Karen Rae says “women connect” over their stories.
Karen Rae remembers feeling “invisible” after her divorce.
A stay-at-home mom for 27 years, Rae says she was living a life others thought she should, not necessarily one she wanted. She went through several major life transitions at once, including the divorce, her kids growing up and moving out and menopause.
She wasn’t sure she had any marketable skills but eventually reentered the workforce at age 56.
Today, Rae is known as the founder of Fave Lifestyles — a network of local web shows for women — and as the creator of the Being Brave Tour magazine and podcast. She is also the founder of the #Celebrating1mWomen Movement, a global initiative turning women’s brave stories into ripples of connection, courage and change.
“I realized that we, as women connect over our stories,” Rae said during a recent Formidable event called “Don’t Retire — ReWire,” aimed at helping professional women navigate the future. “It’s not the circumstances, the divorce or the health challenge. Those are there, but we connect by the struggle that we had to go through and those lessons learned.”
Rae’s current journey began in 2012 when, with the support of her “creative” children, she began visiting wineries to interview women to uncover and tell their stories. Those web shows were hosted by several experts and featured discussions on nutrition, health and living.
Two years later she launched Fave Lifestyles to celebrate women’s courage. In 2024 she created the #Celebrating1mWomenMovement and last summer officially launched the Being Brave Tour podcast, covering topics including grief, motherhood, courage and addiction.
Along the way, she learned to bend, pivot and adapt to changing circumstances. She discovered how to help women fully find their own voices, even if they’ve been quiet for years. Simply put, she “creates spaces for women to show up,” whether it’s with the magazine, web show, or networking.
Rae even has a space on her website where any woman can go and write her own story.
“The thing is to create a space where women feel comfortable,” she says. “It’s a healing process and it can be an inspiration for somebody else. That gives her encouragement. It makes her feel special.”
Rae’s journey has been full of surprises. She admits she had no idea what she was capable of creating when she began navigating her life’s transitions. With no formal journalistic training, she learned how to interview, operate a camera, produce shows and create graphics. It gave her confidence that she could do anything she set her mind to.
She adds that she’s pivoted at least five times the past 10 years to create a new business or tweak an existing plan.
“I love these new opportunities that keep coming up that challenge me,” she says. “I just keep going with it.”
