F#ck Middle Age = one for the ages
A photo recap of our first live conference in Chicago
You know you’ve got crowd support when an audience member hands you a fan onstage during a hot flash. … which is what happened at F#ck Middle Age, The Midst’s first in-person event on October 19, 2024, in Chicago.
The hot flasher, Rachel Hughes, kicked off the first panel: Here’s What You Really Need To Know About Peri/Menopause, along with Dr. Lauren Streicher MD, a renowned menopause expert and founding Medical Director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause. Seated next to Dr. Streicher, Hughes mentioned that she’s a “super flasher,” a condition marked by experiencing hot flashes earlier in life, and for up to 15 years after the end of menopause. Hughes is a leading voice in the perimenopause awareness movement and a community leader for Alloy Women’s Health, one of the event’s sponsors.
But that wasn’t the only heated moment. Women traveled from beyond Chicago to talk about the modern 35+ experience, including how Gen X and Millennial women aren’t taking perimenopause symptoms laying down. Well, OK, sometimes we’re so tired, we lay down. But we’re also asking questions about how to get the care we need, because this isn’t our grandma’s midlife.
Daphne Berryhill, a pharmacist and medical writer who contributes to The Midst, traveled from Madison, Wisconsin, with her 20-something daughter, Nora. “I came away from F Middle Age feeling like it’s more than OK — it’s imperative — to invest in myself in midlife,” Berryhill says. “Like so many women, I need nudges and support to do that because it still feels at odds with the cultural messaging I grew up with.”
Berryhill said she enjoyed the diverse, expansive thought-sharing on how to go about discovering what you want and then getting it — or something close to it. “Plus, Dr. Streicher gave straight-out ‘this is what you need to do’ advice on how to get healthcare needs met during peri and after menopause,” she says. “That kind of expert advice is really hard to find.”
Here’s a photo recap. Thank you to our sponsors, Alloy Women's Health and Become Clothing.
— Amy Cuevas Schroeder • Photos by Rena Naltsas
I started The Midst to talk about my Adventures in Perimenopause. During the first panel of F Middle Age, Rachel Hughes (center) and Dr. Lauren Streicher MD (right) talked about women’s most aggravating perimenopause symptoms.
From left, panel 2: The Time Is Now. We’re In Our Prime: The Midst’s Head of Marketing, Rachel Rhee; Ashlee Piper, a sustainability expert; Lele Mason, a comedian and trainer for Second City Training Center; and Cindu Thomas-George, founder of Shakti Training.
Lele Mason encouraged women to trust themselves and the light they were born with. “I believe we all were created with a purpose and that purpose translates to our own personal light,” she says, reflecting after the event. “I wanted to encourage everyone to shine bright, walk in joy, and love themselves,” adding that she enjoyed connecting with women of various backgrounds.
Denise Paleothodoros is the owner of Citrine Minds, a growth marketing and PR boutique consultancy with deep expertise and commitment to women and family health and wellness brands.
From left, listening intently: Angie Maguire, an RN and champion for health and wellness in midlife, and Mary Rachel Fanning, a Chicago tech worker who transitioned careers after nearly two decades at Columbia College Chicago.
From left: Lauren Cumbia, managing director of Service Employees International Union, and Nneka Dunham, a fine art appraiser.
Right: EJ Kim, co-founder of NNABI Peri Essential 5, flew in from New York.
In the third panel, Grace vs. Botox: Beauty and Wellness at 35+, The Midst's Head of Content, Lauria Locsmondy, kicked off with the question “Can you get Botox and be feminist?”
Panelists from left: Leading makeup artist Aga Rhodes, Brittony Croasdell a Full Practice Authority Nurse Practitioner (FPA), published author, and co-owner of Fulcrum Aesthetics; and Dr. Jessica Shepherd, board-certified gynecologist and women’s health expert who specializes in menopausal health and is also the founder of Modern Meno Health. Dr. Shepherd recently released Generation M and appeared on the TODAY Show the day before The Midst event.
After the three panels, we moved to the Cabana Room on the sixth floor of The Robey Hotel.
Learn about upcoming Midst events here and stay in the know by subscribing to The Midst Substack.
Are you interested in hosting a Midst event in your town? Contact our Head of Community, Tiffany Nieslanik, at tiffany [at] the-midst.com.
Meet Sarah Dillingham, founder of Grace & Able
Snohomish, Washington • Linkedin • Instagram
I am an arthritis patient on a mission to make joint support products that women want to wear. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis over 20 years ago, and it had a major impact on every aspect of my life, from relationships to career to personal goals. I’m also the founder of Grace & Able and I run an online community for women with arthritis.
I grew up in London, the UK, where I spent most of my life. I have traveled around Europe, Asia, and Australia, but the USA is the only country outside of the UK I have lived in for years at a time. I moved to beautiful Washington state with my (American) husband a few years ago. We share our home with two yappy mini-schnauzers who are incredibly spoiled.
As much as I love WA, I do often wonder why I left one rainy place for another, so I enjoy traveling around the USA and visiting other states. One of my favourite things to do is travel around the US by Amtrak and stop off in small towns, where I can meet people and have adventures. Being English is an easy conversation starter, and most people are super friendly.
I’m in the midst of:
Scaling my joint support brand Grace & Able. And, perimenopause which is a rollercoaster.
The best thing about my current age, 51:
I don’t feel the need to people please, and I feel connected to my purpose. I am also very practiced at prioritizing fun, peace, and connection over drama, stress, and petty nonsense.
What progress do you hope to see in society for future generations of women?
For health care providers take women seriously and not dismiss our symptoms. 80% of autoimmune patients are women, and it takes an average of seven years for an autoimmune patient to get an accurate diagnosis. This is a huge amount of wasted time, energy, and potential – not to mention the unnecessary pain and stress it causes for individuals. This needs to change.
Hey GAL! We’d love to introduce you to The Midst community. When you upgrade your subscription to “Founding MidstHer” here on The Midst Substack, Tiffany (our Head of Community) will reach out to you with questions to answer. Need help? Email tiffany@the-midst.com.
Congratulations! 🤍
This is so freaking cool. I think I subscribed too late to know this was even happening. Will you do another one? I want to be with my fellow badass women in the midst!