Second Act Stories Andy Levine

Dann McDorman always dreamed of writing and publishing a novel. After graduating from Columbia University, he spent a decade pursuing that dream with little impact. "Not only was I never published, I never heard back from a single publisher. I had zero success."
As he hit his 30s, he found his way to a career in broadcast journalism initially working for Fox News but then climbing the ladder as a producer at MSNBC. Starting a family, his dream of being an author was put on the backburner. Today, Dann is the Executive Producer of "The Beat With Ari Melber" that airs weeknights from 6:00-7:00 pm.
During the Covid-19 Pandemic and without a daily commute to the MSNBC Studios, Dann had some extra time on his hands. He started thinking about writing again. With his wife’s encouragement, he wrote a full length mystery novel called West Heart Kill. And at the age of 47, his book was published by Knopf Publishing.
Dann's advice to aspiring authors and second act pursuers: "Don't give up...Stick with it and don't think it's too late to be successful." 
 

Amy Siewe is the quintessential embodiment of how passion drives a second act.
She left a safe and lucrative career as a real estate broker to hunt pythons in the Everglades.
She proudly shares that she’s 5’ 4”, 120 lbs., and captures pythons as big as 180 lbs. by physically jumping on them and wrestling them into submission.
This is what pure passion looks like.
In this fascinating episode, Amy shares what motivated her to leave a relatively safe career selling real estate to become The Python Huntress.
In this wild ride, she shares how she became so interested in snakes, unbelievable accounts of actual hunts, how she built a business out of hunting pythons, why her role is necessary, and which of her two careers is more stressful.
Follow Amy Siewe, The Python Huntress, on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Second Act Stories theme music: "Between 1 and 3 am" by Echoes

Second Act Stories has officially defied the odds. We've been nominated for a Webby Award!
But our category is stacked with stiff competition: Michelle Obama, Sarah Silverman, TED Audio, Lemonada,  and Slate.
We need your vote! We can win this with your help.
Here’s how you vote:
Go to vote.webbyawards.com Click the search button on the right-hand side of the screen, under the start voting button Type in Second Act Stories Click on our category in the search results Click on our logo to cast your vote All it takes is entering your email address and a password, and then clicking the validate button in the email you receive from the Webby’s. It'll only take a minute.
Pretty amazing stuff.

 
Tiffani Evans' life changed completely on August 24, 2021. That's when her 8-year-old son PJ was killed in gang-related, gun violence in the Washington, DC region.
Emerging from the dark days that followed his death, she helped form the "Strong Azz Mothers," a group of area women who lost children to gun violence. The organization focuses community attention on the problem but also serves as a strong support group. According to Evans, "It's a sorority that we never asked to be in. But we're in it so we try to support each other. Nobody understands this like we understand it."
With the help of the DC Theatre Lab, the group performed a play titled "Turning Pain Into Purpose: Say My Son's Name" to a packed auditorium. The Strong Azz Mothers were profiled in an amazing article by Washington Post Reporter Jasmine Hilton (which is how we first heard of the story).
Tiffani has most recently taken on a new role working in the Prince George's County School System as a "violence interruptor." Her message to students, "Don't let a five second emotion change your life forever. There are a lot of people serving life in prison right now for a mistake that they wish they could change." 

Rachel Humphrey was a trial attorney who was certain she would spend her entire career in front of judges and juries and eventually retire in a courtroom. After relocating from Virginia to Atlanta with her husband, she took a job at a firm where she represented clients in the hospitality industry, and that sparked a passion she didn’t know she had. The hospitality industry was interesting to her, and she thought that becoming involved with the associations that help the industry might be a great next step, but she had no real business experience at all.
Prompted by the unexpected departure of the nanny who took care of her children, Rachel decided to leave her job to be there for her young family. This also allowed her to do some serious soul searching and figure out what would come next.
A serendipitous conversation with Cati Stone, then the executive director of Komen Atlanta, opened Rachel’s eyes in ways she never could have imagined. As fate would have it, and what Rachel didn’t know, was that Cati happened to be a former trial attorney who moved into a role as an association executive. The advice Rachel got from Cati showed her that there was a viable – and possible - path to follow her passion.
Rachel networked her way into an executive role with AAHOA, the largest hotel owners association in the country, eventually ascending to the role of Interim CEO. After realizing a need for more diversity in the hospitality, she later founded the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance.
In this episode, Rachel shares her path from fighting legal battles to advocating for women, and all the trials that went along with her journey.
If you like this episode, you may also enjoy these episodes featuring former attorneys with incredible second act careers:
Stuckey’s Gamble: Stephanie Stuckey Cashes in Her Future to Revive Her Family’s Iconic Roadside Brand, from February 2024 Lawyer to Clown to Children’s Musician: Robert Markowitz’s Unusual Journey, from September 2023 From Big Law to Methodist Minister, from January 2018 Second Act Stories theme music: "Between 1 and 3 am" by Echoes

Mike Drak worked as a banker in Toronto for his entire professional career. When he was laid off at the age of 59, he  received a sizeable severance from his employer. Telling his spouse "Contessa, we hit the lottery," he was initially ecstatic to be retired.
But he quickly faced "Retirement Shock," a term that he coined to describe how tremendously unhappy he was in the year that followed. He missed helping people and the structure/routine of working at the bank. And he felt a loss of purpose. "Before my purpose was to go to work, get paid and then use the money to support my family. And that was taken away from me."
Mike's research suggests up to one-third of all retirees suffer from "retirement shock." He decided to educate others on the non-financial challenges of retirement by writing three books: Victory Lap Retirement, Retirement Heaven or Hell and Longevity Lifestyle by Design. The final book can also be downloaded for free from Mike's website at www.longevitylifestylebydesign.com.
Two years ago, Mike took the unusual step of entering his first Ironman Triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run) at the age of 68. He plans on returning to Cozumel, Mexico for his 2nd Ironman in the year ahead.