· · ·

FOR WOMEN OVER 50

Wisdom from the Circle

Weekly letters for women over 50, carried by the stories of women who have already lived it.

· · ·

You built this life. Which means you're the only one who can build something different.

· · ·

What the circle knows.

Most of us inherited our lives. From our parents, our culture, our relationships, our fears. We made choices that made sense to other people, and we got very good at lives we never consciously chose.

For most of history, a woman did not have to work that out alone. There was a circle. The older women, the ones who had already left the husband or buried him, raised the kids, lost the job, started over at sixty. You sat near them long enough and you learned what was actually worth worrying about. Somewhere along the way we lost the circle, and we started calling those women old instead of wise.

Wisdom from the Circle is me pulling the chairs back into a circle. Every Monday I bring you something a woman has lived, from The Crone Stories conversations, from thirty years of women sitting across from me, and now and then from my own kitchen table. Not advice from on high. The truth, told by women who have already been where you are standing.

Nobody here needs fixing. You were never the problem. The life needs some honest looking at, and it is a lot easier to look when you hear another woman say the thing out loud first.

Somebody in the circle has already said the thing you are afraid to say. That is where everything changes.

· · ·

Who this is for.

She is the woman who looks fine. The one whose calendar is full and whose chest is tight. The one who can name everyone else's needs but goes quiet when asked what she wants.

She has done the books, the therapy, the journalling. She knows what is wrong. She is tired of knowing what is wrong.

She is ready to stop performing and start choosing. Not someday. Not when the kids are grown. Not when the mortgage is paid. Now.

If you have read this far, you are probably her.

· · ·

BRING THE CIRCLE TO YOUR ROOM

Hosting a room of women?

Some of this belongs in a room. A retreat, a women's group, a conference, a circle of friends who have been meaning to have the real conversation for years. I come to you, in person or online, and we pull the chairs in close.

Tell me who is in the room and what they are carrying. I will tell you honestly whether I am the right woman for it.

Talks and circles for groups of ten to five hundred.

· · ·

NOT READY YET? START HERE.

Whose Story Are You Living?

Five questions that show you which parts of your life you actually chose.

These five questions do for your life what a good declutter does for your cupboards. They show you which parts you chose, which parts you inherited, and the one thing you have been waiting for permission to do.

They are not easy. They are not meant to be. There is no wrong answer. There is only an honest one.

Find a quiet corner. Make the tea. Turn off the notifications. This one is for you.

Free. Unsubscribe any time. No spam, ever.

· · ·

Have a read first.

No need to sign up on faith. The letters are all here, every one of them, going back to the beginning. Read a few. If they sound like someone you want turning up in your inbox on a Monday, you will know.

· · ·

In love, light and laughter, Karen

Karen Amy

space holder · story keeper