When Women Own Their Voice, It Changes the World: A Conversation with Amy Vogel
If you've ever felt like your life kept redirecting you into something you never planned for, Amy Vogel wants you to know that's not a mistake.
This week on The Chaotic Middle Podcast, I sat down with Amy Vogel, author of bold books for bold women and a coach who helps other women write their own. Amy is based in Houston, Texas, a mom of three daughters, and someone whose entire career has been one long series of "stumbling into exactly what I was meant to do,” even when it looked nothing like a straight line.
From Stay-at-Home Mom to Storyteller
Amy's writing journey started in 2008, when her family moved overseas for her then-husband's job. Stuck in a foreign country with two little kids and no community for the summer, she needed something for herself. So she started a blog.
That blog led to an invitation to write a devotional for her church, which became her first two books. Fast forward through years of ministry, a stint as an associate pastor, and the eventual closing of the church she worked for, and Amy found herself back where she started — needing something that was hers.
"I never set out to be a full-time author. I just kind of stumbled into what's meant for me."
Looking back, she can trace the thread: sales taught her relational selling, ministry taught her leadership, and motherhood taught her patience and story. None of it was wasted. It was all raw material.
The Pivot Nobody Saw Coming (Except Everyone Around Her)
When the church funding Amy's ministry abruptly closed its doors in 2022, she didn’t look at it as a devastating blow. Instead, she saw it as permission to start doing what she really wanted to do. She was burnt out and already questioning whether that chapter was really hers to keep carrying. The door slamming shut just made the decision for her.
"That was 2022. It's not middle-age female rage. It's middle-age female awakening."
Amy pivoted from ministry into authorship and coaching, where she helps other women write and publish their own books. When she told her two best friends she was starting this business, they weren't surprised at all.
"They were like, 'Yeah, we've known this.' I'm like, why didn't you tell me?"
Sometimes the people closest to us see our next chapter before we do.
Getting Sober and Learning Self-Compassion
Even though her career changes definitely impacted her life, the most significant turning point in Amy's story was getting sober in 2021. Amy described her struggle with alcohol as a generational problem. Getting sober was a complete shift in the trajectory of her life and her family's future.
"That branch of the family tree ended with me."
Getting sober forced Amy into therapy and into a 12-step program that made her examine her own patterns and then extend herself grace for surviving the only way she knew how at the time.
She's candid that parenting from a place of self-awareness is the only way to break cycles instead of passing them down. Two of her kids have ADHD, and teaching them they're okay exactly as they are has become one of her proudest, most intentional parenting choices.
Her upcoming book — a retelling of the biblical story of Queen Jezebel — opens with a line about generational belief that nothing ever changes. Amy's own life is proof that belief is wrong.
Answering the Chaotic Questions
At the end of every episode, I ask each guest the same three questions.
If you could go back and talk to your 2005 self, what would you tell her?
"Don't look to him for the answers. Look inside yourself, and then look for the answers in the other women around you."
A new mom comes to you for advice. What's the first thing you tell her?
"You will sleep again. Enjoy the process even when it's really shtty."*
What do you hope your kids remember about you from this time period?
"That I chose myself, and that they can too."
Where to Find Amy
You can find Amy Vogel and all of her books and coaching offers on her website, or social media channels (Instagram and Threads). She promises Threads is where the "unhinged" content lives, which is exactly why you should follow her there.
Want to Hear More Stories Like This?
If this episode resonated with you, you'll love the rest of The Chaotic Middle Podcast, where every week I sit down with women figuring out life, business, and motherhood in real time.
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