Her Next Act ~ Right Here, Right Now

In this episode of HER NEXT ACT ~ Right Here, Right Now, host Joan Paul welcomes back writer, columnist, and pro-age influencer Margaret Evans for a tender, honest, and often funny conversation about grief, loss, and learning to carry both while discovering what life still holds. If you haven't yet listened, start with the previous episode for context on Margaret's story.

Together, Joan and Margaret talk about what grief actually looks like: running two newspapers with no time to wallow, learning to receive help instead of holding it all together, and the surprising way anger toward Jeff melted away and the good memories came flooding back. Margaret opens up about how a grief reel on Instagram struck a chord with thousands of new followers and why she refuses to commercialize her loss. They also explore other kinds of grief women face at this stage of life, the role of faith, spirituality, the mandatory place of humor, and Margaret's vision for what comes next.

Tune in for a conversation about grief as a universal thread, the gift of letting people show up for you, and the reminder that there is still life, joy, and a next act after loss.

Margaret's honesty is a reminder that grief and joy can live side by side, and that we can carry our losses while still living boldly and with wonder.

Connect with Margaret Evans:

Low Country Weekly: https://lcweekly.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margaretaginggrayfully

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan

In this episode of HER NEXT ACT ~ Right Here, Right Now, host Joan Paul is in conversation with Margaret Evans, award-winning columnist, rewriting the narrative on AGING with humor, honesty and joy. Margaret shares her journey from Boom Beauty ambassador to the creation of her widely-loved Instagram platform, @margaretaginggrayfully. She opens up about her passion for aging authentically, celebrating each stage of life with humor, courage, and positivity.

Together, Joan and Margaret discuss aging as an adventure filled with new possibilities, the profound role social media has played in Margaret’s mission, and the value of embracing self-discovery at every age. Margaret’s philosophy on aging is refreshingly empowering, and her story offers inspiration for women seeking to live vibrant, meaningful lives beyond their 50s. 

Tune in for insights on building confidence, staying connected through creativity, and the joy of breaking free from conventional expectations.

Episode Highlights:

➔ Introduction: Redefining Aging as a Journey
➔ Discovering Margaret Evans: The Power of Kindred Spirits
➔ From Writer to Pro-Age Influencer: Margaret’s Story
➔ Embracing Boom Beauty and Changing the Aging Narrative
➔ The Instagram Leap: Building @margaretaginggrayfully
➔ Social Media Savvy: Connecting with an Authentic Audience
➔ Blending Personal and Professional Life as a Pro-Age Voice
➔ Aging Grayfully: Inspiring the Next Generation
➔ Aging as Self-Discovery: Reclaiming Purpose
➔ Challenging Traditional Views on Aging
➔ Finding Confidence and New Purpose in Later Life
➔ Fully Alive: Embracing Endless Possibilities
➔ Closing Reflections: Wisdom, Humor & Joy in Aging

Margaret’s voice is a tribute to aging with authenticity, offering all women a reminder that life is meant to be lived boldly at every age.

Connect with Margaret Evans:

Low Country Weekly: https://lcweekly.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margaretaginggrayfully

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan

Host Joan Paul is joined by Allison Carmen – author, mindset coach, and host of the podcast 10 Minutes to Less Suffering.

Allison shares how her next act began with a subtle yet life-changing shift in mindset. From being addicted to certainty to embracing the powerful possibilities of maybe. 

As a high-achieving attorney, Allison spent years gripped by anxiety and the fear of the unknown. But an impactful parable opened a door to a whole new way of thinking.

She reveals how adopting a “maybe” mindset helped her navigate unexpected life shifts, including a sudden divorce, and how this simple word continues to guide her and her clients through relationships, career changes, and entrepreneurship.

This conversation is filled with heartfelt wisdom, offering a fresh perspective on how to find hope and peace when life doesn’t go according to plan. Allison’s journey is a testament to the power of surrendering control and inviting possibility.

Whether you're facing an uncertain season, rebuilding after loss, or simply looking to worry less and live more, this episode will remind you that “maybe” can be the most freeing word of all.

