The Midlife Edit

Have you ever looked around at your full, busy life and realized you can't remember the last time you had a real conversation with a real friend?

Not a text. Not a reaction on Instagram. An actual conversation where someone asked how you were really doing — and waited for the answer.

In this episode, Jen names something that so many women in midlife are feeling but rarely say out loud: the quiet, creeping loneliness that comes not from being unlikable or broken — but from living in a season of life that nobody warned us about.

We're calling it the Friendship Recession. And it's more common than you think.

In this episode:

• Why midlife women are experiencing a measurable decline in close friendships — and why it makes complete sense
• The three reasons friendship gets so much harder after 40 (hint: it's not you)
• Why the invisible load we carry leaves almost nothing for the relationships that matter most
• Why vulnerability gets scarier the older we get — and what that's actually costing us
• What genuinely helps — and it's not "join a club"
• Why grieving the friendships that ran their course might be the most important thing you do this year

This one is personal. This one is honest. And this one is for every woman who has ever felt lonely in a life that looks full from the outside.

DM Jen on Instagram @thejenweinstein or reply to this week's Backstage Pass newsletter and tell her: when's the last time you felt truly connected to a friend?

Follow The Midlife Edit: Instagram: @thejenweinstein TikTok: @thejenweinstein Website: www.themidlifeeditco.com Newsletter: Click Here to Join!

We celebrate strong women.

The bold ones.
The loud ones.
The ones who take up space and break the rules.

But if you’re a Gen X or millennial woman…
you probably weren’t raised to be her.

You were raised to admire her.

To be likable.
To be easy.
To go with the flow.
To say, “I’m good with anything.”

In this episode, I’m talking about what that actually did to us—
how we learned to fit in instead of figure ourselves out,
and why so many of us are just now asking:

what do I actually want?

As Women's History Month comes to a close, this is a different kind of conversation—
about the gap between the women we celebrate…
and the way we were taught to be.

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve been shape-shifting your whole life just to belong—

this one’s for you.

Lately, I’ve had a thought I almost didn’t want to say out loud…

What if I’m just tired of working on myself?

In this solo episode, I’m talking about the constant pressure to fix, optimize, and improve every part of our lives—and how exhausting that can become, especially in midlife.

From conflicting health advice to mindset overload, it feels like there’s always something we should be doing better. And at some point, it stops feeling helpful… and starts feeling overwhelming.

I’m also sharing a bit about my own reset right now—what I’m changing, why I’m doing it, and how this time feels different. Not from a place of “fixing,” but from a place of wanting to feel like me again.

If you’ve been feeling off, overwhelmed, or just tired of trying to do everything “right”… this one’s for you.

•  Why self-improvement can start to feel like pressure instead of growth 
•  The overwhelming amount of conflicting advice in health, mindset, and life 
•  How we internalize the idea that we must be doing something wrong 
•  The reality of perimenopause symptoms and why so many women feel “off” 
•  My personal reset (AIP, hormones, and getting back to basics) 
•  Why not everything needs to be optimized—or even healed 
•  Learning to trust yourself again instead of every voice online 

•  You are not broken—you might just be overloaded 
•  Not everything needs fixing, optimizing, or healing 
•  It’s okay to question the constant pressure to improve 
•  Your experience is valid, even if no one has clear answers 
•  Sometimes the goal isn’t to become someone new—it’s to come back to yourself 

•  “Grey Street” – Dave Matthews Band

Instagram: @TheJenWeinstein
 TikTok: @TheJenWeinstein

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend who needs to hear it.
 And if you haven’t already—follow, rate, and review The Midlife Edit so we can keep growing this community together.

This is your midlife edit—
 so let’s make it a damn good chapter.

What happens when two punk-loving rebels from high school reconnect decades later?

In this episode of The Midlife Edit, I sit down with musical theatre writer Nicolette Blount and author Sirena Grey to talk about Riot Grrrl, feminism, motherhood, and what it looks like to reclaim your creative voice in midlife.

Nicolette is a Chickasaw musical theatre writer, composer, lyricist, and producer whose work includes Savage: The Unconquerable Wanda Savage, a powerful musical inspired by the true story of her great-grandmother - a vaudeville sharpshooter and silent film actress who refused to conform to the expectations placed on women in the early 1900s.

Sirena Grey is a writer and editor who spent years raising three boys before returning to her creative work - a journey many women will recognize. Together, Nicolette and Sirena are currently writing Riot Grrrl: The Punk Anti-Musical, a new project inspired by the feminist punk movement that challenged the music industry and gave women a louder voice in the 1990s.

