Midlife Audacity

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What happens when the life you built no longer fits who you’re becoming?

In this episode of Midlife Audacity, I sit down with my dear friend Jen for a powerful, honest conversation about midlife reinvention, perimenopause, identity shifts, and answering the call to live more authentically.

Jen and I first met years ago as strangers on Facebook, connecting over health, wellness, and the desire to feel like ourselves again. Since then, her life has taken a bold and unexpected turn. After decades working in male dominated fields and later in government, Jen found herself facing perimenopause, a sedentary lifestyle, and a quiet inner knowing that something had to change.

What followed was what she calls “Jen 3.0.” A courageous midlife pivot into becoming a postpartum doula, supporting families through the fourth trimester, and now building a business that blends deep compassion with investigative wisdom to help parents protect their peace and their children.

In this episode, we talk about the sacred pause of menopause, the grief and freedom of identity shifts in midlife, why women need support through life’s biggest transitions, and how intuition often whispers before it roars. We also explore the parallels between postpartum care and midlife care, and why loving yourself back to life is not selfish, it’s essential.

If you’re a midlife woman questioning your next chapter, feeling the nudge to reinvent yourself, or craving permission to trust your inner voice, this conversation will speak straight to your soul.

And if you’re ready for deeper support, community, and nervous system grounded practices, I invite you to join Soul School, my conscious membership for midlife women who are ready to rise into their next chapter boldly, soulfully, and unapologetically. 

If today’s conversation resonated with you and you want to follow Jen or explore her work, I’ve linked her website and Instagram below: 

www.leanonmewestchesterdoula.com 

https://www.instagram.com/theprivateeyedoula?igsh=MWRtcTVrcjJ1MmdyZQ== 

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_ 

Love to hear your take aways. Send me a message.

The holidays are often described as joyful and magical, yet for many midlife women they can also feel heavy, overwhelming, and emotionally demanding.

In this solo episode, Celeste DiDona shares an honest, grounded conversation about why the holiday season can stretch the nervous system to its limits and how to stay centered when life feels loud, busy, and unpredictable. As the darkest days of the year overlap with expectations, traditions, and constant stimulation, Celeste explores how to care for your nervous system without hardening your heart or abandoning yourself.

This episode focuses on simple, realistic micro habits that support emotional regulation, resilience, and inner steadiness, even during the busiest seasons. You’ll hear how small daily practices around meditation, journaling, movement, and mindful learning can help you run your day instead of your day running you.

If you’ve been feeling exhausted, overstimulated, or disconnected during the holidays, this episode offers reassurance, practical tools, and permission to start caring for yourself now, not later.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why the holidays can feel overwhelming for midlife women
• How nervous system regulation supports emotional resilience
• The power of micro habits during busy seasons
• Staying grounded without perfection or pressure
• Why you don’t need to wait until January to feel better

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_ 

Love to hear your take aways. Send me a message.

In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Celeste sits down with former teacher turned spiritual coach and podcast host, Christine Marcario, to explore what happens when the life you’ve built no longer fits — and the universe steps in to course-correct.

Christine shares her 19-year journey in education, the burnout she ignored, the intuitive whispers she pushed aside, and the shocking moment she was laid off on her birthday — a moment that felt devastating but ultimately became the doorway to her next chapter. Together, Celeste and Christine unpack how fear, identity, conditioning, and the nervous system all react when you’re standing at the edge of the unknown.

They dive into:
 • how to recognize intuitive nudges before they become screams
 • why the mind often lies while the body tells the truth
 • the power of the pause and the spiritual importance of stillness
 • daily practices that keep you grounded in alignment
 • the courage it takes to stop people pleasing and live as your true self
 • how community accelerates healing, clarity, and transformation

Christine also shares how retreats, inner work, journaling, and reconnecting with her intuitive gifts helped her rebuild her identity and step into her purpose with confidence and audacity.

If you’ve been feeling the tug for more — more alignment, more purpose, more truth — this episode will speak straight to your soul.

