Women in the Arena
Women in the Arena is the celebration of everyday women living extraordinary lives in plain sight. We seek to inspire, encourage and challenge you to reach for the great heights you're made for.
Women in the Arena
What If Your Gilded Cage Was Actually a Doorway? with Corinne Cavanaugh
Storytelling has the power to bridge divides in ways direct confrontation cannot. In this captivating conversation with author Corinne Cavanaugh, we explore how fiction creates safe spaces to navigate controversial topics and what it truly means to be an audacious woman.
Corinne shares the genesis of her debut novel "An Audacious Woman," describing it as "a mashup between modern-day Bridgerton and Sex and the City." The book revolves around Eleanor Beaufort, a wealthy matriarch who feels trapped by her family legacy despite inheriting a $70 million mansion. Through Eleanor's journey, readers glimpse moments of boldness that inspire reflection on their own abandoned audacity—those times before the weight of adult responsibility settled in.
What makes this conversation particularly compelling is Corinne's personal transformation. With a Harvard master's degree and successful marketing career, she made the bold choice to pursue fiction writing. Her methodical approach—creating a 5-7 AM writing routine before work and learning from established authors—offers a blueprint for anyone wondering how to pursue their passions alongside existing commitments. Her advice? "Be bold faster. If you've got this inkling, this one idea you've been meaning to do, don't wait."
Beyond literary pursuits, our discussion ventures into provocative territory as Corinne challenges the current culture of division. Drawing from her background studying democratization, she advocates for bringing difficult conversations back to the dinner table. "The public needs to be able to feel comfortable talking about these things," she explains, noting that her novel demonstrates how vulnerability and listening can lead to understanding.
Whether you're contemplating a major life change, seeking permission to prioritize yourself, or simply wanting an engaging read, Corinne's insights will leave you contemplating what audacity might look like in your own life. After all, as she reminds us: "We've got one ride. Might as well go and chase them."
Welcome in everyone and thank you so much for joining me again this week. This week, you're in for a treat. This is a first for me. This week, my guest is Corinne Cavanaugh, and she is a marketing expert, entrepreneur, humanitarian and author. She holds a master's degree in international relations from Harvard, but her passion is to inspire empathy and understanding through storytelling. Her first book is An Audacious Woman and it does just that. It humanizes controversial topics in an approachable, fun and very real way. I said it's first for me. She is my very first fictional author and I'm so excited to talk to her and I was drawn to her because of the title of her book. It is my pleasure and my honor to introduce to you Corinne. Corinne, thank you so much for being here and welcome to the show.
Corinne:Thank you, audra, it's my pleasure. I really love what you're doing with the show.
Audra :Well, thank you for being here and thank you for writing this absolutely wonderful book. As I told you before we came on, I'm actually reading this book and loving this book because it is entertaining, it is rich. I am really emotionally involved in the book with these characters, really emotionally involved in the book with these characters, and you developed it in such a lovely way that you've hooked me in. You've made me part of it, and not all authors are doing that anymore.
Corinne:Yeah, I think that's hard to do right. We've got so much out there, so much great content, that you really have to hook people fast.
Audra :You do. You have to hook them fast, and not everybody's willing to sit and silence and invest in reading anymore because there's just a lot of distractions. It takes a lot to ask of somebody to say, hey, will you sit quietly and be with me for an hour or two while I tell you a story? And you did a really good job with that. And I'm curious, why is your storytelling geared towards women?
Corinne:They say, to write what you know. And this is the experience I've had in my life and I think that women are typically, you know, really the leaders of their family, the leaders of their community and the heartbeat of the world. And so I thought, okay, I really want to write this for women, and some topics come up that you know are maybe hopefully validating for women in their point of view to say, OK, you know, you can do this, you can be more, you can be audacious.
Audra :You did that, just that, in this book, and I'm not going to give the story away, because everybody definitely needs to read this book, because it is a fun read and it is worth it is worth sitting down and escaping from all of all the stresses that are going on in your life. But what I'd love to hear from you is this idea of an audacious woman. What is it to be an audacious woman? What does that mean to you?
