Introducing the-midst.com: The gateway drug to the modern midlife experience

Middle age is nothing new. Technically, it’s been around since humans have been alive, but how we do and view midlife — and how long it lasts — has changed quite a bit in recent times.

Depending on how you define midlife, you could argue that it’s now the lengthiest period of life. By comparison, childhood, adolescence, and the 20s are just blips in the grand scheme of things. 

Now that women are living longer than ever (the average American woman will live to 81 and many people now strive for 100+) — middle age is full of potential and possibilities. Your 40s and 50s are prime time to ditch whatever’s holding you back, put your wisdom to good use, prioritize whatever your version of happy is, try something new, make a bucket list or fuckit list, and quit the habits that were passable in our younger years but wreak havoc now. 

Move over, midlife crisis. Try midlife reawakening or recovery.

Midlife is also perhaps among the most demanding periods for adults. Marriage, divorce, fertility treatments, raising kids, empty nesting, hormonal shifts, career changes, going back to school, starting over, health changes, caring for elders. You can experience all or none of the above in your middle years.

Middle age is complicated, but it’s also awesome — if you want it to be.

You do you. 

That’s the point of The Midst. We’re on a mission to empower women in their 40s and 50s to design life on their terms, to reimagine this period as a time of growth, exploration, and possibility. We’re a collective of journalists, entrepreneurs, health activists and experts, nutritionists, and creative midlifers covering hormone health, women’s health, and mental wellness alongside stories about beauty, relationships, careers, and the women leading, defining, and ushering in the new and future versions of the second half.

What is The Midst and how do you get involved? 

The Midst is the gateway drug to the modern midlife experience (thanks, Margaret Cho, for the inspo). OK, we’re not a drug— that’s just our tagline. We’re a platform, publisher, and community for change and information. 

One of our goals is to normalize the conversation about the midlife experience and encourage women to take deep care of themselves, inside and out. In a society where that’s not only de-emphasized but frowned on — where, from birth, women are encouraged to give themselves up for others and then in midlife to shut up and shrink away, writer Gretchen Kalwinski says, “I find The Midst to be REVOLUTIONARY.”

• Read all content on the-midst.com for free
• Subscribe to the free version of The Midst Substack to get our newsletter: Get access to our free newsletters and join chats and comments, here on The Midst Substack.
• Upgrade to a paid Substack subscription for exclusive content and to win stuff: With an annual subscription ($4.17/month), you’ll get full access to exclusive content and interviews and you’ll be entered to win giveaways and special promotions.
• Become a Founding Midster: For $129 (pricing for a limited time), you’ll get all of the above, plus we’ll profile you on The Midst Substack, the-midst.com, and our socials. This is recommended for entrepreneurs, woman-owned businesses, change-makers, and those who’d like to connect with other game-changers in the midlife empowerment movement.

What’s next for The Midst?

Content is just the beginning. We’re currently bootstrapped and debt-free (go lean startups!). We’ve got a women’s health-tech concept up our sleeve and plan to raise capital to help us build it.

If we had to describe being in The Midst in a nutshell …

Now that I’m a wise 47, I challenged myself to summarize what being in The Midst means in a few words. The following four “summary statements” represent a mix of my own experience and those of friends, women we’ve interviewed, and readers of Jumble & Flow (our original namesake).

How do you describe your #midstlife?

Do any of these descriptions resonate with you? Maybe mix and match? None of the below? Vote for option 1, 2, 3, or 4, or use your own words to describe your #midstlife on our Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook.

Option 1: Vote or sound off by liking here on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Option 2: Vote or sound off by liking here on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Option 3: Vote or sound off by liking here on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Option 4: Vote or sound off by liking here on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.