And a reminder: Soul School reopens in January 2026. This is Celeste’s monthly membership for midlife women ready to return to themselves, regulate their nervous system, and create a life that feels aligned and abundant. Join month-to-month with no commitment, or save with a discounted annual option.

Tune in, take a breath, and receive the message your soul has been waiting for.

 If you loved Christine’s energy, make sure to follow her on Instagram at @christine.marcario.coach and listen to her podcast, Aligned and Abundant, on your favorite listening platform. Check out her current offers through the link in her bio. 

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_ 

Love to hear your take aways. Send me a message.

In this episode of Midlife Audacity, Celeste explores the real reason so many midlife women stay in jobs, roles, and routines that look good on the outside but leave their souls unfulfilled. You will learn how your nervous system, your sense of safety, and your core identity shape the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that create your reality.

Celeste explains why change feels difficult, how familiar patterns keep you stuck, and what happens when your body does not feel safe enough to let you expand. You will discover the connection between identity and purpose and why shifting the beliefs you hold about who you are is the key to awakening a new chapter.

This episode includes a simple hand on heart regulation technique, a grounding affirmation, and a guided meditation to help your body soften and your soul come back online.

If you have been feeling the quiet pull that you are meant for something more, this conversation will help you understand what is holding you back and what becomes possible when you choose safety, alignment, and the next version of yourself.

Celeste also shares how community has played a powerful role in her own growth and why having the right women around you can accelerate your healing, your confidence, and your awakening. Soul School reopens in January for women who want to rise inside a supportive, spiritually grounded community that keeps you anchored to your purpose and connected to the truth of who you are. 

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_ 

Love to hear your take aways. Send me a message.

In this heartfelt and unfiltered episode of Midlife Audacity, Celeste reconnects with her longtime friend, Caren Cooper — a woman who embodies what it means to live boldly and unapologetically in midlife.

Caren opens up about her journey of leaving corporate America, navigating divorce, finding her voice through deep healing, and stepping into her power with her first TEDx Talk. Together, they unpack what audacity really means — and how it’s not always about making huge, flashy moves. Sometimes, it’s the quiet recommitments to yourself that are the most courageous of all.

✨ Key Takeaways:

• Audacity isn’t always big — it can be a micro move that honors your truth.
• Leaving corporate life (or any old identity) is less about reinvention and more about coming home to yourself.
• The healing journey is messy, emotional, and so worth it — because the work works when you work it.
• True friendships and sisterhood are anchors through transition and transformation.
• When you do the inner work, your outer world begins to align in ways you couldn’t have planned.

Tune in to be inspired by a story of courage, authenticity, and self-evolution — and to remember that your most audacious chapter might just be beginning.

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_ 

Love to hear your take aways. Send me a message.

The holidays have a way of awakening the “spells” we’ve been under for years,  the roles, habits, and expectations that keep us small. From people-pleasing and perfectionism to money fears and motherhood guilt, these patterns can quietly pull us back into the past just when we’re ready to rise.

In this special Thanksgiving-week roundtable, Midlife Audacity host Celeste DiDona sits down with three powerful women: Ann Reed, Christy Livingston, and Bridget Tucker to explore what it really means to break the spell. Together, they talk about nervous-system regulation, rewriting money stories, releasing perfectionism, and embracing midlife as an awakening, not a crisis.

Whether you’re sipping coffee after Thanksgiving dinner or sneaking a walk between gatherings, this episode invites you to pause, reflect, and remember:
 You are not who you used to be. You are becoming who you were always meant to be.

✨ Top 5 Takeaways

1. Awareness breaks the spell
   Notice the pattern in your body and your story. You can’t shift what you won’t see. Name it, and the grip loosens.
2. Safety makes change possible
   Regulate before you renovate. A few slow breaths, butterfly tapping, or a brief pause tells your nervous system: “I’m safe to choose differently.”
3. You can have both love and money
   It’s not either–or. Rewrite the old scripts. Abundance includes connection, ease, and wealth.
4. Own your financial seat
   Financial sovereignty is not optional. Learn, ask, decide. Whether you invest in real estate or another path, you belong at the table.
5. Choose ease over performance
   Perfectionism is a costume that never fits. Success is systems that support you. Model that for your family and the next generation.

