PROVOKED Magazine: Culture, Health, and Money for Women 50+

PROVOKEDmagazine: For women who are nowhere near done.

Are We on the Road to Gilead? Margaret Atwood Doesn’t Say No.

I thought The Handmaid’s Tale was a worst-case fantasy. Then I heard Atwood explain the history behind every turn.

by Jennifer Green

Vaginal Estrogen Is Safe, Cheap, and Effective. Why Aren’t More Women Getting It?

It relieves painful symptoms and helps prevent recurrent UTIs. Yet outdated fears, uninformed doctors, and decades of neglect still stand between us and our prescriptions.

By Meghan Rabbitt

I Bombed My Big Comeback. The Audience Gave Me Five Stars.

A keynote in Mallorca I was sure I’d blown. The reviews said otherwise. My body never got the memo.

By Melina Gerosa Bellows

I Can Love You and Still Need to Leave by Six

An introvert’s case for leaving early, saying less, and staying friends.

By Chantrise Sims Holliman

Fashion Loves Indigenous Design. Here’s Who Never Got Paid.

Adidas based a shoe on a Zapotec huarache, then said it was sorry. A former fast-fashion designer follows what happened next.

By Sandra Roussy

What Do You Call a Memoir in 18 Words? A Minimoir.

Eighteen words to capture a life. One writer tried it, then asked other women to try it too. Nearly 100 have answered so far.

By Melissa T. Shultz

We Engineered Loneliness and Called It Convenience

She made human connection out of a trip to the bank. Most days, I’d rather not leave the house.

By Susan Dabbar

My Madonna-Byrd Complex: One Fought Time. One Didn’t.

Two sex-positive icons of my youth, now 67 and 70. Watching them age sent me looking for a third option.

By Blair Glaser

No One Warned You About Pelvic Organ Prolapse. There’s a Reason.

One in four women over 40 has it. The medical system has known about it since ancient Egypt and still treats it like a secret.

By Julie Stewart

I Finally Understand Why My Grandma Hoarded Ketchup Packets

She drove a Cadillac, washed paper plates, and was the most financially sophisticated person I’ve ever known.

The Hormone Heist: The Headlines That Cost a Generation of Women

For a quarter century, women have been scared away from hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that could’ve protected their bones, their sleep, their minds, and their sense of themselves.

By Susan Dabbar

Your Money, Your Values, Your Advisor—In That Order

You’re not underprepared for investing; you’re not being heard. Here’s how to find the right financial advisor—one who works for you.

By Kristin Hull

Be Fierce. Stay in the Chair.

The world will give you every reason to go numb. I nearly did. Here is what I’m choosing instead and what it costs to keep choosing it.

By Linda Wattier

What If I’m Never a Grandmother?

Jennifer McGuire

I Heard a Violinist in Penn Station. Then I Heard My Parents.

I Was Paid to Amplify Other People’s Voices. Mine Had to Wait.

Stop Asking Me How My Retirement Is Going

Diane DiPiero Rodio

Second born. Physician sacred calling 45 years. Nineteen kids some bio some adopted can remember which is which.

Grow up. Get excited. Give it all. Give out. Give up. Get over it. Get a new life.

Born an old soul. Abandonment issues most of my life. No longer settling or abandoning myself. Evolving. Manifesting.