The Midlife Edit

This week’s episode is part story, part reminder, and part permission slip. Jen takes you inside a once-in-a-lifetime weekend in Brooklyn that started with one thing: an email she almost didn’t send. What followed was a surreal and deeply emotional experience recording with Tracy Bonham at Grand Street Recording for the 30th anniversary re-recording of Mother Mother — alongside a room full of wome...

This week on The Midlife Edit , Jen is getting brutally honest about motherhood, stepmotherhood, reinvention, guilt, and why Mother’s Day can feel more like a performance than a celebration. From burnt breakfast-in-bed stories to awkward brunch reservations and the emotional complexity of being a stepmom in midlife, this episode dives into the messy middle so many women are living through but rare...

What happened to the women who defined the soundtrack of our lives? In this episode, Jen dives into the rise, disappearance, and long-overdue resurgence of the women in music who shaped the ‘90s and early 2000s. From Meredith Brooks to Tori Amos to Missy Elliott, this is a conversation about truth-telling, industry bias, cultural memory, and why so many iconic women were labeled, dismissed, or era...

This one’s a little different—in the best way. In the first-ever Hot, Hormonal & Highly Opinionated episode, I’m skipping the neat little box and giving you the real, unfiltered version of what’s been on my mind lately. Think of it like we’re sitting across from each other with coffee… and I’m telling you everything. We’re talking about what self-care actually looks like in midlife (hint: it’s...

What happens when a classically trained actress, mom, and midlife woman hits perimenopause… and decides to tell the truth about it? In this episode, Jen sits down with Beth Crosby—aka The Garbage Mom —to talk about the messy, hilarious, and very real side of midlife. From viral TikToks to perimenopausal rage, body image healing, and the freedom of not giving a f*ck anymore… nothing is off limits....

Have you ever looked around at your full, busy life and realized you can't remember the last time you had a real conversation with a real friend? Not a text. Not a reaction on Instagram. An actual conversation where someone asked how you were really doing — and waited for the answer. In this episode, Jen names something that so many women in midlife are feeling but rarely say out loud: the quiet,...

We celebrate strong women. The bold ones. The loud ones. The ones who take up space and break the rules. But if you’re a Gen X or millennial woman… you probably weren’t raised to be her. You were raised to admire her. To be likable. To be easy. To go with the flow. To say, “I’m good with anything.” In this episode, I’m talking about what that actually did to us— how we learned to fit in instead of...

Lately, I’ve had a thought I almost didn’t want to say out loud… What if I’m just tired of working on myself? In this solo episode, I’m talking about the constant pressure to fix, optimize, and improve every part of our lives—and how exhausting that can become, especially in midlife. From conflicting health advice to mindset overload, it feels like there’s always something we should be doing bette...

What happens when two punk-loving rebels from high school reconnect decades later? In this episode of The Midlife Edit , I sit down with musical theatre writer Nicolette Blount and author Sirena Grey to talk about Riot Grrrl, feminism, motherhood, and what it looks like to reclaim your creative voice in midlife. Nicolette is a Chickasaw musical theatre writer, composer, lyricist, and producer whos...

March is Women’s History Month, and while it’s a time to celebrate the progress women have made, it’s also a time to step back and realize something surprising: Many of the rights women have today didn’t happen centuries ago. They happened in our parents’ lifetime. In this episode of The Midlife Edit , Jen talks about why so many women reach midlife and suddenly feel angry, frustrated, or ready to...

Thirty years ago, Mother Mother became an anthem - raw, emotional, unapologetic. In this episode of The Midlife Edit, I sit down with Tracy Bonham to talk about what it really meant to be labeled “the angry woman” in the 90s - and what it looks like to reclaim that voice in midlife. This conversation goes far beyond nostalgia. We talk about: Taking up space as a woman in the music industry Being m...

One year ago I hit record on a podcast I thought would be about fitness, weight loss, and midlife health. It turned into something completely different. In this one-year anniversary episode, I’m reflecting on why I started The Midlife Edit, what midlife actually feels like, and how this space helped me find clarity, confidence, and my voice in my 40s. We talk about the narratives women are given o...

