was gonna happen. You know, again, that's where I couldn't have planned any better to have that summer. Now that you've turned 40 and you kinda like start seeing things. When you were talking, what really, what resonated with me was your forties are kind of preparing you on how you wanna, be a seventy year old. How do you wanna be? It's so important to not let yourself get stuck, you know, and that's one reason why I wanted to leave New York City, too. I didn't wanna get stuck in a sixth floor walkup with the bathtub in the kitchen. That's perfect for being 30, but being 57, doing that? I don't know if I wanna do that. Physically, I wouldn't mind doing it 'cause it was an awesome exercise regime. And and now that I'm 57 in the last five years, I really have been thinking, where do, how do I wanna age? Who do I wanna age with? 'Cause I'm single and maybe I'll partner up with somebody, maybe I won't. It's, you know, I'm open to, to what, what life brings me. I never wanted to have children, so I'm okay being single, no children. I have lots of friends with kids. And so I'm all on that, but we do, we are gonna age and my vision of me, an older, woman sitting on a rocking chair, on a porch telling lots of interesting stories. You know, life is what you make it, make it interesting.

Stephanie: You mentioned something to me earlier about, because you've just said a word that clued me into this. You said something about not getting older. You're not thinking of yourself as getting older. You're thinking of yourself in a different way. Tell me about that.

Joanne: Yeah, that just sort of upped up the last week or so. I mean, it's a very new, like concept I'm aging, you know, because when I hear people I'm getting older, there's so much connotation. I mean, somebody said, when you get older, your, your body's gonna give out, you're gonna get sick, da da, da, da. And and I am not, you know, I'm not in bad health, I'm not, you know, I'm not an athlete or anything like that. But and I don't walk as much as I should, but I'm, I'm fairly healthy. I just think when you say your old, old cheese is nasty, aged cheese is delicious, you know?

Stephanie: There are so many things that if you put aged in front of them, it, it makes them more exclusive, more desirable. Cheese is one. Wine is another. Aged wine is is very desirable.

Joanne: yeah,

Stephanie: I think you mentioned earlier whiskey.

Joanne: Yeah. Yeah. And even, and just that, you know, because it has a better taste to it. It's, it's more refined. It goes down smoother. And think about all the relationships that we have when you, when you make a new friend at an older age, it's just, it's just so much smoother. you're not fighting you're da, da, da, da, 'cause you, you know how to communicate. You know how to be, in a relationship with someone, but when you're in your early twenties and you've like, oh my God, I dunno. You know? So it's it's just so important to just know that aging gives you knowledge, and knowledge is power.

Stephanie: That is true. Well, I have enjoyed our conversation so much. Before we say goodbye, tell me where people can find you online, should they want to come and see your art or get involved in one of your projects?

Joanne: The easiest way is my name, Joanne Morton. You know, it's all one word with E on the end and Morton like salt. There's links to my podcast my Patreon site. I have a shop where you can buy art. I have a blog and I have a newsletter, so you can join me that way. And then if you're on Facebook, you can follow me at Positive Energy Artist, which is my Facebook page. I am on Tricky Dame, Positive Energy Artist. I also love connecting to people on LinkedIn, and you can find me my name and I think it's linkedin.com/MortonJoanne. Joanne. Yeah. So yeah, I'm, I'm open. I mean, if you wanted me to come to your town with Circles of Hope, just give me a call, we'll make it work, you know?

Stephanie: I love that. I love that. How many circles do you have now?

Stephanie: Just remind me and anybody listening. If you're gonna decorate your circle, what, what are we, what are we decorating, the circle? What's the, what's the vision? What's the guide.

Joanne: So you think, so what is your vision, your intention for a healthy planet for the planet? You know, save the whales. You know, pick up litter. Wind power. These are some things that people have written, it's kind of an over the age of nine project, but I've had some really very insightful young children. Right. I will pick up trash, and this one time I was hanging, I went to this amazing festival in Llano, Texas, the Llano Earth Art Festival. It's on my website and this little girl, probably like 10 or 12, she walked through it and I was asking people, what's one word to describe it. Humble. I was like, oh my God, my friend. So people, you know, and when you talk about people, what are you wanting for yourself? It doesn't have to be for the world, you know? And so I have people writing, I want, like a job, I have mine, I have here my ideal clients, 'cause if you were to share that this one woman, woman, she wanted to open up 12 yoga studios around the country. So that way, if you put that on there and someone sees it, boom and then prosperity love about prosperity and then peace. And I will say this. So I did go through and sort of categorize them. Over 50% of the circles are about love.

Stephanie: Wow,

Joanne: So if you just wanna share a message of love, send it to me and I will promise you hundreds and hundreds of people will see it.

Stephanie: That's beautiful. What a great way to wrap up our time together. That's for anybody who's listening. I love it. I love it. Joanne, thank you so much for spending an afternoon with me. I appreciate it. And I just wish you. The very, very best.

Joanne: Thank you. The same to you. Next time. We'll have a drink.

Stephanie: for it.