The Wobbly Middle: Women's Career Crossroads In Midlife

Actress, writer, podcaster, and mother of three, Salima Saxton joins The Wobbly Middle Season 2 finale to talk about reclaiming yourself. From centre stage to the school gate and back again, Salima shares what it took to reawaken her creative life after years on mute.

In this warm, frank conversation, she reflects on the disconnection so many women feel after stepping back from their careers - and how she wrote her way back into her multi-hyphenate roles. Together with hosts Susannah de Jager and Patsy Day, Salima dives into the messy middle of rediscovery, thrills at the power of women’s anger, and throws the idea of “balance” straight overboard.

If you’ve ever felt like you left parts of yourself behind, this one’s for you.

• (03:47) - Salima's Early Career and Family Life
• (07:49) - The Challenges of Motherhood
• (13:29) - Rediscovering Identity Through Writing
• (16:25) - The Reality of Success and Failure
• (20:27) - The Inception of 'Women are Mad' Podcast
• (27:58) - Estrangement and Family Reflections
• (31:45) - Final Thoughts

THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women rethinking their careers in midlife. Each episode Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

ABOUT THE HOSTS: Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Tuesdays. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at [email protected] —your career pivot story might just be the nudge someone else needs.

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook @thewobblymiddle

We talk about social media careers, learning tech in your 40s and a career pivot into digital.

From olympic dreams to a digital sisterhood, Joy Foster traded a career in the City for a quiver of arrows, followed love across borders and then and then, somewhat accidentally, became a digital entrepreneur.

Her creation, TechPixies, now serves as both launchpad and lifeline for women looking to pivot, re-enter the workforce, or start from scratch.

In this episode, Joy talks about what it means to bloom wherever you’re planted even when the soil is foreign or the sun unreliable. She shares her belief that confidence is a decision, reinforced daily through small acts of doing. From five-minute power moves to three-year plans, Joy’s practical, no-nonsense guidance is both energising and refreshingly doable.

If you’re stalled, stuck, or quietly simmering with ideas, this conversation will propel you from inertia to momentum.

• (03:28) - Joy's Philosophy on Confidence
• (04:51) - Crafting a Vision for Your Life
• (09:18) - Joy's Personal Bravery
• (12:37) - Challenges in Switzerland
• (15:20) - Resilience and Support Systems
• (17:14) - Empowering Women Through Tech Pixies
• (20:14) - Navigating Grants and Funding
• (24:57) - Reflections and Advice

THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women rethinking their careers in midlife. Each season, Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

ABOUT THE HOSTS: Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Tuesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at [email protected]—your pivot might just be the nudge someone else needs.

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook @thewobblymiddle

Liberating and taboo-busting, femtech founder Rachael Newton (former hedge fund lawyer turned entrepreneur) is part of a new wave of founders, thinkers, and advocates throwing open the bathroom door and reshaping the policies, products, and possibilities of period products and menstrual care.

In this episode, Rachael tells us how she designed Nixit, the revolutionary, reusable menstrual disc after she realised her tampon waste took so long to break down it would likely survive the apocalypse alongside the cockroach.

Rachael assessed the alternatives in the market and found them wanting. (Hell, there are more gadgets to poach an egg than there are period products). So she started from scratch designing a new type of reusable menstrual disc that could be worn for 12 hours. In doing so, Rachael has not only changed how people manage their periods but also how they relate to their bodies.

She also tells us about the moment she put down her law books to become a fem tech founder, about the risks and the loneliness along with the pinch-me moment of the pinging of sales.

If you’re curious about starting something new, building a purpose-led brand, or simply rethinking your period, Rachael’s story is a smart, grounded reminder: you don’t have to go with the flow. Not in your career. And definitely not with your period.