Episode Highlights

 ➔ How Allison’s long-term relationship with anxiety and her need for certainty led to unwelcome health consequences
 ➔ The simple story that sparked her mindset transformation
 ➔ How she used “maybe” thinking to navigate her divorce and life transitions
 ➔ Why embracing the unknown is essential for growth and peace
 ➔ Practical tools for adopting a “maybe” mindset in everyday life
 ➔ How Allison supports others through her books, speaking, and work at The Motherhood Center of New York

About Allison Carmen

Allison is an author, TEDx speaker, podcast host, and business consultant with a background in law and finance. She is the author of The Gift of Maybe, A Year Without Men, and Maybe Everything is Okay. Currently she serves as CFO and General Counsel at The Motherhood Center of New York. Through her podcast, speaking engagements, and writing, she offers accessible tools for reducing daily stress and embracing uncertainty as a path to freedom.

Connect with Allison:

Website: www.allisoncarmen.com
Podcast: 10 Minutes to Less Suffering
Books: The Gift of Maybe, A Year Without Men, Maybe Everything is Okay: A Parent's Guide to Less Stress and Worry (available via her website)
Social: Instagram @allisoncarmen, Facebook @allisoncarmen

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan

In this episode of Her Next Act, Joan Paul sits down with Nora Murphy, founder of the beloved lifestyle brand Nora Murphy Country House. After a high-profile corporate career as a design executive with brands like Ralph Lauren Home and Ethan Allen, Nora embarked on her Next Act.

What started as a blog in 2011 grew step by step, into a multimedia brand spanning a digital magazine, two published books (including her latest, Country House Living), a thriving online shop, and a brick-and-mortar store in Essex, Connecticut. Along the way, Nora was named to Country Living's prestigious Design 100 list of top taste makers defining the modern country aesthetic.

Nora traces her creative throughline all the way back to being seven years old, quietly observing her mom at work.  That early influence, along with mentors like Ralph Lauren, shaped both her design philosophy and the brand she'd eventually build in her own name.

Joan and Nora talk candidly about starting over after a corporate identity ends, the fear of putting your own name on your work, and what it really takes to build something meaningful step by step rather than overnight. This conversation is a reminder that reinvention often starts small and that courage is built, not born.

Episode Highlights:

➔ The childhood memory that quietly shaped a lifelong design sensibility 

➔ Leaving a six-figure corporate title at 50 to start from zero

➔ Why the blog, not the business plan, came first 

➔ The friend's advice that convinced her to put her own name on the brand 

➔ Building a company brick by brick instead of chasing "overnight" success

➔ Knowing when to pause an opportunity instead of chasing every one 

➔ What's next for Nora Murphy Country House

Find out more about Nora Murphy and Nora Murphy Country House: 

• Website: https://noramurphycountryhouse.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noramurphycountryhouse
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nora-murphy-country-house

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan

In this episode of Her Next Act, Joan Paul sits down with Dr. Shaula Yemini, co-founder of Bloomers Intimates, who spent decades as one of the only women in the room in computer science and tech, eventually founding and running her own successful software company. After selling that business, she thought her biggest professional chapters were behind her. Then came an ordinary day in 2020, folding laundry with her daughte during COVID, and a simple complaint: she couldn't find pretty, comfortable underwear that actually fit a woman over 40 anymore. That conversation became Bloomers Intimates.

Shaula is candid about how little she and her daughter Noa actually knew starting out, but the "solution" for the pain point they set out to solve was exactly the right one.

Joan and Shaula talk about identity after a career ends, the discomfort of not knowing who you are without your old title, and why staying visible, at 78, is a daily choice rather than something that just happens to you. This conversation is a reminder that reinvention doesn't have an age limit.

Episode Highlights:

➔ The pain-point framework Shaula drilled into every entrepreneur she mentored and how it became the seed of her own business

➔ Building a company with zero industry experience

➔ The identity challenge after selling her tech company

➔ Navigating mother-daughter competition, trust, and finding their rhythm as co-founders

➔ Intentional brand decisions

➔ On invisibility and ageism

➔ What's next for Bloomers and Sbaula

Find out more about Dr. Shaula Yemini and Bloomers Intimates: 

Website: https://bloomersintimates.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomersintimates/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaula-alexander-yemini-21a64ab

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan

What if the life you built isn't the life you want anymore — and you're only halfway through?

In this episode of Her Next Act, Joan Paul sits down with Cindy Sheahan, who left her marriage, her job, and her Denver life in her mid-50s and now calls Palermo, Sicily home. What began as a 12-day hike in Ireland turned into three months on the road, and then into a decade of full-time travel that she says she can't imagine living without.