As we head into December, ask yourself: What’s one spell I’ll break in the next 24 hours?  Then choose one aligned action to anchor the new you.

If this episode helped, share it with a friend who needs a little holiday de-spell-ing.
Subscribe to Midlife Audacity, leave a rating or review.  

Remember: You’re not waiting for magic, you are the magic.

Be sure to check out what our round table guests are up to:

Ann Reed:  Jump on the waitlist for Investor Era: Real Estate Revolution, a community membership for real estate investors and those who'd like to get in the game. You also find her on IG @annreedandco and be sure to subscribe to her podcast: A Few Good Doors for all your real estate investment info. 

Christie Livingston: Free meditation and challenge

Brigitt Tucker: on IG @believe.n.thrive

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_ 

Love to hear your take aways. Send me a message.

In this episode of Midlife Audacity, Celeste explores the quiet but powerful difference between fitting in and belonging.

Fitting in is survival energy — the constant shape-shifting to be accepted that leaves you drained and disconnected.
 Belonging, on the other hand, is safety energy — the freedom to be fully yourself and feel at home in your own skin.

Celeste shares how midlife invites us to stop performing for approval and start belonging to ourselves again — restoring our energy, mood, and momentum along the way. You’ll learn what it feels like in your body when you’re in true alignment and how to begin breaking the old patterns of self-abandonment and people-pleasing.

✨ This conversation is your reminder that midlife isn’t a crisis — it’s an awakening.

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_ 

Love to hear your take aways. Send me a message.

In this episode of Midlife Audacity, Celeste DiDona guides you on a journey back home to yourself — out of your head and into your body.

If you’ve been living in overdrive - overthinking, overdoing, overcontrolling this conversation will help you find peace in the pause. Celeste unpacks what nervous system dysregulation really means and how it keeps us looping in fear, ego, and old survival patterns. Then, she shares four grounding tools to help you reconnect with your inner calm: conscious breathing, butterfly tapping, grounding visualization, and meditation for release.

Through her signature blend of spiritual depth and practical guidance, Celeste invites you to take a sacred pause, to soften, breathe, and remember that peace isn’t something you chase; it’s something you return to.

✨ In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What nervous system dysregulation looks like in midlife (and why awareness is the first step)
• How to regulate your energy using simple, accessible daily practices
• Why the pause is not weakness, it’s preparation
• How to ground yourself when life feels uncertain or heavy

This is your reminder that the most powerful thing you can do is come home to yourself - boldly, soulfully, and unapologetically.  

Here is quick 1 pager with the tools mentioned in this podcast.  Enjoy 

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_ 

Love to hear your take aways. Send me a message.

 In this episode of Midlife Audacity, Celeste gets real about the messy, beautiful in-between of midlife, the burnout, loss of motivation, and quiet discomfort that often precede deep transformation. She shares her personal story of slowing down, rediscovering her connection with God, and learning to see the so-called “midlife crisis” as a divine awakening. If you’ve been feeling stuck, disconnected, or uncertain about who you are now, this conversation is your reminder that the pause isn’t punishment, it’s preparation. 

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_ 

Love to hear your take aways. Send me a message.

Welcome to the very first episode of Midlife Audacity. I’m so glad you’re here. Today I want to share a bit of my story, the moments that cracked me open in midlife and why I started this podcast.

Soulful Sunday Newsletter:  Each week, you’ll hear from me in a way that’s simple, intentional, and easy to stay connected to.

Book Study Seminars:  Soul School has opened up new room called, Book Study Seminars.  This room meets four times a year to read, study and unpack not only the words, but our lives, together.  This fall we will be reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Our theme is what personal freedom looks like in your actual life:

Soul School: A curriculum for midlife women who are ready to remember their wisdom, protect their energy, project their power and come back into alignment. You don’t need fixing. You need to remember. Open for enrollment NOW.

Follow @the_conscious_coach_