The Midlife Makeover Show | Women Over 40, Menopause Support, Divorce Recovery, Empty Nest Advice, Aging Gracefully, Finding Purpose

What if the worst professional moment of your life turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to you? Lyndsay Dowd spent nearly 30 years in leadership — 23 of them at IBM — before leaving on her own terms for a new opportunity. Six months in, she was fired. No warning, no explanation.

The shame and embarrassment took her out… until she asked herself three questions that changed everything: What am I really good at? What do I love to do? How can I help people the most? The answers became Heartbeat for Hire, a company that helps brands ditch toxic, top-down leadership and build cultures people actually want to work in.

In this episode, Wendy and Lyndsay — a speaker, founder, 2X bestselling author (Top Down Culture and Voices of Women), Harvard guest lecturer, and globally ranked podcast host — talk about reinvention at 50+, betting on yourself, the “power skills” every leader needs, why trust is your currency, and the permission slip every woman at a crossroads deserves to hear. Fierce, funny, and full of heart. 🔥

What You’ll Learn
·       The three questions to ask when life hands you a plot twist you didn’t order
·       Why “power skills” (not soft skills) — like listening, delegation, and trust — drive real ROI
·       How great leaders celebrate others, build safe spaces, and never throw their people under the bus
·       What a “listening tour” is and why every new leader needs one
·       How to find your people — the wildly inspired humans who help you dream and do the big things
·       Why your personal brand is not your job title — and how reinvention really works in midlife

🎧 Tune in now
https://TheMidlifeMakeoverShow.com
✨ Watch the video replay
https://midlifology.net
👉 Connect with Lyndsay Dowd (Heartbeat for Hire)
https://www.heartbeatforhire.com
🌟 Explore All Things Midlife
https://wendyvalentine.com
📖 Order Your Copy of Women Waking Up
https://womenwakingup.com
📸 Follow the fun on IG
https://www.instagram.com/hellowendyvalentine/

In this bold, heartfelt, and hilariously honest episode of The Midlife Makeover Show, Wendy Valentine welcomes back one of the show's all-time favorite guests for the THIRD time — Andrea Owen, author, global keynote speaker, certified life coach, and the woman whose book helped inspire Wendy to become an author herself.

Andrea is back with her brand-new book, Live Like You Give a Damn, a straight-talking guide featuring 25 powerful truths to help you stop going through the motions, kick limiting patterns to the curb, and show up for your life like you actually mean it. From the "shit sandwich" you didn't ask for to the intuition you keep sending to voicemail, Andrea and Wendy dig into what it really takes to stop pretending to change — and start living like you mean it.
 
What You'll Learn
•       Why most of us stay stuck in the "pre-contemplation" phase of change — and what it takes to finally move
•       How to stop sending your intuition to voicemail — and what happens when you finally pick up
•       The fascinating story of the Chiron return and why your late 40s to early 50s are literally written in the stars for transformation
•       How to "metabolize" the challenges life hands you — and why digesting them (not avoiding them) is the only path through
•       Why the people who have hurt you the most are actually your greatest teachers — and how to start seeing them as mirrors

🎧 Tune in now at https://TheMidlifeMakeoverShow.com or wherever you listen to podcasts! 

👉 Connect with Andrea
🌟 Explore All Things Midlife & More
📖 Order Your Copy of Women Waking Up
📝 Get Weekly Midlife Inspiration on Substack

Susan Ottaviano's beautiful new book, Plants That Heal, is available NOW — and it's the midlife companion you didn't know you needed. Co-written with Chris Young and illustrated by Susan herself, it's filled with herbal teas, calming bath rituals, nourishing recipes, and natural beauty treatments to ground and restore you through every season of life.

In this episode, Wendy Valentine sits down with Susan — a musician, painter, food stylist, and endlessly creative artist — to talk about reinvention, embracing change, and why we get to keep evolving in midlife. Susan shares how she has continually reinvented herself, the small daily rituals that bring her back to center, and the mantra that says it all: “the pivot is the process.”

