Magnificent Midlife

Sherry Sidoti is an author and a yogi. She recently published her first book, a memoir about her own healing journey, A Smoke and a Song. This is such a powerful and moving story highlighting how we can heal ourselves by exploring and accepting our experiences, and coming to terms with the past.

We talk about:

- What inspired Sherry to write her book

- Sherry's journey to writing a memoir

- Sherry's experience as a yoga teacher and how it has helped her learn to use language sparingly and effectively

- Writing a memoir with a focus on self-expression and ethical considerations

- How Sherry was able to write about trauma without triggering trauma

- Motherhood and healing generational trauma

- Using meditation and sensory awareness (five sense awareness) to access memories

- What it means to be living in the layers

- What it's like living on Martha's Vineyard

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.

Dr Sola Togun-Butler is a psychotherapist and transformative life coach. She's the founder of Butterfly Counseling Services and speaks regularly on the importance of mental health and wellness, while offering solutions to minimize stress, prevent burnout and achieve balance.

We talk about:

- The importance of addressing societal expectations that lead to burnout in women, particularly in midlife

- The guilt that arises from cultural and gender expectations that women should prioritize their children and family over their own needs

- How changing thought patterns through cognitive restructuring and reframing can help reduce feelings of guilt

- How Dr Sola's Nigerian cultural background influenced her upbringing

- Polarization in the menopause discourse

- Finding it easier to listen to different perspectives as you get older

- The importance of curiosity and seeking diverse viewpoints in midlife

- How Dr Sola helps midlife women come to terms with or move on from trauma

- Why women fear embracing their authentic selves due to fear of rejection from others

- How women can make changes despite potential conflict with loved ones

- The power of butterflies as a symbol of transformation

- Some effective strategies for preventing burnout

- How Dr Sola helps women practice self compassion

- Differences between US and Nigerian culture in regards to the status of women as they get older

- Ageism and self-love in UK and Nigerian cultures

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.

Emily Kenway is the author of the groundbreaking book, "Who Cares: the Hidden Crisis of Caregiving and How We Solve It", written after the painful experience of caring for her cancer stricken mother. Who Cares is an intimate and deeply researched account of the experiences of unpaid carers, and a call for us all to put care at the center of our lives. Emily researches, writes and speaks about thought-provoking social issues, shedding light on the crucial forces shaping our lives and communities.

We talk about:

- How Emily found the strength to write such a book out of her own deep grief

- Emily's personal experience with caregiving

- The importance of recognizing care as a continuous condition of life

- The need for more practical support for carers

- Reducing the stigma surrounding care work

- How older people can refuse outside help due to vulnerability concerns

- How women are often expected to prioritize care work over paid work

- Disparities in labor rights and opportunities between men and women

- Gender roles in caregiving for elderly relatives

- Age, vulnerability, and acceptance of care

- How practising reciprocal support can help create a culture that values vulnerability and mutual aid

- The care commons idea – sharing care responsibilities in a community

- The need for government action on workplace regulations to enable care

- Reducing working hours to improve productivity and work-life balance

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.

Josephine Pembroke is a performer and founder of Radio Gorgeous. She trained at Drama Studio and has been in many bands, cabaret and theatre productions. She decided to get back on stage in her 60s and is currently starring in her own show, The Working Girls of Soho, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival. Josephine is a hoot! Prepare to giggle and be inspired that anything is possible!

We talk about:

- Why Josephine is back on the stage after all these years

- What the show, The Working Girls of Soho, is all about

- The history and culture of Soho

- Life in London in the 80s and 90s

- Josephine's experience in the London's club scene

- What's it like for Josephine to actually be doing cabaret on the stage

- The all-girl band, Pussies Galore and their performances in London and abroad

- Josephine's struggle with needing attention

- The importance of discipline and creativity in Josephine's life

- What Josephine has learned about herself by going back on the stage

- How baby steps are all we need to make big change

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.

Amanda O' Brien became a full-time digital publisher in midlife, with four successful websites focusing on travel, pets and information. She's a former marketing director at big corporations and an Australian who's made London her home. She's a boutique adventurer, and she's visited over 70 countries on her travels.

We talk about:

- What it was like for Amanda to switch from marketing director to digital publisher in midlife

- How advertising network Mediavine works and its impact on website traffic and SEO

- Transitioning from marketing to digital publishing

- Amanda's solo travel experiences and her advice for women

- Amanda's experience of climbing Kilimanjaro

- The experience of feeling uncomfortable in traveling solo, but finding comfort in realizing that nobody notices or cares.

- What Amanda likes about being an Aussie in London

- Cultural difference between Australia and the UK

- Bhutan culture, tourism, and aging society

- Travel blogging, social media, and influencer marketing

- Midlife transitions, online presence, and networking

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.

