Midlife Upgrade Co-founder Pamela DeRose releases a bestseller
We met Pamela DeRose just briefly when her friend and Midlife Upgrade Co-founder Julie Fedeli joined the Founding MidstHer community in February 2025.
Now we’re excited to dig into Pam’s life, which she says is bursting with energy and excitement. “I have zero interest in slowing down,” she says of the release of Midlife Upgrade — A Girlfriend’s Guide to Finding Your Power in the Pause, co-written with Julie Fedeli. The book’s title is the same name of their Chicago-based coaching program, Midlife Upgrade, a community that supports women to crack the midlife code.
Launched May 30, 2025, the book is already a bestseller on Amazon — which, Pam says, “still makes me want to do a little happy dance every time I say it! This time of my life is all about reinvention, expansion, and stepping into my power more fully than ever before.”
You are a serial entrepreneur with a focus on women’s health and wellness, but you didn’t start as an entrepreneur. How have you shaped your path to be where you are today?
I’ve had a lot of different careers. I started in fashion after earning my undergraduate degree in the field. I spent years immersed in that world, working at both the retail and wholesale levels. From there, I ventured into architecture, freight and shipping, and even wholesale imports — each chapter taught me something new about resilience, reinvention, and what it means to build something from the ground up.
But through all those careers, there has always been one constant — my passion for women’s health and wellness. I’ve always felt called to support women as they navigate the messy, beautiful, ever-evolving journey of life.
Today, I feel incredibly grateful to have created a business that aligns with that passion — a space where I can empower women, share real talk, and help them step into their fullest, most unapologetic selves.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about yourself so far?
I would have to say my resilience. Life has handed me plenty of plot twists — the soaring highs, the crashing lows, and some really deep valleys in between. But what’s surprised me most is my ability to keep getting back up.
No matter how hard I’ve fallen, I’ve always found a way to rise, learn, and come back stronger (and often a little wiser) than before. Those down times have been my greatest teacher.
Looking back, what advice would you give yourself on the eve of your 40th birthday?
I’d say, “Honey, hang on tight! You’re about to embark on a rough ride — there will be challenges you can’t even imagine yet. But here’s the thing: you’re going to be more than fine.
Every challenge will teach you something essential. You’ll come out on the other side with a heart that’s bigger, a spirit that’s stronger, and a well of compassion and empathy deeper than you ever thought possible.
Trust me: all those hard-won lessons? They’re going to shape you into the woman you were always meant to be. And you are going to help a lot of women navigate their own life challenges.”
Have you made any big changes lately?
A couple of years ago, I married my college boyfriend — yes, you heard that right. It’s wild and magical that he found his way back into my life after all those years.
Then there’s the book: co-writing Midlife Upgrade and watching it become a bestseller… that’s a dream come true and a huge leap for me.
Next up? We’re launching a course designed to help women navigate midlife with real talk, practical tools, and plenty of sisterhood support.
To me, life is all about change — staying curious, saying yes to the unexpected, and being open to new possibilities.
Connect with Pamela DeRose
Personal Facebook • Facebook for Midlife Upgrade
Instagram @pam.derose @wearemidlifeupgrade
Pamela DeRose on LinkedIn • Midlife Upgrade on Linkedin
TikTok @midlifeupgrade
Join the Founding MidstHer community
We’re building a network of entrepreneurs, creators, and leaders on a mission to help women play by their own rules, together — because it takes a community to thrive in midlife.
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• Step 1: Become a Founding MidstHer here on The Midst Substack.
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Meet more Founding MidstHers
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