Cindy is refreshingly honest about how it actually happened. There was no lightning bolt she describes it as a dripping faucet, years of "this is fine" until fine wasn't enough. She talks about the therapist who finally asked her what she wanted, the hardest step of the entire process (moving across the hallway into a spare bedroom), and the boss who told her to just go.

Together, Joan and Cindy dig into what it costs and what it takes: the real numbers behind funding a travel lifestyle, why she rents to travel nurses instead of using Airbnb, staying in hostels more than a hundred times in her 50s and 60s, meeting a Frenchman on a dating app in Nepal, and why she has zero interest in living with him.

This conversation is a reminder that you're not too old and it's not too late — and that most of us already know what we want. We've just pushed it down so long it's hard to say out loud.

Episode Highlights:

➔ The nine-year-old who wrote "flight attendant" every year, and the hairdresser quote at 18 that stuck for decades

 ➔ Why the decision came as a slow drip rather than a single dramatic moment

 ➔ The therapist who said "I'm giving you permission" — and why that was the thing Cindy needed to hear 

➔ Why moving into the spare bedroom was harder than moving out of the house entirely 

➔ How a 12-day hike in Ireland quietly grew legs and became a three-month trip 

➔ The practical money conversation: rental income, travel nurses as tenants, and living well in Palermo on 2,000 euros a month 

➔ Hostels, night trains, and solo travel safety — what she's actually experienced in ten years on the road 

➔ The 26-year-old she met in a Vietnam hostel kitchen whose wedding she flew to Zanzibar for 

➔ Meeting her French partner in Nepal, and why living apart is the point, not the compromise 

➔ Finding your tribe when your tribe doesn't live in your ZIP code 

➔ Why she waived Medicare Part B, and how Italian citizenship through ancestry changed her healthcare picture 

➔ What "flashpacker" means, and the eight-euro Uber that explains it perfectly 

➔ Why everyone wants to know what's next — and why "not a clue" is the most freeing answer she has

Find out more about Cindy Sheahan:

Website: Posts From A Flashpacker: https://postsfromaflashpacker.com/

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/postsfromaflashpacker/

Mentioned in this episode:

The Five Regrets of the Dying — Bronnie Ware 

Theo of Golden Howard Thurman on doing what makes you come alive

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan

What does it take to turn a lifelong dream into a reality?

In this episode of Her Next Act, Joan sits down with bestselling author Julie Gerstenblatt to explore the winding path from aspiring writer to traditionally published novelist. Julie shares how years of persistence and believing in herself ultimately led to publishing two bestselling historical novels Daughters of Nantucket and The Stargazer of Nantucket.

Through every chapter, she never let go of her dream of becoming an author. Julie opens up about navigating self-doubt, embracing unexpected opportunities, and discovering that success often comes from being willing to pivot, take risks, and trust the process.

Together, Joan and Julie discuss what it really looks like to build a creative career in midlife, why community and relationships matter as much as talent, and how claiming your identity before you feel "ready" can change everything.

This conversation is a heartfelt reminder that your dreams don't have an expiration date. Sometimes the path takes longer than expected, but every experience along the way prepares you for your next act.

Episode Highlights:

➔ Julie's lifelong dream of becoming a published author and why she never gave up on it

➔ How self-publishing became an important stepping stone toward traditional publishing

➔ The surprising power of declaring your dreams before you fully believe them yourself

➔ Why rejection, setbacks, and changing direction are often necessary parts of the creative journey

➔ How Julie reinvented herself by shifting from contemporary fiction to historical fiction

➔ The role community, mentors, and unexpected supporters played in helping her succeed

➔ Why embracing discomfort and taking creative risks opened doors she never anticipated

➔ How historical research, storytelling, and a love of Nantucket became the foundation of her bestselling novels

➔ What it means to fully step into a new identity after years of hard work and perseverance

➔ Why it's never too late to pursue a lifelong dream and create a meaningful second act

Find out more about Julie Gerstenblatt:

Website:

Julie Gerstenblatt: https://www.juliegerstenblatt.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliegerstenblatt/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julie.gerstenblatt/

Purchase Books:

Stargazer of Nantucket

Daughters of Nantucket

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan

What happens when you follow a middle-of-the-night idea and trust yourself enough to see where it leads?

