HBD Shakira (48), Jennifer Aniston (56), Molly Ringwald (57), and ...

+ New to The Midst community: Meet the co-founder of Midlife Upgrade

Feb 05, 2025

Want to be part of a Goddess Salon? Meet Julie Fedeli, 61

Chicago • LinkedIn • Instagram • julie@midlifeupgrade.com

Julie will co-host a screening of The (M) Factor on April 8 at The Arts Club in Chicago, with Tamsen Fadal

By Tiffany Nieslanik, Head of Community

Julie Fedeli knows first-hand how life can shift dramatically — and how reclaiming your health and energy can transform everything. After a complete recovery from a debilitating autoimmune illness after pregnancy, Julie was determined to make sure other women don’t suffer the way she did. Burned out from a high-stakes finance career, Julie turned to meditation, which led her to seven years of deep studies in healing at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing and the Center for Intentional Living. Through this journey, she uncovered a passion for guiding women toward vibrant health, joy, and fulfillment.

Now, through her work as an entrepreneur, mentor, certified health and wellness coach, speaker, and author, Julie’s mission is to empower women to untangle challenges and experience more love, peace, and abundance. As a lifelong innovator, she co-created Midlife Upgrade, an educational platform designed for women longing to uplevel their lives. With over 15 years of experience in creating space, both large-scale events and intimate gatherings, for women to come together and blossom, Julie helps women truly embrace their full potential.

Her latest project, Midlife Upgrade: A Girlfriend’s Guide to Finding Your Power in the Pause, is more than just a book — it’s an invitation to midlife women to reclaim their vitality and power. Alongside her co-author Pamela DeRose, Julie is building a supportive, educational community to celebrate women navigating the transformational time of midlife.

What are Goddess Salons?

Julie: Originally, I called them the Underground Goddess Salons because I felt so many amazing women were hiding their power and potential. The idea was sparked during a meditation retreat, where I connected with a truly remarkable woman: Shakti Butler. Shakti is a powerhouse in the fields of social justice, racial equity, and documentary filmmaking. She’s the founder of World-Trust, an incredible organization leading the way for a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

During the retreat, I walked straight up to Shakti and introduced myself. I said, “You are an incredible woman. Would you be interested in coming to Chicago? I’d love to host an event in your honor to support World-Trust.” The funny thing is, I had no prior plan to create anything like this—I just knew, in that moment, that women needed to gather, connect, and learn to support one another more fully. And Shakti’s mission lit me up. It’s such a great reminder: when you feel a clear inner YES, follow your heart. Just go for it!

From there, I started inviting women who had faced immense challenges and transformed their experiences into something extraordinary. Lisa Nigro, was another one of the speakers. She founded Inspiration Corporation, which began with her handing out coffee and sandwiches to the unhoused from a little red wagon! Every Salon became a gathering of women sharing their stories, lighting each other up, and creating space for real connection.

At the events, women would often come up to me — with tears in their eyes — and say how much they’d been longing to meet supportive, inclusive, and fascinating women. That always touched me so deeply, and it reminded me just how much the Salons were filling a need. They were beautiful, electric events, and I loved every moment.

By late 2015, I thought the torch had been passed to others, and I pivoted to explore new projects. But I miscalculated — there was still so much work to do! After some time and reflection, Midlife Upgrade was born with my incredible co-founder, Pamela DeRose. Together, we’re carrying the spirit of the Salons forward, but in an even bigger way.

Gloria Steinem was once asked, “Who are you passing your torch to?” Her response has evolved over time, and now she says, “I’m not giving up my torch, thank you very much — I’m using it to light other people’s torches.” That’s exactly what the Goddess Salons — and now, Midlife Upgrade — are about: lighting women’s torches so they can step into their power and inspire others.

Will you share a bit about the health struggles you faced after the birth of your son?

Wowsah. That’s a longer story — one we dive into in-depth in our book — because so many women experience similar health challenges postpartum, and they’re completely normalized. Which is just crazy. I’m sharing this because I hope someone reading it might believe that they can heal, too.

After a long labor with two hemorrhages, I was left severely depleted. I adored my son and cared for him the best I could, but that was about all I had the capacity for. Over time, things only got worse. I lost most of the hair on the top of my head and was experiencing severe cognitive issues. Finally, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, but by then, so much damage had already been done. I struggled for years. I honestly didn’t think I’d make it another 10 years, and my constant prayer was simply to live long enough to meet my grandchildren.

And then, in what felt like a series of miraculous synchronicities, an incredible female MD PhD came into my life and introduced me to two cutting-edge supplements. At that point, I’d tried everything, but something about this felt different. I did my research, discovered they had strong potential for supporting autoimmune issues, and — most importantly — allowed myself to believe that I could actually be helped.

After nine years of suffering, I began to heal. Within six months, I looked and felt completely different — I had come back to life. That experience was a turning point for me. It showed me that anything is truly possible, and it sparked a deep commitment to helping as many women as I can.