Faith Agugu always imagined she would be a mother. But at 45, after many, many detours, she decided it was time to recognise the reality that wasn't going to happen, and almost immediately everything changed for her.

Faith wants us to make peace with the lives we're living and the ones we didn't quite get to live. In fact, she wants us live in a pro-ageing world. She knows it exists, because it's where she was born, into a culture where everyone wanted to be the oldest person in the room. They were the respected ones, the wise ones, the ones with status.

Faith lived in Nigeria until she was 9, then in Britain and now in Australia. She says that through her work as a psychotherapist, and founder of advocacy group Silver Sirens, ageing-anxiety is ruining our mental health. And it's fair to say, she has some ideas about how to deal with that.

This conversation is a big exhale. Like taking off your bra, it's about making peace with the changes age brings, and the surprises, and the shit bits too. 

Enjoy this episode of MID with the excellent Faith Agugu.

You can learn more about Faith's community, Silver Sirens, here 
You can follow Silver Sirens on Instagram.

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Mamamia's new podcast BIZ is rewriting the rules of work with no generic advice - just real strategies from women who've actually been there. Listen here.

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Grace Rouvray

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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