When the Refuge Becomes the Storm: How Intimate Partner Violence Affects Us Decades Later
⚠️ Content Warning: This essay discusses intimate partner violence, emotional abuse, and trauma, including suicidal ideation. Please take care while reading. He’d kick me in the leg if I said or did something he didn’t like, just a little “put-me-in-my-place” whack, I suppose. That’s how it started. I was a college student, dating my now […]
Is it Time to Walk Away from a Real Friendship?
Women in Midlife are Rethinking Who Belongs in Their Inner Circle and Who Needs to Go I recently asked a loaded question on Facebook: When was the last time you let a friend go? My inbox flooded with stories—some heartbreaking, some liberating. These stories struck a nerve. A few months ago I was flat on […]
Retirement Guilt Is Real: Why It Hurts So Much—and What to Do About It
I always thought retirement would feel like a celebration. A party at Avra, a Cartier watch I bought for myself, and a dirty martini before noon—served icy cold and unapologetic, just how I like it. I spent 15 years in the trenches building my last business. Just me, a laptop, and way too many late […]
Why So Many Women Over 50 Are Skipping the Ring—and Thriving
Charlotte said it best back in Season 3 of Sex and the City while brunching with the girls—“I’ve been dating since I was 15. I’m exhausted. Where is he?” Same, girl. Same. That line might be older than your favorite Starbucks barista, but it still hits hard … does he even exist? Society has had […]
The Joy of Sexting: How to Do It at 50+ (and Why It’s Worth It)
At a recent girls’ night, I was stunned when a friend told me she had never sexted. This is a woman who exudes sexuality, flirts with ease, and is more than a decade younger than me. Her generation invented sexting. Never? She shrugged it off, but I insisted that she is missing out on one […]
Weight Expectations: When Body Positivity Takes a Weekly Jab
After a lifetime of dieting, cleanses, and exercising, I finally felt at peace with my body—or so I thought. No longer the 98-pound college student, I’d freed myself from the tyranny of the scale. I embraced my booty and boobs in the “curves are in” era, even as my arms started to droop, and my […]
Marking My Son’s Birthday—With a Gift to Myself
I stared at the chain dangling before me. Did I dare? I took a breath then yanked it, dumping a bucket of ice cold water on my head. I shivered. Holy shit that was cold. I smothered a small yelp. It was so invigorating, I wanted to do it again. This was how I was […]
Mother’s Day Messages: What Our Readers Had to Say
Image: REDA/Getty/SFD Media LLC Mother’s Day is one of those holidays that carries both warmth and weight, and we’re sharing Mother’s Day messages from our readers. Though it’s simple in concept, celebrate moms, it’s often complex in reality. Not everyone can or wants to participate. For some, the day is mom-affirming. For others, it surfaces […]
This Mother’s Day I’m Choosing Me: A Midlife Mom Manifesto
Tina Fey said, “Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.” Agreed, Tina. Happy and tired are the conjoined synonyms of parenting, and the constant sacrifice for your kids’ well-being and happiness is never clearer than on Mother’s Day. In 2014, when my kids were nine and three, they took me to […]
Renegade Grief – Carla Fernandez Talks About Her New Book
I talk to my father every day. Mostly we discuss whatever problems, small or big, are happening in my life. He usually tells me to get over it, or that it will all work out, or even that the solution will present itself when the time is right. Sometimes he tells me to down a […]
Online Dating Over 50? Aim Smarter With These 7 Moves
If you’re on the dating apps or think you should be, here’s what you need to know about online dating after 50: True stories and expert advice, plus the surprising new move for finding your match. Insights From an Insider: What’s Really Going on With Apps for Online Dating After 50 Almost 20 years ago, I […]
I Got an ADHD Diagnosis at Age 65 and Finally Some Answers
I got in trouble for coloring outside the lines. I talked too much, overshared, couldn’t sit still. My desk was a mess. My pencils were chewed. My pocket folders were spilling over. Nobody called it ADHD back then—especially not for girls. What they called it was careless. Lazy. Distracted. A disappointment. I’m in elementary school, […]