Warm, soulful, and deeply encouraging, this conversation is a reminder that your creativity and your dreams still matter — at any age. Pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in. 🌿

✨ What You'll Learn
•     Why “the pivot is the process” — and how to embrace change instead of fearing it
•     How to push through the dark, doubt-filled seasons before a breakthrough
•     Simple plant-based rituals that calm, ground, and heal in midlife
•     Why creativity is one of the most powerful ways to process hard times
•     How to “fill the well” and reignite your dreams at any age

🎧 Tune in now
https://TheMidlifeMakeoverShow.com
✨ Watch the video replay
https://midlifology.net
👉 Connect with Susan Ottaviano (@TwoGreenWitches)
https://www.instagram.com/twogreenwitches/
Get the book!
🌟 Explore All Things Midlife
https://wendyvalentine.com
📖 Order Your Copy of Women Waking Up
https://womenwakingup.com
📸 Follow the fun on IG
https://www.instagram.com/hellowendyvalentine/

In this eye-opening and refreshingly candid episode of The Midlife Makeover Show, Wendy Valentine sits down with Christina Walsh — physical therapist, published researcher, and co-founder of Tighten Your Tinkler — for a conversation that every woman needs to hear.

Christina and her business partner Jen created a research-backed, non-invasive pelvic floor healing program after facing these exact issues themselves, and they've since helped thousands of women find real relief from bladder leaks, prolapse, pelvic pressure, back and hip pain, and so much more.

From ditching Kegels to understanding how perimenopause changes everything "down there," this episode is packed with practical tools, real talk, and a whole lot of hope for any woman ready to listen to her body and finally start healing from the inside out.
 
What You'll Learn:
•       Why Kegels often make pelvic floor symptoms worse — and what to do instead for real functional strength
•       The surprising symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction that go beyond bladder leaks (back pain, hip tightness, pelvic pressure, pain with sex, and more)
•       How perimenopause affects the pelvic floor — and why this is the most important time to take action
•       Simple at-home habits to start supporting your pelvic floor today: toileting posture, clothing choices, footwear, hydration, and fiber
•       How Christina and Jen's research-backed Tighten Your Tinkler program works — and how a free 5-minute quiz tells you exactly where you stand

🎧 Tune in now
https://TheMidlifeMakeoverShow.com
 
✨ Watch the video replay
 https://midlifology.net
 
👉 Connect with Christina
Website: https://www.tightenyourtinkler.com/
Free 5-minute PF Quiz: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/tinklerquiz
Free at-home Decompression Position: https://www.tightenyourtinkler.com/backandhiprelief
*Use code VALENTINE for $50 off of their Signature Program
 
🌟 Explore All Things Midlife
https://wendyvalentine.com
 
📖 Order Your Copy of Women Waking Up
https://womenwakingup.com
 
📸 Follow My Adventures on IG
https://www.instagram.com/hellowendyvalentine/

In this eye-opening episode of The Midlife Makeover Show, Wendy Valentine sits down with Brooke Bralove — licensed clinical social worker, AASECT-certified sex therapist, and master practitioner of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) — to reveal why it has nothing to do with your worth and everything to do with what your nervous system thinks is safe.

Wendy shares her own powerful firsthand ART session, and together they unpack how this gentle, rapid modality can neutralize trauma in as few as one to five sessions — keeping the knowledge but losing the pain. If awareness alone hasn't been enough to change your patterns, this conversation will give you real hope that midlife is the perfect time to heal.
 
What You'll Learn
·       Why you keep attracting the same type of partner — and why it's your nervous system, not your worth
·       What Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is and how it heals trauma in as few as one to five sessions
·       The difference between ART and EMDR — and why ART can work so much faster
·       How becoming the "director" of your own memories lets you keep the knowledge but lose the pain
·       Why midlife may be the most powerful time to rewire old patterns and create emotionally safe love
 
🎧 Tune in now
https://TheMidlifeMakeoverShow.com
 
✨ Watch the video replay
https://midlifology.net
 
👉 Connect with Brooke Bralove
https://brookebralove.com
 
🌟 Explore All Things Midlife
https://wendyvalentine.com
 
📖 Order Your Copy of Women Waking Up
https://womenwakingup.com
 
📸 Follow the fun on IG
https://www.instagram.com/hellowendyvalentine/