Welcome to The Pause: Straight Up—a podcast for every woman who's ever stared into the void of her 40s (or 50s) and wondered “what the hell just happened?” In this very first episode, I finally hit record after too much overthinking and hoping my husband wouldn’t overhear me.

This intro is all about why I started the podcast, what I hope it becomes, and why I think it’s high time middle-aged women like us got to do a little more yapping. No advice. No toxic positivity. Just honesty, a bit of filth, and hopefully a few laughs. If you’ve ever felt like your eyelids have become crepe paper and your life plan took a hard left at midlife, you’re in the right place.