554546288429728 Escaping Your Near-Life Experience with Author Karen Salmansohn - The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast

Episode 191

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Published on:

22nd Jul 2025

Escaping Your Near-Life Experience with Author Karen Salmansohn

Are you living your actual life or just scrolling, swiping, and going through the motions? In this inspiring and energizing episode, Dr. Whitney chats with bestselling author and behavior change expert Karen Salmansohn about what it means to escape a “near-life experience” and truly start living with joy and intention.

Karen’s book, Your to Die For Life: How to Maximize Joy and Minimize Regret Before Your Time Runs Out, flips the script on how we think about mortality. Her goal is not to scare us, but to wake us up. Together, Whitney and Karen explore what it looks like to live according to your values, how to write your own (aspirational!) eulogy, and why identity-based habits can help moms stay grounded in what matters most—even when life feels chaotic.

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About the Podcast

The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast
Giving modern working moms the tools, resources, and information they need to win at parenting and work without losing themselves.
Wouldn't it be great to find a podcast for the Modern Working Mom that addresses life as a mom, life as a working mom with an ambitious career and life as a mom who wants to also have time for her own life? That is what the Modern Mommy Doc podcast is all about.
We live in a world where we are supposed to raise kids as if we don't work and work as if we don't have kids (and don't even mention that we may also want to fit in some time for ourselves to read a book or take a SoulCycle class.)
Everyone has an opinion on what it takes to be the perfect Working Mom in today's society. Most of the advice is unattainable, anxiety-provoking and certainly doesn't address how the modern working mom is supposed to make time for her own life. The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast helps working moms say "no" to unrealistic expectations for a perfectly-balanced life and say "yes" to what really matters. You'll hear inspiring interviews with experts in each of the core areas modern working moms who parent with intention know are critical for success –dreaming big, spending time on things that matter, making space for themselves, investing in their mental and physical health, parenting in partnership, and being intentional about the way they parent their kids.
Your host is Whitney Casares, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P. She's a Stanford-trained, board-certified pediatrician, author, speaker, blogger @modernmommydoc, mom of two and avid Peloton-er. Drawing on her own experience as a working mom in the modern world, she's curated a group of expert guests to help you find the credible advice you're looking for when it comes to taking care of your child, your career and yourself.
We live in an era filled with so many questions around Working Mom Life and finding balance. On the Modern Mommy Doc Podcast, you'll find the focused answers you've been looking for to truly have it all.

About your host

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Whitney Casares

Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP is a pediatrician and a mom to two young girls in Portland, Oregon. Every day, she tries to balance taking care of work, her kids, and herself, laughing at the craziness of the early years with young ones.

After completing her undergraduate degree in Journalism, she completed her medical school training at The University of Vermont and her pediatrics residency training at Stanford University. She also holds a Masters of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from The University of California, Berkeley. She cares for children and adolescents as a full-time, Board-certified pediatrician in Portland, Oregon. Her passion is helping parents find their way to confidence and success as they raise their kids.

Being a modern parent is a challenge and an adventure – Dr. Casares knows it first-hand. She developed Modern Mommy Doc to inspire, educate and encourage moms and dads so they can win at parenting without losing themselves.