Do you sometimes feel like you bought a ticket to the midlife shitshow? If so, trust me, you’re not alone. This time of life comes with its fair share of challenges.

In my first solo episode of the More Beautiful Podcast, I’m reflecting on why so many of us are feeling out of sorts right now. I’m also drawing on my first 60 podcast interviews to offer you some real strategies you can use to spin that midlife mess into some midlife magic.

In this episode I talk about:

• The reason I've been sharing my midlife stories and why you should too—even if, like me, you consider yourself a private person
• Why we need to forget everything we thought we knew, or were told, about where we'd be by this stage of life
• How our generation's midlife differs so much from that of our mothers'
• What we need to acknowledge, surrender, accept and handle before we can create the life we truly desire
• Strategies to create the right environment and surround yourself with the right people in order to thrive in midlife and beyond
• Ways to get your health and energy back on track and to feel physically, mentally and spiritually better—or, as some women would say, "more like yourself"

If you're sometimes (or always) feeling lost, confused, stuck, annoyed, overwhelmed, anxious...or if you’ve been experiencing a vague sense of dread, please listen to this episode. Other women are feeling the same way. And like them, you reserve the right to feel like the best possible version of yourself. Now and always. You deserve to overcome the messiness so the magic of midlife can emerge!

Maryann LoRusso is the creator of the More Beautiful Project, which includes an online magazine, podcast and newsletter for women journeying through midlife. Maryann brings to More Beautiful more than three decades of experience as a journalist and media executive. A graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, she began her career as a newspaper reporter in New York. Later, she segued into the world of fashion magazine publishing, where she worked as an editor for more than a decade at companies such as Fairchild/Condé Nast and Time Inc. A native New Yorker, Maryann currently lives in San Francisco with her husband, kids and a rescue dog named Mochi. When she’s not writing or podcasting, she enjoys running, singing, cooking, traveling and volunteering at organizations such as She-Can and Best Buddies.

Reach Maryann at the More Beautiful Website

Find More Beautiful (and Maryann) on Instagram and Facebook and Threads.

This episode was produced by Ryan B. Jo