Corinne:I think it means going outside of your comfort zone intentionally and with a sort of not caring attitude. And I'm not saying break the law, don't get me wrong. I'm saying you really need to do things like wear what you want. You know, I can't tell you how many meetings I have been. In the morning I'm thinking, okay, should I wear this to the meeting? Who's going to be there? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So much goes into our thought process. What nail color do we have? Wear what you want.
Corinne:I think it's super important for women to listen to advice but not feel like they have to take it. You know, it's possible that your own instincts and your own intuition are the right way to go, and so that's one. All of these tips, I think, are really meaningful because women, often we are giving and we're in service of other people and really, if you're taking care of yourself first, everybody else wins. So put yourself first is another one. Everybody else wins. So put yourself first is another one. It's so easy, right, we've got the airplane, put your mask on first. It makes sense.
Corinne:But then, when it comes to everyday life, it's so easy, you know, to not put yourself first, and you know I'll just share, if I may, like a quick way. I do that. I'm a mom of three and they're all in school. But you know, at the end of the day I decided you know what? I don't want to be a hangry mom. Ok, I want to eat. So I actually eat before the kids come home, so that I can be my best self, and they eat dinner at a later time, so that I'm when I'm eating them dinner, I'm not. You know, that's putting yourself first. It's a practical application, but I think women need to do this in all sorts of ways, including in corporate America.
Audra :So let me get this straight you aren't picking off of your toddler's plates on what's left over.
Corinne:You aren't picking off of your toddler's plates on what's left over. No, no, you make the food at some time. Just eat it, right, eat it and you're going to have more energy to give. And the same thing in the career and the workplace. I think you know you've got this whole other thing happening in your life. Well, that's demanding a lot of your time and attention, but in that realm you can still put yourself.
Corinne:First. I'm in the age category where I've had several friends come to me and say hey, you know, I'm thinking about having a baby next year and I'm really excited about it. But my boss just came to me and suggested I should take this project or I should take this promotion. And they're coming to me as a friend and they say well, should you know, do you really think I could do that? Like, should I step? I don't know if I should take this project and I'm thinking to myself would your significant other take that project? They're not growing a baby, but they're having a baby. Yes, they would, and you shouldn't step back just for that. You shouldn't. You should really go for it.
Audra :Because you can be both things at the same time, you can be true. Just because you're growing a human does not stop you from being amazing and awesome at your job. Unless you're jumping out of an airplane, you can pretty much do anything.
Corinne:Absolutely, absolutely. And you know it's not like it's not going to be tough, but you know we can do tough, that's fine. We can do that. We can get through a nine-month, 10-month period of time where we're feeling absolutely horrible and still rock our career. It is possible. It's a period of time and I think women should just go for it in all aspects of their life.
Audra :You worked in corporate America yourself and then you did this extreme pivot into being an author. I mean, you had very technical roles in your life and you decided no, I'm going to chase this passion of writing. What finally made you feel so empowered to go and chase that dream?
Corinne:You know, I have to admit a couple of things. I have the entrepreneurial bug right. I've started a couple of different marketing firms, small, small companies, but you know. So when I went back to corporate, I was doing the corporate thing, but I had a dream about the main character in this book, eleanor Eleanor Brofort, and she was so vivid.
Corinne:When I woke up I thought, okay, if this could be a really good book. I kind of describe it as a mashup between modern day Bridgerton and Sex and the City. You know, it's sort of that kind of feeling and I thought this could be really fun, this could be something I would love to read. But then I kind of you know, working full time, kids full time, all that stuff and I thought, okay, well, why am I writing? I could spend my time doing anything. Let's find out my why. And so then I drilled down into. You know, I want to share with people these controversial gray area topics in a non-confrontational way so they can actually see different people's points of view without, you know, hashing it out at their own dinner table. It's a safe space. Fiction is a safe space.
Audra :Well, this main character that you describe, I think that a lot of women can relate. She is this powerful matriarchal woman, but she's lonely.
Corinne:She's super lonely and she's felt stuck right. We've all felt stuck from time to time. She's felt stuck her whole entire life. Now it's an affluent type of stuck right and she inherited this $70 million mansion but she's been the property person, the main caretaker of this home from 1900, her whole entire life. She can't get away from it. It's our family legacy and so she felt stuck, and so I think it's a parallel that most women feel. And so you're watching her and seeing points in her life, little historical flashbacks of where she just was bolder than ever, and that is inspiring.
