About Me
Hello, friend! My name is Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio, and I hereby invite you to come and sit with me at my virtual “kitchen table”.
When I was a little girl, I loved being part of the conversations had at my grandmother’s kitchen table. I wasn’t there to speak but to sit and to watch and to listen. Without fail, after all holiday gatherings, the adult women in my family would linger until late in the evening over cups of coffee and various desserts. I felt like I was somehow let into their worlds as they shared and laughed and just spent simple time together. Without realizing it, I was being formed in the powerful gift of how women pass down wisdom and truth, the kind that is lived in and molded to real life experiences. No matter how times change, women still gather at tables around the world to share struggles and dreams, heartbreaks and new beginnings.
Personally, and perhaps as an ode to my mother, grandmother, and aunts, my favorite way to listen to stories is over a cup of something cozy or sweet: coffee, tea, or maybe even an Aperol Spritz. Whatever your drink of choice, this podcast is meant to be a place for laughter and deep conversation, just like at my grandmother’s kitchen table. When you listen to these interviews, I hope you feel like you’re having coffee with new-but-somehow-familiar friends.
In order to help you feel at home in our conversations, I first need to tell you a little bit about me.
In short, I am a bioethicist with a focus in women’s health and integrated sex education. I know—what a mouthful; let me translate. Basically, I offer ethical consults to doctors, nurses, and patients (or their family members) on situations and dilemmas encountered within the medical field. Sometimes, I teach college students as a university professor or address adult women on issues related to women’s health. Other times, you can find me speaking with young women and female athletes about the need to understand their fertility. What many women do not realize is how their hormonal cycles affect all of who they are: their emotions, physical development, mental health, and memories. In light of this, one of my greatest passions is offering presentations to medical students about the possibilities that are inherent within the field of women’s health, including an emphasis on the empowerment of women through knowledge about their own bodies.
On a normal day, you’ll see me attempting to do it all and failing miserably (…but at least I can enjoy a good cappuccino from home while I’m at it). During an average week, I can probably be found spending time with my husband, going on a run, baking something new, improving my Paleo cooking skills, or trying some new cocktail. I am typically found in conversation with other people, whether someone I’ve known for a long time or someone I’ve just met at Hobby Lobby. Most of my job requires me to complete some kind of writing project, prepare for a presentation, or both. And I am happiest when able to do all of this at a local coffee shop while sipping on a flavor of the season (I’m looking at you, Christmas in a Cup! Just order a peppermint White Chocolate Mocha the day after Thanksgiving. You’re welcome.). I was blessed to study for my PhD in Bioethics in Rome, and so I traveled back and forth to Italy several times a year for classes while simultaneously working in Louisiana as a high school teacher/cross country coach or college campus minister.
I have been given many gifts in this life, but the most precious ones to me are my people. I am constantly in awe of how many amazing women I know, each of whom are living out different seasons of life. Here at What Women Are, I work to explore the wide range of life experiences that women have in hopes that these stories can serve both as an encouragement and as a reminder to every woman that there is no perfect way of doing things in this life.
Okay, now that my bio is out of the way, I want to make one more essential point. I am not a brand. My work and these conversations are not some grand or even profound explanation of the “one way” to be a woman. It’s certainly not a place to pigeonhole any one of you. In fact, if you get that from my work, then you’ve misinterpreted what I’m saying. The whole point of this space is to educate and to empower women. Here, I interview women so that they and their stories can bless you like they have me. Aside from this endeavor, my work most often focuses on the healthy and holistic functioning of a woman’s reproductive system, so you can expect resources (articles, books, and courses) that go more into these arenas, whether for you or for your growing children.
No matter what I say, there is no one way. No one way to be a woman. No one way to eat healthy. No one way to decorate your home or be a boss CEO or love your husband or care for your children. So take that pressure off. If I share something about what I like, it’s just that–something that I like. So you know, don’t buy that real Christmas tree because of your allergies even though I’ll say every year it.was.worth.it. Don’t go on a trip you can’t afford because of some pictures you see that seem so amazing. Experiences are wonderful, but you can have so many without ever leaving your own city. Your life isn’t somewhere out there; it’s right in front of you, so much more real than the words you read on this page.
In other words, I am a woman on the journey with you, and here are my musings on the gift that women are to the world. Not by what we do. Not by what we have.