Hello, I’m Eleanor Mills, the Founder of NOON.
Welcome and thanks so much for coming to our website – everything we do here is about trying to change the story we tell about the lives of older women to something more positive and fit for purpose!
NOON is a community of women in midlife – we call ourselves Queenagers because we are Queens coming into our prime. We are creating a new map of what life can look like for women in midlife and beyond. I set out this vision in my new book Much More to Come: Lessons on the Magnificence and Mayem of Midlife published by HarperCollins on August 1st (and available for half price as a special launch deal from Waterstones.com with the code Muchmore50 for NOON members).
I founded NOON in March 2021 after I was hit by my own midlife collision. The job that I had had as a journalist and editor for 23 years ended abruptly and I felt my life was over, that I was on the scrapheap. But then I realised that in the 100-year-life which many of us will now be lucky enough to live, 50 is only half way through! That I probably had as much to come as I had already lived and I thought why is nobody telling this story? Why isn’t there a platform which can help women through the pinchpoints of midlife and on to their next shiny new chapter?
I decided to be the change I wanted to see in the world so I reached out to a whole bunch of incredible women who had been friends and allies and asked them to be on my advisory board – and set up NOON.
Over the last 3 years we have run monthly in-person NOON Circles where Queenagers get together to support and help each other … and to have fun. We also run a book club – we’ve had everyone from Curtis Sittenfeld to Ruth Jones, Adele Parks to Trinny come and talk to us.
Most importantly we run retreats and trips, walks and events where Queenagers can get together, take time out from life, make new friends and work out what they would like their next chapter to look like. We’d love to have you join us at them! Check out our Events Calendar to book your spot.
We Queenagers are a pioneering generation, there have never been women like us at this point before. We Queenagers are midlifers with health-span on our side, who have worked and earnt our own money, expect to have our voices heard and are not going gently into that goodnight. But the mainstream has not kept pace with us.
Over half of us feel invisible in the culture. Our stories are not heard.
For instance, did you know that nearly a third of university-educated Queenagers don’t have children? Or that by the time we hit 50, more than half of us have been through at least 5 massive life events, including divorce, bereavement, redundancy, caring for elderly parents or a teenager with a mental health issue (let alone our own health problems), an empty nest and, of course, menopause. See our groundbreaking research into this phenomenon.
Here at NOON we are optimistic about what the next phase of our Queenager lives has in store. At 53 I have never felt happier. I am full of purpose and so excited about our mission and all the amazing women we have brought together and encouraged to find their next version of themselves. Remember: You are never too old and it is never too late! If that sounds like you, then come, join us and be part of the journey.
Here at NOON we are entering a new exciting phase, we’d love to have you along for the ride!
Eleanor, London 2024
I’m so excited to be part of the NOON community. As Eleanor says, there’s MUCH more to come!