This is your Women Over 40 podcast.
Imagine, for a moment, stepping into your 40s and realizing that the path ahead looks nothing like what you once pictured. That’s exactly what happened to Susan Lister Locke. After decades spent raising a family in Rhode Island and running classic sportswear stores on Nantucket, life took a turn. She faced a divorce and a downsizing that left her career in limbo. Instead of panicking, Susan sat down and made a list—not of jobs she could do, but of things she loved. Art and jewelry called to her, so she took classes, just for fun. That playful exploration turned into a thriving new career, selling her handcrafted jewelry in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and upscale Nantucket shops while still keeping a hand in real estate. For Susan, reinvention wasn’t about starting over—it was about listening to her own voice, perhaps for the first time.
Stories like Susan’s prove that the 40s can be a uniquely powerful decade for women. As Barbara Waxman, author of The Middlescence Manifesto, explains, midlife is less like a crisis and more like a second adolescence: your wants, dreams, and even your body are changing, but this time, you have the wisdom, confidence, and connections to navigate those changes on your terms. Women today are expected to live well into their 80s, and with that longevity comes permission to stretch, experiment, and even stumble as you pursue what truly matters to you.
Take Diane Bruno, for instance. After a long career in PR, Diane found herself at a crossroads, feeling oddly empty despite her success. The moment she found inspiration was unexpected—while arranging her mother’s funeral, she was struck by the funeral director’s compassion and sense of purpose. Confronting her own fears about mortality, Diane chose a dramatic pivot: she became a funeral director herself. For her, the move wasn’t just about a new career, but about healing, making a difference, and finally feeling fulfilled.
Then there’s Terri Bryant, a makeup artist to celebrities and brands, whose life shifted when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Instead of retreating, Terri channeled her expertise into designing ergonomic makeup tools for people with limited mobility, eventually launching Guide Beauty. She couldn’t have predicted Parkinson’s, but she could choose how to respond—with creativity, resilience, and a desire to help others.
Sometimes, reinvention is about reclaiming time for yourself. In Pen, Maharashtra, Vishakha Shinde grew up in a community where marriage was the expected milestone for women. But Vishakha had other ideas. She moved to Mumbai, forged a career in costume design, and discovered independence. By her 40s, she felt a restlessness, a need to reconnect with creativity. So she revived her family’s nursery, experimenting with houseplants in coconut shells and immersing herself in the world of Japanese gardening techniques. Now, Ashokvatika Nursery is her canvas, and curiosity is her compass.
Maybe you’re feeling that tug—of wanting more, or less, or something entirely different. Maybe, like these women, you’re realizing that fulfillment doesn’t come from ticking society’s boxes, but from listening to your own rhythms. Pursuing new passions after 40 isn’t about abandoning what you’ve built. It’s about weaving your accumulated wisdom into something fresh, something true.
So what’s next for you? Maybe it’s enrolling in that art class, launching a business, or quietly tending a garden. Maybe it’s simply giving yourself permission to want something new. Each of these women—Susan, Diane, Terri, and Vishakha—remind us that the biggest risk isn’t change, but regret. Reinvention is a generous act, a way of honoring who you are now and who you might still become.
Thank you for tuning in to Women Over 40 today. If you enjoyed this journey into reinvention, please subscribe so you never miss an episode. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
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