Magnificent Midlife

Carolyn Birrell is the author of Walking with Fay, a moving book about her mother's uncharted path into dementia. Carolyn's writing began as a way to help her make sense of what was happening and quickly turned into the book she herself had needed, to provide relatable caregiving help. It's a beautiful, empowering book and I really loved it. We talk about: - What led Carolyn to write such a person...

Dawn-Maria France is an award-winning journalist and editor-in-chief of Yorkshire Women's Life magazine. She's a travel writer, children's author and broadcaster, and is passionate about women's rights, equality and diversity. We talk about: - How Dawn-Maria came to be the editor of Yorkshire Women's Life magazine - Why Dawn-Maria is so passionate about equality and diversity - Being genuine in ph...

Do you dream of finding your soul mate? Do you think it will be just too difficult in midlife? Listen in to Katie Philips to find out how to call in your person. Katie is the founder of The School of Self Love. She's a Women's Empowerment Coach, Love & Dating Mentor and author of 'The Self Love Affair - A Woman's Guide To A Daring & Mighty Life'. Her passion and expertise is inspiring midlifers th...

Laura Galloway is the author of Dalvi: Six Years in the Arctic Tundra. She's a writer and communications strategist who began her career at the Los Angeles Times and holds a Master of Arts in Indigenous Journalism from the Sámi University in Kautokeino, Norway. I read about her in a magazine and just knew I had to invite her onto the podcast. Her book is gorgeous. We talk about: - The many and var...

Dr Liz O'Riordan is an international speaker, broadcaster and award-winning co-author of 'The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer'. In 2015 (aged 40) she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer whilst working as a Consultant Breast Surgeon. Her life changed dramatically. She's passionate about helping people and especially breast cancer patients. We talk about: - Why women often feel it's their fault...

Hattie Voelcker went from being a barrister to retraining as a performance coach, working particularly with singers. She's so wise and inspiring! And great fun too.  We talk about: - Why Hattie made the change from barrister to performance coach - The similarities between the two professions - The beauty of transferable skills - The power of understanding people's wants, needs and vulnerabilities...

Meet Louise Carr who healed her own midlife trauma through retraining as a nutrition consultant. She has a fascinating story to tell about how to improve our health through nutrition, but also how health issues can be changed by eliminating trauma from our lives. All driven by her own experience. Listen in for so much value about how to accept our issues, deal with them and thrive beyond them. We...

This interview was transformational for me! I was so excited to interview Darcey Steinke, author of Flash Count Diary. I loved her book and so many of her thoughts about menopause are similar to mine. It was wonderful to find a kindred spirit whose overall impression of menopause is so positive. Darcey was the first guest to make me cry! We talk about: - Darcey's fascination with her hot flashes -...

We're dipping into the archives again and here's another cracker of a podcast. Elaine Miller is a pelvic health physiotherapist and stand-up comedian. She's on a mission to end incontinence through raising awareness, and laughing a lot along the way. As this podcast goes live, Elaine is staring again in her one woman show at the Edinburgh Fringe. We talk about: - How 1 in 3 women will suffer from...

Meet Dr Sonia Wright, the Midlife Sex Coach. She's also a medical doctor, radiologist and life coach, and tremendous fun. This is a brilliant interview all about midlife sex. If you have any issues at all, even tiny ones, in this department, or just want to make your sex life even better, this interview will get you feeling inspired and empowered to take excellent care of yourself and your partner...

A solo episode from Rachel talking about menopause and gendered ageism. Rachel talks about: - Why she still hasn't moved on from talking about menopause yet - The importance of balance around narratives around menopause - The impact of gendered ageism on menopause - The hormone deficiency narrative and why it drives Rachel nuts - Connecting menopause advice and money - The importance of staying cu...

Another platinum gem from the podcast archives. Meet the very lovely Rachel Peru who went from nursery school teacher to successful curve and silver-haired model in her 40s. Rachel's waving the flag for older, more diverse women in the media. She's going from strength to strength since embracing her authentic self and stepping forward to shine. We talk about: - How the decision to go grey kick-sta...