In this conversation, we talk about:

 • rediscovering creativity after motherhood
 • starting (or restarting) a creative career later in life
 • the Riot Grrrl movement and feminist punk culture
 • what it takes to build a musical from the ground up
 • why women’s stories still struggle to find space in the arts
 • how music, storytelling, and rebellion often go hand-in-hand

We also dive into the behind-the-scenes reality of creating a musical - from writing and development to the hustle of getting a show produced.

If you’ve ever felt like you lost a piece of yourself somewhere along the way, this episode is a reminder that it’s never too late to come back to who you are.

Links & Resources

Follow the Riot Grrrl Anti-Musical journey:
 https://riotgrrrlmusical.com

Sirena Grey’s writing:
 https://thewritingsirena.com

Follow Nicolette Blount:
 https://nicoletteblount.com

Learn more about Savage: The Unconquerable Wanda Savage
https://savagethemusical.com

Connect with The Midlife Edit

Follow the podcast and join the conversation:

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

Website:
https://www.themidlifeeditco.com

March is Women’s History Month, and while it’s a time to celebrate the progress women have made, it’s also a time to step back and realize something surprising:

Many of the rights women have today didn’t happen centuries ago.

They happened in our parents’ lifetime.

In this episode of The Midlife Edit, Jen talks about why so many women reach midlife and suddenly feel angry, frustrated, or ready to question everything they were taught growing up.

Because for decades, many women were raised with a cultural rulebook that said:

Be agreeable.
Trust authority.
Don’t rock the boat.
Don’t question doctors.
Don’t speak up too loudly.

But midlife has a way of changing that.

Jen reflects on several moments in women’s history that reveal how recent many fundamental rights actually are — from financial independence to healthcare research — and shares her own personal experience navigating years of medical gaslighting before finally being diagnosed with endometriosis and receiving a hysterectomy that changed her life.

Because sometimes midlife isn’t a crisis.

It’s the moment women start rewriting the rules.

In This Episode

• Why women couldn’t open credit cards or mortgages in their own name until 1974
 • Why women were excluded from medical research until the 1990s
 • The long history of healthcare gaslighting toward women
 • Jen’s personal experience with undiagnosed endometriosis and hysterectomy
 • The cultural “rulebook” many women were raised with
 • Why midlife often becomes the moment women find their voice

If This Episode Resonated

If you enjoyed this conversation:

⭐ Follow and subscribe to The Midlife Edit Podcast
⭐ Share this episode with a friend
⭐ Leave a review to help more women find the show

Connect With Jen

Website:
 https://themidlifeeditco.com

Instagram:
@thejenweinstein

TikTok:
@thejenweinstein

Thirty years ago, Mother Mother became an anthem - raw, emotional, unapologetic.

In this episode of The Midlife Edit, I sit down with Tracy Bonham to talk about what it really meant to be labeled “the angry woman” in the 90s - and what it looks like to reclaim that voice in midlife.

This conversation goes far beyond nostalgia.

We talk about:

• Taking up space as a woman in the music industry
• Being misunderstood, minimized, or told to tone it down
• The evolution from 90s rage to midlife clarity
• Motherhood, divorce, and creative reinvention
• Her breast cancer journey and advocating for herself
• Using your platform in a time when artists are told to “stay in their lane”
• The 30th anniversary of The Burdens of Being Upright and her “Where It All Began” residency shows

Tracy reflects on who she was when she wrote Mother Mother, who she is now, and why using your voice — creatively and personally — still matters.

If you’ve ever been told you’re too much, too loud, or too angry… this one is for you.

Connect with Tracy Bonham

Website: https://www.tracybonham.com

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

 🔗 Read the full blog recap here.

If you love this episode, share it with a friend and leave a review - it helps The Midlife Edit grow and reach more women who need these conversations.

One year ago I hit record on a podcast I thought would be about fitness, weight loss, and midlife health.

It turned into something completely different.

In this one-year anniversary episode, I’m reflecting on why I started The Midlife Edit, what midlife actually feels like, and how this space helped me find clarity, confidence, and my voice in my 40s.

We talk about the narratives women are given once we reach midlife — that we should shrink, stay quiet, or stop reinventing ourselves — and why I don’t believe any of that.

I share what changed this year, what didn’t, and how strength, style, career shifts, and honest conversations reshaped how I see aging.

And I also share a full-circle moment: interviewing one of my favorite artists growing up — Tracy Bonham — whose episode drops next week.

If you’ve ever felt the shift, questioned your identity, or realized you might actually be becoming more yourself — not less — this episode is for you.

Midlife isn’t the ending.
 It’s authorship.