To find out more about Nixit: https://nixit.com/pages/menstrual-disc

• (00:39) - Discussing Period Stigma
• (01:54) - Introducing Rachel Newton
• (03:38) - Rachel's Career Journey
• (05:14) - Challenges in the Legal Profession
• (07:55) - Relocating and Career Shift
• (10:00) - The Birth of Nixit
• (15:11) - Developing the Product
• (26:09) - Branding and Marketing
• (30:51) - Entrepreneurial Insights
• (33:39) - Final Thoughts and Farewell

If femtech is your thing, then another great episode is with the FABULOUS femtech founder, Nina Van Schaik (see From Delivery Room to Disruptor). Midwife Nina witnessed first hand the trauma caused by failures in maternal care and with less than 2% of pharmaceutical R&D dedicated to maternal health, Nina decided to take action herself developing Peripear, a groundbreaking product designed to minimise perineal tearing.

THE WOBBLY MIDDLE a podcast for women rethinking their careers in midlife. Each season, Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

ABOUT THE HOSTS: Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just moved to Abu Dhabi. She is podcasting, consulting to start-ups and occasionally advising on scale-up capital having left her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager and asked "what next?”. In the last five years she has forged a new path following her passions and interests. This podcast is for her and for all those like her.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at [email protected]—your pivot might just be the nudge someone else needs.

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook @thewobblymiddle

Where female investors bring the values—and the returns.

Experienced fund manager Leila Kardouche knew that to keep doing what she loved—investing—it had to be on her own terms. So she co-founded Variis Partners, a women-led firm that’s diverse by name (Variis means “diverse” in Latin) and by nature, built on a culture rarely found in traditional finance.

In the high-stakes investment world, Leila is confident about what sets the foundation for success: her age, experience, financial stability, and wisdom—along with the complementary strengths of her co-founders. On taking bold steps later in life, she says: “You have a much higher chance of success. We are healthier, we're living longer, we want to be engaged for much longer professionally and therefore doing something like this at 50 is not late at all. It's about the right time.”

In this episode, we talk about building a values-led business, choosing the right partners, and busting tired myths about women, risk, and what makes a great investor.

• (02:23) - Leila's Career Journey
• (05:46) - Challenges for Women in Finance
• (07:25) - Motherhood and Career
• (10:11) - Founding Variis Capital
• (12:34) - Building a Diverse Team
• (19:43) - Balancing Optimism and Pessimism
• (26:28) - Women and Risk in Investment
• (31:23) - What Would You Tell Your 30-Year-Old Self?
• (33:10) - Final Thoughts and Farewell

THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast for women rethinking their careers in midlife. Each season, Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

ABOUT THE HOSTS: Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just moved to Abu Dhabi. She is podcasting, consulting to start-ups and occasionally advising on scale-up capital having left her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager and asked "what next?”. In the last five years she has forged a new path following her passions and interests. This podcast is for her and for all those like her.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at [email protected]—your pivot might just be the nudge someone else needs.

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle

Sophia Champion de Crespigny loved physics. She studied civil engineering for 8 years, fascinated by structure and design. In the workplace, however, she found herself wading through actual sewage in the field - and the more metaphorical kind in the office. Engineering may have been the plan but it turns out it wasn’t the fit.

When Sophie finally quit, she left without a grand plan, just with the instinct that there was something else out there for her.

• (00:22) - Balancing Life's Demands
• (01:01) - Transferable Skills for Lawyers
• (01:43) - Introducing Sophie Champion de Crespigny
• (02:49) - Sophie's Journey from Engineering to Jewelry
• (04:23) - Challenges in a Male-Dominated Industry
• (08:00) - Leaving Engineering Behind
• (09:29) - Starting a Kombucha Business
• (11:53) - Motherhood and Business
• (18:55) - Launching Sorsa Jewelry
• (27:23) - Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
• (28:24) - The Importance of Authenticity

In this episode, Sophie talks about how she began again - first fermenting a kombucha business in her London flat, and then forging Sorsa, a jewellery brand built around sustainability, beauty, and family life.

It is a celebration of women’s businesses of every shape, scale, and intention and the importance of their place and space be it round the kitchen table or the boardroom.

