I quit my corporate career in midlife

And set out to test the theory, "it's never too late to be what I might have been." (and yes, my face is dirty in this photo)

Spoiler: It is too late to be what I might have been.

Times have changed, and so have I. It’s time to DO what makes me feel whole and happy. It took me years of searching (and menopause) to reach that epiphany.

AMID LIFE is for every woman who has felt the pressure to live up to expectations, to perform, to please, to BE something! (i.e. all women).

AMID LIFE is for anyone embarking on a major life change and asking, Now what?

AMID LIFE is for resilient, rebellious women ready to write their next chapter.

This is a newsletter, not a platform.

I am not a life coach or a counselor. I will not (cannot) offer tips on fashion or flattening a menopausal midriff.

I’m not selling anything. I’m pretty sure you’re already up to here with “follow-your-passion, 10-steps-to-happiness, live-your-best-life” self-help propaganda.

What you WILL get with your free subscription.

A weekly(ish) newsletter from me, written by me,¹ with newsy bits, snarky asides, outbursts of feminist rage, and other writing like…

• Personal essays and researched opinions on topics from menopause in the workplace to Pam Anderson’s skin care routine.

• Reflections on leaving my career at age 57, living in rural Vermont, hiring a life wizard, and going on a frenetic quest for my so-called purpose.

• Hard-won, real-world lessons, insights, and the occasional bit of advice from my midlife reinvention odyssey.

What you WON’T get

• Video, podcast, chats, threads, subscriber-only offers, paywalls.

• Solutions of any sort. I don’t have the answers. (Pssst, Dorothy, You do!)

• The word journey. (Unless used ironically.)

BONUS: the moment when everything changed

There is so much we can learn from each other. I started the monthly Moments of Change in 2024, and I am humbled to help shape and share these meaningful stories with my subscribers.

Call for Submissions: Moments of Change guest contributor series

I hope you will share yours!

AMID LIFE isn’t about age. It’s about agency.

I write about the messy pursuit of self. I question what I’ve been taught to believe and the messages I’ve been sold about who I should be and what I should want.

If you’re on that pursuit as well. If you ask those questions too, I hope you’ll join me here —amid life.

Work hard. Be brave. Believe.

Catherine

1. AI does not and will never write a single word of my books, essays, opinion pieces, captions, notes, social media posts, comments, journal entries, prompts, or grocery lists. My voice, including my prolific use of the em-dash, is mine—and mine alone. From time to time, I will use ChatGPT to facilitate research (always double-checking and triple-checking the original source material) or to help me brainstorm titles (I’m bad at writing titles, and honestly, the robot isn’t much better). I don’t think I’ve ever used an AI-suggested title verbatim, but I wouldn’t swear to it.