It's now or never

I’m delighted to share this conversation with Stacy Vajta on the Sage + Siren podcast. By chance, I read The Creative Threshold: Returning to What’s Natural by Stacy on Substack. From my late fifties, and as I turned 60, I’d been experiencing a nudge that I called now or never. Stacy spoke of this too. She mentioned the same words I’d been writing in my journals as I experienced this unexpected transformation in my life. Stacy calls it an alchemical shift and refers to menopause as a threshold.Artist, creative and community guide, Stacy is on a quest to live with purpose and joy, and to help others do the same. In Stacy I found a kindred spirit. We spoke about life getting better at 60, listening to our inner voice, and the importance of creativity to reconnect to our self. I especially love Stacy’s words about the healing power of art. Last year, the shift I experienced took me by surprise. It was so different to what I learned about menopause over the years. Stacy and I talk about this, the legacy we would like to create in the world, how pursuing goals changes at 60, and the need for community. I loved our conversation and hope you will too.Where To Find Stacy* Sacred Art and Story (website)* The Feisty Crone (Substack)* Instagram* YouTube* PinterestWe mentioned …* Sharon Blackie, Hagitude* Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Journey* Justine Gaubert, Crone Club* David Hawkins, Map of Consciousness* Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves* Bonnie Horrigan, Red Moon Passage* The Red SchoolBe My GuestIf you would like to join me on the podcast as a guest, please get in touch. Sage + Siren is about the shifts that take place for us in our late 50s/early 60s. I’m interested in hearing positive personal stories and how life can change in ways we might not have envisaged.

Sue Reed is my first guest on the Sage + Siren podcast. Author of The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn, Substack writer at Down Clarty Lonnen, Sue’s writing and shared life experiences resonated with me from the start. I first came across Sue when I read Still juggling lightbulbs forty years on. I read and re-read this post - it kept me reading and wanting to come back for more.Just as I was about to contact Sue to ask if she might be a podcast guest, she messaged me. I was delighted!I loved our conversation - we talked about being 60+ and post-menopausal, and some of the ways this impacts us, especially through writing and expressing our truth; Sue’s complicated relationship with her Mum; using writing to process life experiences; how therapy led Sue to start writing seriously; sustainability, gardening and family; and Sue shared her writing routine.Where To Find Sue* Sue Reed Writes (website)* Down Clarty Lonnen (Substack)* The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn* Instagram* Facebook* Bluesky* TwitterWe mentioned …* Germaine Greer, The Change* Jeanette Winterson, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal* Gabor Maté, The Myth of Normal* Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way* Jo Sutton, Yoga for Tired People* Suzy Walker, Writing Hour* Matthew Dicks, Storyworthy* The Open-Toed Sandal Approach by Sue* Sue’s new writing roomBe My GuestIf you would like to join me on the podcast as a guest, please get in touch. Sage + Siren is about the shifts that take place for us in our late 50s/early 60s. I’m interested in hearing positive personal stories and how life can change in ways we might not have envisaged.

2024 was the year I turned 60, realised I was doing the wrong work, and felt a renewed urgency to live life on my terms.Sage + Siren is about the new beginning that many women, in particular, experience when they reach 60. But it’s also for anyone, at any stage in their life that wants to do things differently.

Talking about the urge to work on those goals and plans, getting clear on where I want to be in five years time and what I’m doing to find out.