The Wobbly Middle is a podcast for women rethinking their careers. Each season, Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

About the hosts:

Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just moved to Abu Dhabi. She is podcasting, consulting to start-ups and occasionally advising on scale-up capital having left her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager and asked "what next?”. In the last five years she has forged a new path following her passions and interests. This podcast is for her and for all those like her.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY: whether you're in the wobbly middle or have made it through to the other side, we’d love to hear from you — we’re building a library of midlife plot twists! Email us at [email protected]

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle

We’ve got mail. You've got questions on changing when change is hard, tackling overwhelm and learning tech in your 40s!

Susannah and Patsy open the mailbag and respond to some of your excellent (occasionally panic-tinged) every-woman questions about navigating midlife career change.

This means, Patsy, who usually prefers to hide behind the microphone (and strong opinions about editing), has to sit in front of it. Susannah on the other hand is already on her second podcast of the day—just casually interviewing biotech CEOs before breakfast—and brings her usual mix of energy and insight.

They discuss:

→ How do you find space to even think about change when life keeps getting in the way?

→ How do you resist the gravitational pull of the familiar when change is hard?

→ And what if tech has run ahead of you… can you still catch up?

• (01:44) - Innovative Career Pivots
• (03:28) - Listener Questions: Overwhelmed in OX2
• (03:53) - Tips for Tackling Overwhelm
• (05:30) - Focusmate and Task Initiation Tools
• (06:14) - Listener Questions: Tech Skills for Career Change
• (07:08) - Upskilling Resources and AI Tools
• (09:45) - Listener Questions: Staying the Course
• (10:11) - Aundrea's Empower Framework

The Wobbly Middle is a podcast for women rethinking their careers. Each season, Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY: whether you're in the wobbly middle or have made it through to the other side, we’d love to hear from you — we’re building a library of midlife plot twists! Email us at [email protected]

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle

About the Hosts:

Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just moved to Abu Dhabi. She is podcasting, consulting to start-ups and occasionally advising on scale-up capital having left her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager and asked "what next?”. In the last five years she has forged a new path following her passions and interests. This podcast is for her and for all those like her.

When Hannah McCracken returned to advertising after a career break raising her children, she anticipated going back at the same level, with some flexibility. She was met with a “no” — neatly packaged as professional advice: expect less.

Less responsibility. Less pay. Less relevance.

But for Hannah, time out never meant value lost. She had built her career at some of the world’s top ad agencies. She knew her worth—and wasn’t about to apologise for the years spent mothering. She rejected the tired narrative that stepping away from work somehow erases your talent, ambition or potential.

Instead, she came back clearer, sharper, stronger.

This is a story about pushing back against other people’s limits. About holding onto your belief when the world tries to shake it loose. And a reminder for women that they have every right to want what they’ve already earned.

• (01:40) - The Eisenhower Matrix: A Tool for Prioritisation
• (02:21) - Hannah McCracken's Journey
• (03:31) - Hannah's Career Beginnings and Advertising Insights
• (08:08) - Balancing Family and Career
• (09:01) - The Decision to Step Away from Work
• (13:11) - Reentering the Workforce: Challenges and Strategies
• (15:50) - The Importance of Self-Belief and Support Systems
• (21:14) - Recognising and Valuing Non-Traditional Skills
• (24:30) - The Role of Flexibility in Career Growth
• (27:41) - Final Thoughts and Reflections

The Wobbly Middle is a podcast for women rethinking their careers. Each season, Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Tuesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY: whether you're in the wobbly middle or have made it through to the other side, we’d love to hear from you — we’re building a library of midlife plot twists! Email us at [email protected]

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle

About the Hosts:

Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just moved to Abu Dhabi. She is podcasting, consulting to start-ups and occasionally advising on scale-up capital having left her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager and asked "what next?”. In the last five years she has forged a new path following her passions and interests. This podcast is for her and for all those like her.

We get the inside scoop on what it was really like producing a live, chaotic political interview with then-candidate Donald Trump — the pressure, the reputational stakes, and Aundrea’s strategies for the toughest of interviews.

This bonus episode is packed with big energy, behind-the-scenes moments plus Aundrea’s “Wobbly Middle” Go-Bag essentials.

Listen now! Don’t miss the full conversation with Aundrea Cline-Thomas on transferrable skills and new careers for journalists in our main episode, Lights, Camera...Pivot!