Midlife changes everything - our bodies, our relationships, our identity, and sometimes even our sense of connection to ourselves. In this episode, I sit down with pleasure coach and author Elana Auerbach to talk about intimacy, shame, ritual, and what it really means to reconnect with your body and your desires in this season of life. Elana shares how spending more than a decade struggling with i...

Have you ever made plans when you were feeling confident, motivated, and emotionally stable… only for the day of those plans to arrive and you immediately think, “Wow… that was bold of me.” In this solo episode of The Midlife Edit , Jen dives into the very relatable experience of living out expectations, roles, and commitments that earlier versions of ourselves agreed to - and why midlife often be...

After years of giving, caretaking, and pushing through, many women reach midlife and quietly ask: What do I want? In this episode of The Midlife Edit , Jen sits down with Karen Novy and Tara Alexandra, co-founders of Your Odyssey , for an honest, grounding conversation about reclaiming yourself - not through dramatic reinvention, but through small, intentional shifts in everyday life. Together, th...

What happens when something you once loved starts to feel heavy? In this episode of The Midlife Edit , we’re talking about movement - not the loud, dramatic, “burn it all down” kind, but the kind that’s intentional, sustainable, and honest. This conversation is rooted in fitness, perimenopause, and the very real fear of slipping backward after working hard to change your health. If you’ve ever los...

What happens after you finally get clarity about what you want? In this episode of The Midlife Edit , Jen talks about the often-unspoken pause that comes after clarity - the fear, second-guessing, and “okay… now what?” spiral that so many women experience in midlife. Drawing from personal realizations, a leadership summit in Nashville, and real-life conversations, this episode explores: why living...

Midlife has a way of asking a question we’re not always ready for: What do you actually want? Not what you should want. Not what makes sense. Not what keeps everyone else comfortable. In this episode, Jen explores why this question shows up so powerfully in midlife, why women are often taught to adapt instead of ask, and how hustle culture trains us to stay silent about our needs. You’ll hear: Why...

What if you’re not unhappy - just muted? In the Season 2 opener of The Midlife Edit , Jen kicks off a brand-new chapter with a powerful question: how loud are you actually living your life right now? This episode is the foundation for the entire season....a real, honest, and practical conversation about how women slowly turn the volume down on themselves… and how midlife is often the moment we fin...

Season 1 Finale Midlife reinvention isn’t about blowing up your life or becoming a completely new person. It’s about learning how to keep becoming...without burnout, rigidity, or guilt. In this Season 1 finale of The Midlife Edit , Jen dives into the practical side of reinvention and what it actually looks like week to week, inside real life with real responsibilities, shifting energy, and ever-ch...

Midlife is not the chapter where women quiet themselves...it’s the chapter where we finally realize we don’t have to stay the same. In Part 1 of this two-part series, Jen breaks down why reinvention isn’t failure, it’s responsiveness. This episode is about giving yourself permission to evolve loudly, change your mind often, and stop forcing yourself into rigid goals that were never built for real...

Confidence in midlife isn’t as simple as we’re told it is. In this episode, Jen gets honest about body dysmorphia, fake confidence, and why even positive body changes don’t always shift the way we see ourselves. She breaks down how body dysmorphia often shows up as a subtle mind game, why midlife hormones and identity shifts complicate body image, and how confidence can coexist with insecurity. Je...

Have you ever looked at your calendar and realized every single thing on it is for someone else? This week, Jen talks about what it really feels like to lose yourself in midlife — not in one big moment, but in a thousand tiny compromises. From the emotional and financial strain of stepmom life to walking on eggshells at home, she shares how women disappear quietly while trying to keep the peace. T...

In today’s episode, Jen throws out the old script - literally. After recording a Christmas episode that felt heavy, drained, and nothing like the woman she’s becoming, she hit delete and started fresh. Because the truth is this: Midlife women aren’t fading. We’re not slowing down. We’re leading the culture. This episode is a fiery, empowering, laugh-and-gasp-along-with-me deep dive into how women...

What if midlife isn’t the end — but a second coming-of-age? In this honest solo episode, Jen opens up about what it really feels like to be 42 and still not feel like an adult. She dives into the Millennial Ache, the pressure of social media “how-tos,” and the emotional weight of reinventing yourself in midlife. Jen shares: Why millennials struggle with identity more than any generation How growin...