Hello! I’m happy you’re here.
Tired of the hustle and comparison culture? Fed up with patriarchy and capitalism telling you what and how you "should" be? Ready to write a new chapter?
AMID LIFE is a creative guide for rebellious, reinventing midlife women.
What do I know about midlife reinvention?
On my 50th birthday, I bought an old farmhouse in rural Vermont—a childhood dream made real. A few years later, I was simultaneously reaching peak perimenopause and the rock bottom of career burnout. Something had to change.
I hired a life wizard, quit my job, and tried on personas and vocations like a royal wedding guest tries on hats. I was on a frenetic search to find my so-called purpose.
Here’s what I discovered:
The purpose-industrial complex hyping promises of youth, happiness, and fulfillment. (Spoiler alert: they’re selling something.)
The myth of “might have been.” It is, in fact, too late to “be what I might have been.” Everything I’ve done is a foundation on which to build a future of new possibilities.
Creative self-discovery methods that are helping me to identify and shed the weight of societal, cultural, and generational expectations.
AMID LIFE is where you can rediscover yourself, away from the chorus of shoulds. Take a look inward and a look around at the influences that may be holding you back (thanks patriarchy and capitalism).
Set yourself free to do whatever it is you want. Then, take a deep breath, step into your confidence, and write your next chapter.
Weekly posts are free!
All subscribers receive:
Personal essays, book notes, and cultural-moment opinions.
Excerpts from my memoir in progress. A menopausal, mid-career woman buys an old Vermont farmhouse, hires a life wizard, and leaves a 30-year career to test the theory, it’s never too late to be what she might have been.
Moments of Change stories from guest writers answering a simple prompt: Tell us about a moment when everything changed.
A bit of hodgepodge, recommended reading, affirmations, adorable photos of my grandson Seb, Kitty the one-eyed cat, and Rangeley, my sweet and sage yellow Lab (Though he crossed the rainbow bridge in March 2025, his wisdom is timeless.)
Paid subscribers will join the Amid Life community, with these additional benefits:
Exclusive journal prompts designed to inspire your personal or career reinvention
Access to chats and the ability to comment on all posts
Researched opinion essays on history and hot topics impacting everyone except rich, white men.
I write from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, in a tiny, crooked room of my own under the eaves of that sweet 1800s farmhouse in the photo. I live with a one-eyed cat and my partner of 17 years, who says I can write anything about him—as long as I call him Felix.
Thanks for joining me here—amid life.
Work hard. Be brave. Believe.
Catherine
And now, the official bio
Catherine H Palmer is a writer and former marketing executive. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of New Hampshire, an MA in marketing communications from Emerson College, and an MFA in creative writing from Stonecoast (University of Southern Maine). The latter degree, part of her midlife career reinvention, was proudly earned at age 59.
Catherine has published in The Boston Globe, American Literary Review, and other literary journals. She contributes to AARP’s The Ethel Magazine and is writing a memoir about midlife reinvention.