The Wobbly Middle is a podcast for women rethinking their careers in midlife. Each season, Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

Stay up to date with our newsletter.

To hear more from Aundrea, listen to her totally energising podcast The NEXT Best Thing.

Have you navigated your own midlife career wobble?

We want to hear EVERYTHING. The disasters, the triumphs, the moments you thought "I've made a terrible mistake" before realising it was actually GENIUS. Email us at [email protected]. Seriously. Tell us EVERYTHING. We want to hear your story—whether it’s messy, magnificent, or still mid-wobble.

Email us at [email protected] and join the conversation.

About the Hosts:

Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just moved to Abu Dhabi. She is podcasting, consulting to start-ups and occasionally advising on scale-up capital having left her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager and asked "what next?”. In the last five years she has forged a new path following her passions and interests. This podcast is for her and for all those like her.

Newsrooms collapsing. Journalism jobs vanishing. Three-time Emmy winner and TV reporter Aundrea Cline-Thomas saw the signs flashing like a breaking news ticker: the industry she loved was falling apart live on air.

Stepping behind the camera, Aundrea launched her own production company, Mountain Court Media, as well as the community initiative The Rewrite to help other journalists navigate their own pivots.

With the poise of a prime-time pro and the candour of a hot mic, she shares the behind-the-scenes on walking away from a career in front of the camera to build a new career — and how others can identify their hidden strengths and skills to do the same.

• (03:38) - Aundrea's Journey into Journalism
• (05:48) - Challenges and Triumphs in Journalism
• (10:31) - The Impact of Empathy and Upbringing
• (11:43) - The Decline of Traditional Media
• (13:27) - Transitioning from Journalism
• (17:10) - Empower Framework for Career Transitions
• (20:37) - Building Confidence and Facing Discomfort
• (26:33) - The Importance of Community and Networking

The Wobbly Middle is a podcast for women rethinking their careers. Each season, Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

Links

You can find out more about The Rewrite here.

To hear more from Aundrea, listen to her excellent podcast The NEXT Best Thing.

Have you navigated your own midlife career change?

We want to hear EVERYTHING. The disasters, the triumphs, the moments you thought "I've made a terrible mistake" before realising it was actually GENIUS. Email us at [email protected]. Seriously. Tell us EVERYTHING. We want to hear your story—whether it’s messy, magnificent, or still mid-wobble.

Email us at [email protected] and join the conversation.

About the Hosts:

Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just moved to Abu Dhabi. She is podcasting, consulting to start-ups and occasionally advising on scale-up capital having left her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager and asked "what next?”. In the last five years she has forged a new path following her passions and interests. This podcast is for her and for all those like her.

Do you feel a pull towards something new but aren’t sure what’s next?

So do we! The Wobbly Middle is a podcast for women rethinking their careers. Each season, Patsy and Susannah sit down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

Following a No. 1 ranking on Apple Podcasts GB Careers chart, hosts Susannah de Jager and Patsy Day—who leapt off their own corporate career ladders—return for Season 2 with more inspiring conversations about bold career shifts, unexpected opportunities, and the transferrable skills we’ve been building all along.

This season, they sit down with women who’ve made remarkable career moves, including:

• An Emmy-winning reporter who stepped behind the camera to launch her own media company
• A civil engineer who swapped steel beams for gem stones and built a thriving jewellery co
• A lawyer who laid down the law to create a game-changing period care empire.

Whether you’re making a big leap, a strategic shift, or a slow-burn transition, The Wobbly Middle is here to help you recognise the value of what you already know and use it to build what comes next.

This season also brings bonus content—extra interview snippets, behind-the-scenes moments, and practical career advice to help you take your own next step.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

SHARE YOUR STORY: whether you're in the wobbly middle or have made it through to the other side, we’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com

FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook @thewobblymiddle

ABOUT THE HOSTS:

Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

Susannah de Jager has just moved to Abu Dhabi. She is podcasting, consulting to start-ups and occasionally advising on scale-up capital having left her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager and asked "what next?”. In the last five years she has forged a new path following her passions and interests. This podcast is for her and for all those like her.