Work is broke AF. Want to start a revolution?
+ Meet the woman who wrote the book on sober menopause and sugar addiction
You’ve probably read your fair share of gloomy headlines like:
“Last month’s layoffs were the highest of any October in 22 years” (HR Dive)
“Amazon targets as many as 30,000 corporate job cuts” (Reuters)
“The menopause side effect millions of women experience but don’t talk about... ‘massive system failing’” (Daily Mail)
“Suzy Welch worries that Gen Z is ‘unemployable’” (Fortune)
Add to that the 54 comments and 7,600 views of Sheri Radel’s recent “What the actual f#ck is happening to our work?” story (see below) and we think it’s time to take matters into our own hands. If you’re a 40+ woman making it in today’s world, chances are you’re already doing just that.
I’m trying to be brave in case the economy crashes (been there, done that before). I’m usually one of the most optimistic people you’ll ever meet, but everything in my gut is saying, “Hold the phone. It’s time to make big changes in how we do life.” I don’t want to let my years of experience and expertise go to waste. I need to steer in a different direction. You too?
In the Age of the Questionable Work Future, what are our options?
A few things spring to mind:
Wait it out. Maybe the economy and workforce will get better in a few years.
Change fields and try to land a fast-growing job like a big data specialist, fintech engineer, or security management specialist (see list of fastest-growing jobs here).
Join forces and collaborate with other talented, ambitious women to create new work opportunities.
Become portfolio workers (meaning that you work for several companies simultaneously).
Become entrepreneurs who create new companies and employment opportunities for others.
Become solopreneurs or consultants and double-down on our expertise.
What do you think? I’d love to hear from you in comments below.
I’m excited for you to meet Dana Bowman, a new member of the Founding MidstHer community. I had the honor of reading an advance copy of her forthcoming book, Humble Pie: Sober Menopause, Sugar Addiction, and the Sweetness of Recovery — and it’s really good.
I mean, menopause stories are having a moment, but menopause + sobriety + food addiction? Dana Bowman is early to market on that. More than a pioneering truth teller, in Humble Pie, she’s a mom who does her research, a master of digressions that make sense in a minute, and a writer whose wise cracks resonate whether you’re sober or not.
In her Fear and Loathing in Las Dana voice, she makes it AOK to LOL about recovery, relapses, and swapping alcohol for sugar. Why not have a laugh about how to deal with hard things while making sense of the madness that is menopause and the chaos of midlife — and cozy up with a new friend while you’re at it.
Dana Bowman takes on sober menopause and sugar addiction in ‘Humble Pie’
Age: 56 • Lives in an “adorable small town of Lindsborg, Kansas, right in the MIDDLE of the U.S.”
Connect with Dana here
Dana’s Substack • danabowmancreative.com • LinkedIn
Instagram @thedanabow • TikTok @thedanabow
The Midst: You’ve written three books — including Bottled: A Mom’s Guide to Early Recovery, winner of the 2016 Kansas Notable Book Award, and How to Be Perfect Like Me.
In our book, you’re not just a writer, you’re an entrepreneur. How do you think about being a writer-preneur, and what’s your advice for aspiring authors?
Dana Bowman: The first thing I always say about writing is that it can be an isolating business. That’s why it’s so important to find community (kind of how I found you, Amy!) to help us when we feel like we are in a bubble of our own creation.
I would also like to say that writing these days so often feels like it needs a large platform, a large following, and “all the things” going on. With my own writing, it’s super hard not to compare myself to others with thousands of followers and huge platforms. So, I remind myself that if I’m consistently working on voicing my heart, then my audience will come. And, honestly? I wrote three books with a small platform! My publishers didn’t bat an eye! So don’t buy into the “I’ve got to be an influencer and a writer” if you don’t want to be. I am content in my own smaller universe with fabulous connections and lots of healing going on.
Let’s talk about Humble Pie: Sober Menopause, Sugar Addiction, and the Sweetness of Recovery.
We admire your approach of connecting sobriety with peri/menopause, and sugar addiction — this hasn’t been done before. What do you hope women take away from reading Humble Pie?
Process addictions — like food, or shopping, any “little addiction” that rears up after we let go of biological addictions like alcohol or drugs — can be really tricky. We write them off because, heck, they aren’t as dangerous as drugs or alcohol, right? But in my book, I write about the mental toll these addictions took on me, and the subsequent “life as just surviving” that I engaged in for years because of them. When I finally got honest with myself about sugar, it really amazed me how I was acting just like I did with alcohol with my sugar fixes. And that caused so much shame and confusion.
What I want my readers to know is that I get it. I am right here with you. This is tough and I hope my journey through, not around, will help you.
What are some of the ups and downs about life right now?
The ups? I decided to go grey and I LOVE it. It makes me feel free and rebellious and also just a bit sexy if I can really own it.
The downs? On some days, I look at the grey and think, “who is that old lady?”
In other words, my ups and downs are really all up to my mental health, an honest perspective, and my courage. On my less courageous days I have to give myself some solid reminders, a bit of a shake to my soul, and I usually grab some red lipstick because that always helps.
What’s the most surprising or exciting thing you’ve learned about yourself lately?
That I wrote a third book! Whaaaaattt? How cool is that? And I’m already thinking about the next one. My creative self really shines in the midst of life.
What’s one of the hardest/most challenging things you’ve ever done?
My TEDx talk. The entire thing was so important to me — to get it right. To speak my truth and really teach others about Invisible Women Syndrome and how going grey revolutionized my life. I put a lot of pressure on myself to Make. It. Perfect. I probably should have re-read my second book (it’s about perfectionism and addiction) to help myself.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to yourself at age 40?
Use sunscreen and stop trying to be perfect all the time. It’s a waste of good creative space in your brain. Just be messy and own it.
Also, you can wear red lipstick whenever the hell you want.
How can The Midst community help you?
Help me get my third book, Humble Pie, into the right hands! I am so excited for this book, and really very proud of it. It took about 6 years to make. I hope it does well.
What’s next for you?
I’m going to work on two things: a novel about a woman who faces tragedy and finds herself falling into addiction, but it will also be funny because that’s the only way I write.
Secondly, and maybe: A book about midlife and recovery and LOOOOOOOOVE. Both are in the works and both keep me up at night with ideas, which is always a good sign.
This story was originally published here on the-midst.com.
Join the Founding MidstHer community
What if we built a collaborative economy for 35+ women?
A community of skilled entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, creatives, consultants, technologists, strategists, health specialists, and people leaders to share ideas and work opportunities?
That’s the vision for the Founding MidstHer community, which is needed now more than ever.
In the disruptive Age of AI, rife with corporate restructuring and layoffs, we’re realizing just how much women in the midst of life bring to the table. We’re women with rich experience, specialized skills, education, and networks of brilliant colleagues.
As forward-thinking women, we’re some of the most qualified people to rise above the status quo and create the future of women’s work.
We’ve heard from so many women who are itching to up-level their career, redesign the next chapter, work smarter not harder, and connect with others to prosper and thrive for the greater good.
I've been sharing "WTAF is happening to our work" with friends, in the EIF FB group and on Linkedin and the reaction has been so strong, proving that so many of us are living this. We need a revolution. Waiting it out is not an option because nothing is going to change. We need to join forces, collaborate and create new opportunities.