• Confidence comes after action — not before
• Midlife isn’t a crisis, it’s clarity
• Strength > thinness
• You don’t lose yourself in midlife — you stop performing
• Reinvention is allowed at any age
• Women don’t need fixing — they need permission
• Aging can be something to look forward to

“Midlife isn’t a crisis — it’s the first time we know ourselves well enough to live on purpose.” 

And if you’ve been listening for a while, leaving a review helps more women find this space.

A conversation with Grammy-nominated artist Tracy Bonham — on creativity, identity, and evolving through every stage of life.

Midlife changes everything - our bodies, our relationships, our identity, and sometimes even our sense of connection to ourselves.

In this episode, I sit down with pleasure coach and author Elana Auerbach to talk about intimacy, shame, ritual, and what it really means to reconnect with your body and your desires in this season of life.

Elana shares how spending more than a decade struggling with intimacy in her own relationship led her to create The Sure Thing - a weekly ritual designed to remove pressure, build emotional safety, and bring playfulness back into long-term relationships.

But this conversation goes far beyond intimacy.

We talk about:

• Why so many women feel disconnected from their bodies in midlife
 • How shame and conditioning impact our relationship with pleasure
 • Why desire changes in long-term relationships - and why that’s normal
 • The power of ritual in creating safety and anticipation
 • What it actually means to take responsibility for your own pleasure
 • How reconnecting with your body can rebuild confidence and identity

If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable in your changing body… unsure of what you want… or hesitant to prioritize yourself without guilt - this episode is your permission slip.

Midlife isn’t about losing yourself. It’s about rediscovering who you are now.

✨ Intimacy fades without intention - and that’s normal
 ✨ Shame is one of the biggest barriers to pleasure and connection
 ✨ Ritual creates emotional safety in relationships
 ✨ Playfulness can revive desire more than pressure ever will
 ✨ You are allowed to prioritize connection, joy, and pleasure without apology

• The Sure Thing by Elana Auerbach Buy it here
• Learn more about Elana and her work: The Sure Thing Experiment 

Have you ever made plans when you were feeling confident, motivated, and emotionally stable… only for the day of those plans to arrive and you immediately think, “Wow… that was bold of me.”

In this solo episode of The Midlife Edit, Jen dives into the very relatable experience of living out expectations, roles, and commitments that earlier versions of ourselves agreed to - and why midlife often becomes the moment we start questioning whether those plans still fit.

With humor, honesty, and a little rebellion, this episode explores why midlife isn’t about starting over… it’s about renegotiating the life you once said yes to.

In This Episode, Jen Talks About:

✨ Why the version of you who signs up for things is often VERY different from the version who has to show up
 ✨ How midlife triggers identity shifts - not just physical or hormonal changes
 ✨ The pressure to constantly “fix” ourselves and why that finish line keeps moving
 ✨ How curiosity can be more powerful than confidence
 ✨ A simple mindset shift to help you start editing your life instead of overhauling it

Coming Next Week…

Jen interviews author Elana Auerbach about pleasure, connection, and rediscovering parts of yourself that many women quietly lose somewhere between responsibility and routine.

(Fair warning… it’s a little spicy 🌶️)

Connect with Jen:

Website: The Midlife Edit Co.
Instagram: @thejenweinstein
Pinterest: The Midlife Edit Co.

If this episode resonated with you, don’t forget to follow, rate, and share The Midlife Edit with a friend who might need to hear it.

After years of giving, caretaking, and pushing through, many women reach midlife and quietly ask: What do I want?

In this episode of The Midlife Edit, Jen sits down with Karen Novy and Tara Alexandra, co-founders of Your Odyssey, for an honest, grounding conversation about reclaiming yourself - not through dramatic reinvention, but through small, intentional shifts in everyday life.

Together, they explore how women lose (and reclaim) their voice, why rest often comes with guilt, how nervous system regulation supports self-trust, and why midlife is less about becoming someone new and more about remembering who you’ve always been.

This episode is practical, reflective, funny, and deeply validating for women navigating midlife transitions.

✨ In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Why dreaming can feel risky after hard seasons
• How women slowly lose their voice — and how to reclaim it
• The power of inner self-talk and self-permission
• Why rest isn’t laziness — it’s regulation
• Simple nervous system tools you can use in minutes
• How five minutes of intentional care can shift your entire day
• The role music plays in healing, identity, and self-expression

🎶 Song of the Episode

F**ckin’ Perfect by Pink

🔗 Connect with Our Guests

• Instagram: @yourodyssey.life
• Podcast: Your Odyssey
• Explore their free Take Five to Thrive practice and other offerings via the links in their bio