Audra :Yeah, I like how you peppered that in, because, as you're reading this book, you make me feel and make me think about times when I was bold, when I've had these times where when I lived life without abandon, when I didn't feel the weight of responsibility that I feel today, when I didn't have to be reminded of you have to be the adult in the room, and I think a lot of women walk through life now, at this age, where you've built this gilded cage because you were too busy being responsible, trying to drive this career for yourself, and you've built it. You have built this amazing career. You had something to prove to yourself and maybe to others, and you've gotten to a point where you're like, okay, now I've built this. Now what?
Corinne:Right, it's like I've built this. I could do anything. Now what do I actually want to do, you know, and I think it's fun writing a career in marketing. You're a short writer, an extremely short writer, right, you're writing headlines and catchphrases and social content and website content Short-form writing totally different. I got to tell you so when I decided to embark on this journey, I did two important things. First, I was inspired by James Clear's book Atomic Habits and I set up my morning routine so that I would be writing from five to 7am and then I would go to work. So well, and then I would do the wake up routine with all of the kids, get them off and then go to work. So I was prioritizing the time. But then the second thing I did is I learned from the greats. I went on masterclass and I took every class Margaret Atwood had on there. Every class, james Clear and I became a student of writing writing fiction, because it's a different ballgame and so they really gave me the blueprints to go for it.
Audra :I think that's really interesting, what you just said. Really interesting Because there's lots of women out there that are thinking I would like to go for this or I'd like to go for that, but I don't know where to start. And you created a blueprint of where to go and you created a habit, and then you started learning from the greats of whatever it is that you wanted to go do so for those women that feel stuck. Start with a blueprint what a brilliant idea. I never thought of that before.
Corinne:Well, I mean, anytime you really get serious about your goals, you do that naturally right. Whatever, it is Okay. How am I going to get there? What strategies and tactics you can use? Whatever like what you want, but at the end of the day, your time is what you have to give and how you prioritize. It is everything.
Audra :But as women, that's easy for us to do when we're trying to accomplish goals as far as work is concerned, financial goals, that kind of thing but when we're chasing our passions and dreams, I think we forget to do that.
Corinne:Oh, we totally do, and the guilt takes over. Oh, I should be doing this other thing. I should, should, should, should, should. I had someone, a mentor of mine, many years ago. She said to me oh go, should yourself. You know, like don't, it's not good for you. Prioritize what you want and make it happen, or don't and drop it. Try not to feel guilty. It's a daily struggle, isn't it?
Audra :Absolutely. I'm going to ask a silly question and I know the answer, but I want you to say it out loud. Do you regret for a second walking away from your cushy corporate America job?
Corinne:No, no, no, no, no, no. And I still have friends that are there and are stuck there and you know, I've been invited back to different roles and no, I'm doing my thing right now and it's really lovely that that atmosphere exists to go back to if I want to go back to it. But you're never going to regret going for your dreams. And it's just amazing what has happened.
Corinne:I mean, people are buying the book, or the audio book too, and they're coming to me and say, oh, my goodness, this character I felt so akin to them and, oh, I saw this differently. And character I felt so akin to them and oh, I saw this differently. And my hope, too, with the controversial topics, is that, you know, when it's Thanksgiving, you think, okay, well, aunt, so-and-so, normally we might uninvite her, but let's go ahead and invite her to the table and bring her back in the fold, because I think making this broad. You know, as a society, it is super important to have cordial discourse on controversial topics so that we can both have empathy for each other and come to sort of some sort of cultural consensus that isn't driven by the news cycle and media.
Audra :What a bold statement to say, which is absolutely contrary to what everybody else is saying, is that if you're divided, you should absolutely stay divided, but what you're saying is. No, that is absolutely incorrect. It's okay to think differently, just as long as you can come together and discuss it in a civil way.
Corinne:Absolutely, and it's required. You know you'll mention that fancy fancy pants degree I got. You know. I studied democracy and democratization and how democracies are built and why they fail, and there's a really great book on this called how Democracies Died nonfiction, obviously well-researched. And this is one of those key salient points in the research, which is the public needs to be able to feel comfortable talking about these things. Otherwise, you're repressing and you're polarizing and you're getting further apart and it creates all this nasty stuff that really does tear down what we intend when we think about a democracy.