Celebrating episode 150 of the podcast with a very special guest. Ann Marie McQueen is a journalist on the world stage, focused on menopause and on a mission to cut through misleading narratives and dodgy data. She founded HotFlash Inc in 2020 to cover the latest clinical studies, treatments, products, guidance and more via a weekly research letter, podcast and across social media. She's also one of the founder members of MenoClarity.

We talk about:

- Why and how menopause became Ann Marie's focus

- Living in the Middle East as a Canadian expat

- Cultural differences around menopause narratives

- What annoys and concerns her about how menopause is portrayed

- Issues around the impact of social media on menopause narratives

- The oversimplification of menopause messages

- Ann Marie's struggles with ill health and separating that out from hormonal change

- The impact of belief systems and trauma on menopause

- How her view of menopause has changed

- Understanding research and what it's really saying

- Being sceptical about big promises that make people money

- Menopause narratives that don't empower women

- Menopause as a hero's journey

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.

Carolyn Parry is the founder of Career Alchemy, helping early-stage and established professionals escape from a job they hate and create a career they love, on purpose.

She's an award-winning career coach, a TEDx speaker and host of the Change Your Story podcast. She is the President of the Career Development Institute and based in Wales.

We talk about:

- Carolyn's own career crisis

- Knowing what you don't want is as important as knowing what you want.

- The emotional labor that women do in the office

- How technology has changed the workplace

- Why women have an advantage over men

- The importance of investing in yourself

- The three types of people you find at work

- The choice of what story to write

- How to reconnect with what really matters

- The impact of imposter syndrome

- Maintaining a sense of purpose is important for mental health

- Finding the courage to change track

- How to pivot into a new industry

- Exploring ways to do life differently

- How to get involved in your community

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.

Something very different for this podcast – five guests on one show! Five of my fellow founders of MenoClarity, the knowledge hub for menopause set up in 2023. I'm talking to Pat Duckworth, Prof Joyce Harper, Clarissa Kristjansson, Kate Codrington and Ann Marie McQueen about why we've come together and what we hope to achieve with MenoClarity. This is a wild and at times hilarious conversation!

We talk about:

- The menopause myths we're hoping to bust

- Bringing some positivity to menopause without being Pollyannaish about it

- Establishing a middle reliable ground in the currently very polarized menopause world

- Bringing clarity to what symptoms are really due to menopause and what might not be

- Cherry picking research findings to suit certain narratives

- The dangers of getting information from social media

- Providing trusted sources of information

- The three stages of womanhood – none should be the default, they all matter

- How we're not broken in midlife and we don't need fixing

- Our inaugural online summit on Friday 29 September – MenoClarity Live: Menopause Without The Hype

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.

Dr. Cathleen Brown is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist who has spent much of her career caring for female soldiers and their dependents. She was honorably discharged from the US Army after 12 years of meritorious service. She now provides gynecology services specifically for women at midlife during the menopause transition.

We talk about:

- What was it like being an army doctor

- How service women manage their periods when they're on active service

- The transition from military to civilian life

- The difference between the medical system in America and the UK

- How the US healthcare system needs an overhaul

- What Cathleen likes about helping women in midlife and experiencing menopause

- How women can help themselves in menopause

- How women can access better food in America

- How menopause can impact women's health

- Optimizing sleep and brain health

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.

Julia Brewer Daily wrote her first novel, No Names To Be Given, when she was over 50. This book was inspired by her own experience as an adopted child from a maternity home hospital in New Orleans. She's also the host of the Authors Over 50 podcast. Her mission is to encourage those in mid-life and beyond to live their best lives in what she calls Life's Sweetest Third. This is a fascinating conversation about what happened when Julia went looking for and started writing her story.

We talk about:

- The personal story behind Julia's first book

- Julia experience of being adopted

- Why it took so long for Julia to write her book

- What it was like finding her birth family

- Learning about and beginning to understand her birth mother's experience

- Julia's writing process and her second book

- Julia's podcast and mission

- How new writers can best get going

- What helps writers fulfil their dreams

And more!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave us a 5* review on iTunes or wherever you're listening.

Order the ebook or audiobook (narrated by Rachel) versions of Rachel's book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause And Beyond at magnificentmidlife.com/book

The paperback can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

US & Canada: https://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Magnificent-Midlife-Transform-Middle-Menopause/dp/173981150X/

You can listen to all the other episodes and get the show notes at magnificentmidlife.com/podcast.

Recommended by the Sunday Times.

Feedspot #3 in best midlife podcasts and #14 in best women over 50 podcasts worldwide.

You'll find lots of strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent at magnificentmidlife.com.

Check out Rachel's online Revitalize Experience, a 6-week intensive small group mentoring experience or 1-1 Midlife Mentoring.