Here's another gem from the podcast archives in our summer season. Ashton Applewhite is an author, speaker and anti-ageism activist. I discovered her work about six years ago and have been quoting her daily ever since. Ashton got a standing ovation when she did a main stage Ted talk called Let's end ageism. She was invited to speak at the UN. Her book is amazing: This Chair Rocks, A Manifesto Agai...

Dipping into the archives again for another gem of an interview with Deborah Ives, the solo traveler behind the travel blog, Solo in Style, who's passionate about helping women, particularly in midlife and beyond, travel solo. She's determined to show women there's no need to be scared of solo travel and she has loads of great tips to share. Since we recorded this, Deborah has grown her wonderful...

Welcome to our summer season where I'm dipping into the archives to share some of the gems from the vault. We start by going all the way back to the beginning, to my very first guest, the wonderful Suzi Grant, author of Alternative Ageing, blogger at alternativeageing.net, YouTube and Instagram star. If anyone can inspire you to age like a badass, this woman can. Suzi is the very best example of a...

My guest Alice Morrison is an adventurer. She's the Indiana Jones for girls. She's done so many things that would test anyone's endurance. The Marathon des Sables, the Tour d'Afrique, she was the first woman to walk the full length of the Draa River in Morocco where she lives. She's trekked through the Sahara and completed the Everest Trail Race. She's written several books, and the most recent is...

This is such an inspiring conversation! Dion Johnson, known as the Womanologist, works with women leaders so they can fulfil their potential. She inspires all women to step up and lead, and is the author of Influential Woman: A fresh approach to tackling inequality and leading change at work. Dion is a no nonsense tour de force. She changed my life and I hope she may do the same to yours! We talk...

In this episode, I welcome back Dr Kathryn Mannix to the podcast. Kathryn's first interview was titled Talking About Death because that's exactly what we did. Kathryn spent many years as a palliative care doctor and wrote the best-selling book With The End In Mind. Here we're talking about her latest book Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations. This is a powerful and moving convers...

Jennifer Arthurton is the creator and founder of Old Chicks Know Sh*t, a community and podcast (of the same name) designed to inspire and support midlife women in chasing their dreams and creating a kick-ass next chapter. Having made her midlife course corrections, she's a passionate advocate of the inherent power and knowledge that women possess, at a time when they often feel overlooked and doub...

Kate Codrington is the author of Second Spring: the self-care guide to menopause, which is a rather lovely and revolutionary new book. She's a menstrual and menopause mentor, speaker, workshop facilitator, writer, podcaster and a therapist for nearly 30 years. She's passionate about bringing a more holistic approach to the menopause transition and to enabling women to embrace fully this powerful s...

My guest today is Keren Etkin, the Gerontechnologist. She's a gerontologist who's written a fascinating book called The Agetech Revolution: A book about the intersection of aging and technology. We dig into the fascinating area of technology designed especially for older people. We talk about: - How Keren got so passionate about agetech - What agetech is and why we need it - Why we'll still need a...

Elizabeth Joseph describes herself as a social media menopause guinea pig. She's on a journey of perimenopausal transformation. We dig into exactly what that means. Elizabeth is so much fun and I know you're going to be entertained by her perimenopausal antics! We talk about: - What Elizabeth means by being a social media menopause guinea pig - How her Instagram feed has grown and what it's about...

A fun and inspiring conversation with the very wise and straight-talking Lori Saitz about how to move from just feeling fine to feeling truly fantastic. It may seem scary but getting beyond the fear is where the magic happens. And who wants to just stay at fine? Lori Saitz is a writer, speaker, and broadcaster with a passion for using meditation and gratitude to change lives and help women achieve...

Anne Michaud is a veteran political journalist who reported for the Wall Street Journal and Newsday. She was named columnist of the year by the New York News Publishers Association. She recently published a new edition of her book Why They Stay: Sex scandals, deals, and hidden agendas of eight political wives. It's a riveting read! It's fascinating to explore the similarities and differences betwe...

Dr Louann Brizendine is the best-selling author of The Female Brain and is here to talk to me about her latest book, The Upgrade: How the female brain gets stronger and better in midlife and beyond. The Upgrade amounts to a celebration of how women can step into their power and an entirely new—and radically positive—understanding of aging. We talk about: - Why Louann wrote The Upgrade - How our br...