Women in the Middle®: Loving Life After 50 - Midlife Coach Podcast

Latest Episodes:

EP #485: Surprise! Maybe You Do Know What You Want Nov 12, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever felt confused about what you want in midlife, only to discover that maybe you knew more than you thought? This week's episode explores how the clues about what you want can be hiding in plain sight, sometimes for years, without your fully recognizing them.

I'm sharing the surprisingly revealing story of my fascination with freshwater shrimp and how my husband and son seemed to recognize my enthusiasm before I seriously considered getting a shrimp tank of my own. What started as curiosity became something I realized I really wanted. It's also a fun example of what I call amplification: noticing what already brings you joy and finding a way to make it even better.

Learn more here!

EP #484: Fused Glass & Creativity after 50 with Lori Nason Nov 05, 2026

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Today we're talking about what happens when you give yourself permission to follow what lights you up after 50. So many women I talk to feel uneasy about retirement because they can't picture what comes next; to make matters worse, sometimes they also focus on what they lost more than what they gain with unlimited possibilities ahead of them.

My guest today turned years of creative play into a business she loves running on her own terms. Her name Lori Nason, also known as the Fused Glass Diva.

Learn more here!

EP #483: Who Am I Without My Career? Finding Your Way Into Retirement Oct 29, 2026

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When thinking about retirement, do you find yourself asking the question, "Who am I without my career?" This week's episode explores the professional identity shift that can accompany pre-retirement and early retirement. Learn more here!

EP #482: Opening the 5 Doors of Friendship in Midlife with Stacey Tessa K. Battat Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Today we're talking about the importance of midlife friendships. Friendships after 50 deserve your attention, especially when your life, interests, and priorities are changing.

My guest today is Stacey Tessa K. Battat.

Tessa is a self-proclaimed relationship geek, who encourages others to see friendship as one of the soul's greatest paths on the journey of becoming more whole.

Tessa also facilitates and hosts workshops and women's circles that focus on integrating embodied practices to deepen our connection with ourselves and others.

She holds an MA in Consciousness Studies and is committed to a deep curiosity about what awakens the human spirit. Tessa is a speaker, author and the passionate endive behind The Open Nesters podcast, empowering people to live more open-hearted and courageous lives as they age.

Based in New England, Tessa shares her life with her partner, husband of 36 years and podcast co-host, and together they have three strong, kind and loving children, a wise and wonderful daughter-in-law and a love-filled grandson.

Join us as we discuss how these five doors can help you appreciate existing friendships and discover new connections that reflect who you are becoming.

You'll also hear why getting clear about what you want matters, how expectations can affect your friendships, and why making time for connection is an important part of regret-proofing your life.

Please enjoy this interview!

Featured in this Episode

Connect with Stacey Tessa K. Battat

Website: https://theopennesters.com
Book: The 5 Doors of Friendship

EP #481: Want More Midlife Clarity? Get Unstuck With Your Next Best Step Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

Do you feel stuck in midlife because you're waiting for more clarity before making a change? Maybe you want to figure out what's next with retirement, relationships, work, or simply how you want to spend your time. You keep thinking, researching, journaling, and talking about your options, hoping you'll eventually feel certain enough to move forward. But what if you've got the order backwards? What if taking your Next Best Step is actually how you create more clarity?

In this episode of Women in the Middle, I'm sharing one of my favorite coaching principles for getting unstuck in midlife. You'll learn why you don't need a perfect plan to start moving forward, how new experiences give you valuable data about yourself, and why self-trust is so important when you're figuring out your next chapter. I'll also share a fun Slinky analogy that explains the difference between looping and learning versus spinning in confusion. Most importantly, we'll explore why participating in your life while you're figuring things out matters just as much as reaching your destination.

Learn more here!

EP #480: Stop Rushing Through Your Life Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

Do you notice yourself rushing in life? In this episode of Women in the Middle, we take a closer look at my tagline, "It's time to stop living like time doesn't matter, because it does" and how it does NOT mean that living this way is a call to hurry.