In this episode of Her Next Act, Joan sits down with Stephanie Wilson, founder of 31 Daily, cookbook author, former broadcast journalist, private chef, and storyteller, to discuss creativity, reinvention, and building a fulfilling life in midlife and beyond.

Ten years ago, Stephanie launched 31 Daily after a late-night moment of inspiration. What began as a simple place to collect recipes evolved into a thriving online community reaching thousands of readers around the world. Along the way, she discovered that some of life's most meaningful next acts come not from careful planning, but from following curiosity, passion, and purpose.

Together, Joan and Stephanie explore what it means to create a life that feels rich, intentional, and aligned with who you are becoming. They discuss the challenges of balancing ambition and fulfillment, the importance of creativity at every stage of life, and why it's never too late to pursue new possibilities.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that your next chapter doesn't have to fit anyone else's expectations. Sometimes the most meaningful transformations begin with one small idea and the courage to follow it.

Episode Highlights:

➔ How a middle-of-the-night inspiration led Stephanie to create 31 Daily and launch an entirely new chapter of her life

➔ Why creativity is essential for fulfillment, especially during life's transitions and empty nest years

➔ The surprising power of following curiosity instead of focusing solely on outcomes

➔ How Stephanie transformed decades of experience in journalism, cooking, event planning, and writing into a successful online business

➔ The challenges of balancing passion, work, family life, and avoiding burnout

➔ Why many women underestimate the possibilities available to them after age 50

➔ The importance of trusting your instincts, taking action, and staying open to unexpected opportunities

➔ How storytelling, food, gathering, and meaningful rituals can help create a richer and more connected life

➔ Lessons learned from building a creative business over the past decade

➔ Why it's never too late to pursue a dream, reinvent yourself, or create your own next act

Find out more about Stephanie Wilson:

Website:
https://www.31daily.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/31daily1/

Substack:
https://31daily.substack.com/

Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/31daily/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/31Daily/

About Stephanie Wilson:

Stephanie Wilson is the founder of 31 Daily, a lifestyle and food website dedicated to helping people create meaningful moments through seasonal recipes, afternoon tea traditions, entertaining, and everyday living. A former broadcast journalist, private chef, caterer, cookbook author, and novelist, Stephanie combines her love of storytelling, history, food, and hospitality to inspire readers around the world. Through her work, she encourages others to celebrate everyday life with intention, beauty, and connection.

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan

In this solo episode of Her Next Act, Joan shares a brief personal update of a milestone that has been generations in the making.

While Her Next Act typically features inspiring conversations with women navigating reinvention, purpose, and new beginnings, this week Joan is stepping away from her regular interview format to focus on an extraordinary family celebration: the 250th anniversary of The Griswold Inn in Essex, Connecticut.

Known affectionately as "The Gris," The Griswold Inn has welcomed guests since 1776 and remains one of America's most historic inns.

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan

In this episode of HER NEXT ACT ~ Right Here, Right Now, host Joan Paul is in conversation with cognitive psychologist Dr. Alicia Farrell for a second time on the podcast. In this episode they share personal stories of loss and resilience, setting the stage for insightful discussions. They explore how various types of loss, from identity and purpose to the death of loved ones, affect our lives and how resilience can be nurtured. The conversation delves into strategies for processing grief, the importance of expressing negative emotions, and how seemingly insurmountable challenges can lead to personal growth and fulfillment. Dr. Farrell offers practical advice on desensitizing to discomfort and taking steps towards a fulfilling life, punctuated by a personal anecdote that highlights the healing power of humor. 

Episode Highlights:

➔ Different Types of Loss and Their Impact
➔ Strategies for Thriving After Loss
➔ The Role of Resilience in Coping with Loss
➔ Grieving the Loss of What Could Have Been
➔ Overcoming Regret and Finding New Passions
➔ Desensitizing to Discomfort and Change
➔ The Power of Humor in Healing
➔ Embracing Possibility and Moving Forward

Connect with Dr. Alicia Farrell:

Website: https://aliciafarrellphd.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciafarrellphd/

Learn more and follow along with me - Joan Paul

Website: https://hernextact.com/

instagram: @hernextact

facebook: @joanpaul

The Griswold Inn

Thank you for listening and remember, you're never too old, and it's not too late! That one day is now!

xojoan