Hi there
I hope you’re enjoying sunny weather where you are, now that we’ve moved onto British Summer Time and the grey skies seem banished…at least for now.
This week, talk of US politics and Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs have dominated, accompanied by angst about how to counteract the economic power of America. All the recent news got me thinking back to my trip to the States last month.
Whatever you think of the world’s response to “liberation day”, it has reminded me that one area where the UK and NOON are leading the conversation is with midlife women and embracing what comes next. (I’ve got some great stories to share below.)
I had been to New York City to promote the Queenager revolution, along with my book Much More to Come. The experience showed me that, we are ahead of our American counterparts in reframing midlife as something positive, dynamic, transformative.
That’s because we’re talking about midlife and beyond not merely as a menopause-themed event/horrorshow but a jumping-off point for a new path and a new phase of life.
As I described previously in my fresh-from-New York-newsletter, I caught up with business contacts, saw old friends and spoke with loads of people at various events. I appeared on a fabulous panel – held at the amazing Hearst Tower and organised by Michael Clinton, former President and Publishing Director of Hearst Magazines and founder of ROAR Forward, which is like a business version of NOON.
Michael had arranged a midlife panel featuring me along with Tamsen Fadal (America’s answer to Davina McCall), the editor of US version of Women’s Health and Dr Susan Loeb-Zeitlin of Weill Cornell Medicine.
What came through loud and clear was that Americans are ready for and excited about the NOON philosophy and want “liberation” from being thought of as walking hot flushes. This is not just a moment of physical change but also of emotional and psychological renewal.
Never too late to have the life you want
I’ve been thinking about the different kinds of midlife I saw there.
I had breakfast one morning with an old journalist friend (who is also in the book). This friend is an inspirational Queenager who has shown that it really is possible to have it all: a mega-watt career plus 2 kids in her 50s.
It’s not just men anymore who can come to parenthood late. There are several women within our community who have become mums later in life. (Read this lovely piece about a Queenager who had her first child and wrote her first book of poetry in her 40s.)
It’s not easy but with cash, technology and support it is possible. As my friend said to me: “Never say never.” And as we say at NOON – you are never too old and it is never too late!
After that, in a bit of serendipity, I got a WhatsApp from my old friend Jo Brooks, art PR and agent supreme. We met when I interviewed her client Banksy for The Sunday Times Magazine 15 years ago and have been firm friends ever since. She had seen my Instagram story about being in Times Square with my book – and she was in town for the Affordable Art Fair.
We arranged to meet at the Evelyn Hotel – very trendy and bohemian and, in another groovy coincidence, the hotel where my Editorial Director Jennifer stayed with her sister-in-law when she went to NYC a few months earlier.
A second life as an artist
Jo and I had a very jolly time at the chic Tusk Bar at the Evelyn (named one of Esquire’s Best Bars in America) – along with her Queenager artist Margo McDaid, aka Margo in Margate.
Margo is another exemplar of midlife reinvention.
Take a look inside the Margo from Margate gallery
From ‘bandit country’ to NYC … and back
Margo grew up in what she called “bandit country” in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.
“My friend who drove a tractor got shot for being a terrorist because he played Gaelic football,” she told me. “There were two options – move to England or move to America.
“I came to New York and worked as a waitress and got friendly with Andy Warhol and his scene.”
She eventually went to art school, then became an art teacher in Kings Cross but stopped when one of her pupils, a 6-year-old girl, got shot dead.
How art saved Margo
“It brought back all the trauma of the Troubles in my childhood,” she told me. “I found one morning I just couldn’t get out of bed.”
She described how finally creating her own art – colourful faces of women – “saved me. It was like my body insisting that I finally express my truth.”
Since then Margo has become very successful. Both it’s more than that.
“I tapped into my deep truth, became the woman I was always supposed to be, and I feel now that I am really living my life. Showing my children what a fulfilled woman looks like.”
Brava! Her story is a wonderful reminder that whatever challenges we have, we can use them to tap into our deep truth and set ourselves free.
We can lead the way
As the world becomes less certain, we need to remember that the actions we take – in our lives and out there in the world – CAN make a difference.
This NOON community already leads the way in talking about having an exciting second half of our lives – that’s why we’ve called our network NOON, after all! We can focus on the bigger picture: Midlife collisions, what comes next and reframing our real sense of purpose into our 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond!
And there are people out there ready to hear our message.
So what steps can you take right now?
Find your tribe, find your purpose, find your joy. Join NOON and create the life you want while also leading the way for your fellow Queenagers.
Attending a Circle, going on a walk or making a big change by coming to our Wales retreat will help you get where you want to go. (Even if you’re still figuring out where that is.) You’ll be surrounded by new friends, offering support, encouragement and a bit of been-there insight.
Take a look at the Wales itinerary and snag a spot before they’re all gone. And check out the full calendar of events here.
I hope to see you soon!
Lots of love,
Eleanor