For many women in their 50s and 60s, busyness starts to feel like proof that life is being lived well. We unpack the gap between how you're spending your days and how you'd spend them if you were committed to your priorities. We also explore the cycle of feeling busy in detail, so you are better prepared to notice it in your life.

Drawing on personal examples (specifically, gardening, mindful doodling and the Zentangle® Method, and my infamous "mango moment,") today's show highlights how we rush through ordinary routines and even the things we love, placing all the reward at the finish line.

Several reflection questions and "Life Leadership" prompts are offered to support the question, "Am I spending my time on my priorities?". The episode closes with a simple practice for slowing down and coming back to the moment you're in.

Listen here!

EP #479: Who's the Favorite? Understanding Sibling Relationships in Midlife with Catherine Carr Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Today we're talking about why our sibling relationships might be the longest and least understood relationships of our lives and why that's so important.

My guest today is Catherine Carr, an award-winning documentary maker, presenter, and podcast producer with over twenty years in audio, including work for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service through her own company, Pocket Productions. She's the middle child of three, which led her to create the podcast Relatively, dedicated to sibling relationships.

Her first book, Who's the Favorite?, argues that our brothers and sisters shape us as much as our parents do. Sibling relationships often outlast every other bond in our lives, yet we rarely talk about them beyond childhood squabbles.

Drawing on over seventy sibling interviews from her podcast, along with psychology research and pop culture, Catherine explores the roles we get assigned, the friendships and rivalries, the shared history, and the estrangements, and makes the case for building stronger relationships with our siblings going forward.

This episode is easy to relate to, so please enjoy this interview!

Listen to the full interview here!

EP #478: Women in Midlife: Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Want To Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

You can, but do you want to? Women over 50 are often incredibly capable. You know how to handle things, solve problems, take care of people and get stuff done. But after decades of being the woman who can, it's easy to stop asking a completely different question: "Do I actually still want to?" In this episode, we explore the difference between capability and desire and also why something doesn't have to become unbearable before you reconsider it.

Listen Here.

EP #477: When a Feminist Judge Writes Her Memoir in Midlife Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

Today's guest did something unexpected when she chose to leave her judgeship and follow a new direction in poetry. Her name is Jacqueline St. Joan.

Jackie is a retired lawyer, judge, and law professor, as well as an early feminist activist, community organizer, memoirist and novelist whose path to the bench was anything but planned.

She started her career as a secretary, went to law school at 28 as a divorced mother of two, and ended up representing domestic violence survivors before becoming the first judge in Denver's centralized protection order court. Her outspoken feminism brought public scrutiny though her rulings were consistently upheld and she was voted back into office.

Her shift away from law began after her father's death, when she started writing about their complicated relationship. A trip to a writers' conference in Aspen turned that project into a lifelong pull toward poetry, then fiction. Jackie stepped down from the bench gradually, working part-time as a mediator and law professor to stay financially stable while building a writing career.

Her memoir, Your Verdict: A Judge's Reckoning with Lawand Loss, (Golden Antelope Press) was recently published. Jackie is also the author of two novels, My Sisters Made of Light and The Shawl of Midnight. Jackie served as a Denver County Judge from 1987-1994. Jackie was also recently inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.

Please enjoy this fascinating interview here!

EP #476: What Kind of Daughter Do You Want to Be in Midlife? Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

Being intentional about the kind of daughter you want to be with your aging parents is important. While we're busy noticing our own aging, our parents are aging too, and that realization tends to sneak up on us.

This episode moves past the logistics of caregiving (appointments, prescriptions, forms) and into the relationship underneath it. We need to ask ourselves an important question and it's not "what does a good daughter do" with senior parents. Instead, a better questions is "what kind of daughter do YOU want to be" with your aging parents.

Discover how my regret-proofing framework can work to support you during this time of your life. Learn how to become intentional in a relationship you can't control, with the person aging in front of you. This is a great way toregret-proof your life!

Learn More Here.

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