Audra :So, even though it might be uncomfortable, it might be a little scary, go ahead and invite in those uncomfortable conversations, and nothing is better to soften an uncomfortable conversation than food.
Corinne:Absolutely. The dinner table is where to do it right, Even if somebody disagrees with you entirely. You know they come together at different settings to really talk about this, and most of the comfortable settings are at the dinner table around food, and so they're giving their points of view. And you know, Eleanor, she asks these characters to be vulnerable at the dinner table one time after something super secret happens, and so they do that and really it all comes out. So I think it's demonstrating Hopefully it's demonstrating how to have those conversations for people. It's hard.
Audra :I'm going to ask you how frightened were you when you decided I'm going to put my emotions, my feelings, my passions into writing and launch it out into the world.
Corinne:Well, it's pretty scary. It's a little scary you could hide behind fiction. They're fictional characters and sometimes people say, well, what character are you most like? Well, I'm all the characters Spoiler. I'm a little bit of every character, and so it is. It is kind of frightening and I think you know, hanging my hat on that after living this serious corporate life was the most frightening going public on LinkedIn and that sort of thing, and so you know it just just. I think people respect that you're living your most authentic self whenever you do, and they and the star ratings on Amazon, I mean it's all terrifying. You know, if I get one that's not five stars, I can't help but think about it. There's only been one, by the way, that was not five stars.
Audra :They don't know what they're talking about that non-five stars. They have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. That non five stars. I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. My my one last question before I want to turn the mic over to you, because I want to make sure that people know where they can access you and the book. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything? I?
Corinne:would do it sooner. Right, I wouldn't wait. I think it's very easy to think about all these things you have going on in your life, but if you've got this inkling, this one idea you've been meaning to do, don't wait.
Audra :Just do it. Corinne's telling you to be bold faster.
Corinne:Be bold faster. I mean, we spend all this time pleasing other people and you know. Just take a portion of that time back and do what you need to do to live your biggest dreams.
Audra :And we've got one ride. Might as well go and chase them. Absolutely, absolutely. So where can the audience reach you? You get access to these amazing books and where can they read more about this amazing woman, eleanor?
Corinne:okay. Well, an audacious woman can be found on Amazon. It's available on paperback, kindle and audiobook too, so Audible and iTunes, and I would be honored if you followed me on Instagram. It's Corinne Cava, so C-O-R-I-N-N-E-C-A-V-A is my Instagram handle, so follow the journey there and you'll get some sneak peeks and information about book two, which is coming out, because this is a series of three books which I am so excited about because once you're hooked, you're hooked.
Corinne:Oh yeah, I mean, in the first book you're rooting for a winner, right? You were telling me before we aired that you're rooting for someone and, and well, someone wins. And so what do they do? And you get to see them live out their dreams and ambitions for the estate. And then Eleanor frees herself up, so you get to see her travel the world in book three.
Audra :Which is also pretty exciting to watch that happen too, because I'm also rooting for her and her love life, exactly. So this is another part of the show that I enjoy where I get to shut up because I want to give you an opportunity, that you get to have an intimate moment directly with the audience, that you can leave them a moment of inspiration. So the mic is yours.
Corinne:Too often, low self-confidence or insecurity has held us back, and everybody knows this. We're always looking for that next thing, but I want to encourage the audience to turn to these fearless fiction female protagonists to not only help them have a good time when they're reading their book at night or on the weekend, but also to be inspired by their tenacity and audacity, and I hope that they find that and that not only an escape, but also a bit of inspiration.
Audra :Thank you for that and I will make sure that all of your links to your books, to your website, are all in the show notes. Thank you for spending this time with me, thank you for your characters and thank you for your boldness, oh thank you, audra.
Corinne:You're bold too. From one audacious woman to another, you are doing this podcast and it's really wonderful, thanks.
Audra :Well, thank you, and thank you for spending the time with me today. I really do appreciate it, and I want to thank all of you for being with me again this week. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and we'll see you again next time.
