School of Midlife

You don’t need to blow up your life. But you do need to stop waiting to live it.

In this deeply reflective solo episode, Laurie is back in the studio (fresh off a trip to Paris and a new haircut) with a wake-up call for midlife women everywhere: if you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself living the same year over and over again—and call it a life.

From the blur of daily routines to the invisible waitlist we put our dreams on, this e...

What if you let go of the rulebook and gave yourself permission to create a life that feels like a dream you actually want to be living? This week on the School of Midlife podcast, we’re talking to Wendy Harrop—a retreat host, event planner, and farm-dwelling dream-weaver—who did just that.

After years of living the good-girl life, checking the boxes, and doing what was expected of her, Wendy woke up to a deeper longing: one where s...

Pack your bags and your big midlife dreams—we’re going to Paris, baby

In this very personal (and slightly jet-lagged) episode, Laurie shares her reflections from a solo trip to Paris and announces an exciting new adventure for 2026: The School of Midlife Study Abroad Retreats. Imagine sipping wine in sidewalk cafés, sketching in the Luxembourg Gardens, and talking legacy, purpose, and joy with like-minded women.

You’ll get the inside...

What if midlife wasn’t a crisis… but a dress rehearsal for how you actually want to live?

Episode Summary:

In this episode of The School of Midlife Podcast, Laurie sits down with Francine Azel, a woman who is embracing midlife not as a breakdown, but as a dress rehearsal for her next chapter. Fran gets real about the intentional work it takes to keep a long-term marriage alive—and why it's worth it. She talks candidly about the ...

What flying solo—literally—to France taught me about courage, clarity, and creating the life you actually want in midlife.

Episode Summary:

In this deeply personal and unscripted episode of The School of Midlife Podcast, Laurie records from the Delta Sky Club just before boarding a solo flight to France—her first international trip alone. It’s raw, honest, and packed with midlife truth bombs.

Laurie explores what it really means to li...

What if the best part of your life was still ahead of you?

In this inspiring conversation, Laurie sits down with Kathi Holzer—a 67-year-old retiree who stumbled into painting after retirement and is now an award-winning artist. Kathi shares how she went from never having painted to creating pieces that now hang in homes across the country. This episode is a powerful reminder that your creativity doesn’t expire with age—and your next...

You don’t get what you don’t claim—so what are you ready to stop whispering about and start declaring?

🎙 Episode Summary:

Midlife isn’t the time to keep performing, people-pleasing, or pretending. It’s the moment to finally get honest about what you actually want—not what you've been told to want, conditioned to want, or praised for wanting.

In this fiery solo episode, Laurie drops the mic on why high-achieving women feel stuck,...

What if you could use “weight release” to get back to who you were always meant to be?

💬 Episode Summary:

In this empowering conversation, I sit down with Juliana Leamen, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, podcast host, and bestselling author, to explore a radically different approach to weight loss and wellness in midlife.

Juliana brings the receipts—blending science, functional genomics, and feminine wisdom—to help high-...

What if being called “selfish” was actually your first clue that you’re finally doing it right?

Episode Summary:

We’ve been taught our whole lives that putting ourselves first is selfish. That the gold star goes to the woman who juggles all the balls, sacrifices the most, and never drops a single one—especially not the ones tied to motherhood, marriage, or work. But what if that’s the exact mindset that’s keeping you stuck?

In this ep...

This is the story of what happens when a woman finally says: enough.

In this deeply moving episode of The School of Midlife, Laurie is joined by Megan Hodgdon—a survivor, entrepreneur, award-winning food artist, and living proof that it’s never too late to rewrite your story.

Megan’s journey includes surviving two abusive marriages, navigating the court system, rebuilding trust, reclaiming her identity, and eventually launching a thr...

In this episode, host Laurie Reynoldson dives into a truth many high-achieving women avoid admitting: the discomfort, guilt, and conditioning around prioritizing ourselves.

We’re in midlife—when everyone wants us to believe we should be winding down, focusing on others, or finally feeling “settled.” But what if this is actually the season when you’re supposed to become more of yourself? What if the life you've built isn't ...

What if the secret to feeling strong and confident in midlife isn’t about starting over—but finally doing the small, sustainable things you've been avoiding?

In this episode, host Laurie Reynoldson talks with Renee Bellinger, a certified nutrition and health mindset coach with a background in counseling psychology. Renee is on a mission to help high-achieving midlife women get out of the all-or-nothing trap and finally build th...

Have you been wondering…Is this a midlife crisis?

Nope. It’s not. Not even close.

In this episode, Laurie Reynoldson is blowing up the outdated narrative that midlife has to be a downward spiral. If you've found yourself waking up, feeling like something’s off—or like the life you’ve built doesn’t quite fit anymore—it’s not a crisis. It’s a damn awakening.

We're diving deep into what’s actually going on for high-achieving mi...

Search terms: midlife retreat, post-retreat integration, women’s retreats, midlife transformation, personal growth for women 40+, retreat aftercare, School of Midlife podcast

Episode Summary:

Coming home from retreat is magical… and also really tricky. You’ve just spent days immersed in clarity, deep conversation, and the energy of other women doing the same work. And then? Real life comes rushing back—laundry, emails, carpools, dead...

In this episode:
midlife podcast for women, people pleasing in midlife, midlife empowerment, stop asking for permission, confidence after 40, personal growth for high-achieving women, School of Midlife podcast, Laurie’s midlife journey

Episode Summary:

In this week’s firecracker of an episode, Laurie gets real about a midlife realization that changes everything: you don’t need anyone’s permission to live your best life. Not your...

In This Episode:

Midlife mindset, midlife transformation, high-achieving women, midlife identity shift, trusting yourself, bold moves in midlife, intuitive decisions, permission to change, midlife clarity, living your best life

Show Notes:
You don’t need to burn your life to the ground to build something that finally feels like you. You just need to stop waiting for permission.

In this powerful conversation, Laurie sits down with...

You know that feeling when you should be celebrating—but instead, you're mentally already onto the next thing?

You hit a milestone—moved into a new house, crushed a personal challenge, finished a retreat—and instead of basking in your badassery, your brain starts whispering: "Yeah, but what now?" or worse, "That wasn’t enough."

In this solo episode, I (Laurie) invite you into a mindset shift that high-achievi...

In This Episode: midlife women, decision-making coach, overcoming guilt, perfectionism, people-pleasing, bold choices, Jessica Frew

✨ What would your life look like if you stopped living by everyone else’s rules?

In this guest episode of The School of Midlife, Laurie sits down with Jessica Frew—author, speaker, and Bold Decision Coach—on the launch day of her brand-new book, Shove Your Shoulds.

Jessica shares her incredible personal j...

In This Episode: midlife coaching for women, female empowerment, gender bias, professional women, menopause, identity shift

✨ Show Notes:

Ever been called aggressive when you were just being assertive?
 Or a “bitch” when you were just doing your job well?

In this powerful replay episode of The School of Midlife, host Laurie Reynoldson shares why she made the intentional decision to work exclusively with women—and why creating a “N...