Middle-aged women can feel pressure from all sides. Years of developing skills and...
Newspaper features and other posts
Supporting Midlife Women, Examiner 5ht April 2024
You can see the full article here
Women feeling the pressure in middle age can grow careers with support at work
Independent feature, 24th November, 2023
This was based on my recent newsletter survey - still open at https://alanakirk.substack.com/p/can-i-pick-your-brain
I've copied the article below but the link to the article is under Premium features here - https://www.independent.ie/life/several-women-told-me-they-didnt-have-their-first-orgasm-until-after-their-first-marriage-ended-what-women-really-want-from-midlife-is-better-sex/a811158593.html
Independent, 25th August 2023 - Modern Morals advice column
My husband died after a long illness 21 months ago. I recently met a very nice man and we’ve been seeing each other. We’re both in our 60s and have a lot in common.
Question
During a very passionate evening I made a terrible mistake and called him by my dead husband’s name. I was so embarrassed. But now I’m wondering if I started dating too soon.
Some of my children think it’s cute that I have a special friend but one daughter won’t discuss or comment...
Independent feature, 8th August, 2023 - Midlife Marriage MOT
The kids have grown, retirement is still a distant vista and while you perhaps don’t have to go as far as redoing your vows, saying ‘I do want this now for our marriage’ is a healthy thing to do.
“I was scared that I’d lose my marriage because I wasn’t prepared to live the rest of my life the way we’d functioned to raise our children,” says Patsy (57) about when her kids had left home. “We...
Independent feature, June 6, 2023 - Breaking the Midlife Rules
Kathy Donaghy
Why is it that the heroines of fiction are rarely menopausal women? Best-selling author Joanne Harris asked the same question and when she wrote her new book Broken Light she made sure her 49-year-old protagonist had a super power.
In her page-turning thriller, Harris casts an eagle eye on society’s attitudes to women in midlife and by giving her main character, Bernie, a power she’d suppressed all her life, she upends the...
Independent feature, May 31 2023 - Embracing empty nests
Alana Kirk
“After 25 years of juggling work and family, I’ve reached a perfect stage where nobody cares if I’m home or not. At 55, I feel young, vibrant, with loads to do. I didn’t want to be defined by my mother role alone. I’m much more than that,” explains Fiona O’Sullivan, who has given up her three-decade career in the civil service to run her own business.
The image of the forlorn empty nester is...
My Midlife awakening - May 2023, IMAGE magazine
My midlife awakening: ‘Who the hell am I now?’
"Discovering who we are can be a confusing thing for a woman. Partly because we are plugged into the patriarchal matrix from the moment we are born, shackled to the societal expectations of what a Good Girl should do and look like. And partly because we can get to a point when our sense of identity is more often than not defined by our relationship with others – daughter, sister, mother, wife, partner. It’s not easy for...
The decision that may decide the rest of your life.
A huge part of what I do as a coach for women in midlife is help them find clarity around the best decisions they can make for themselves now, and in the future.
I don’t just mean the big decisions at a crossroads - What do I need at this age, at this stage of my life? What’s next? Who am I and how do I learn to thrive after years of being on survival mode?
I also mean the small but so significant ones. Ones that may feel minor at the time, but end up having such a huge...
Lessons I've learned about ageing
Hooray! I'm 53!
My birthday started with early morning yoga and ended with late night bubbles... not a bad birthday sandwich for 53.
I can't tell you how happy I am to be here, still standing (actually, dancing) feeling so grateful to be where I am, and so full of potential for what's ahead.
I can only imagine what my 13, 23 and even 33 year old selves would have thought about this age. They'd likely have thought I'd be devastated, simpering with sorrow as I retreated into...
Dating after 50. Facing the trauma of Tinder? Midlife dating can be daunting, but it doesnโt have to be.
When my marriage ended, I looked at my 45 year old reflection in the mirror and wondered how I was ever going to summon up enough courage, confidence and concealer to date again. I googled solitary retreats before pulling the duvet back over my head. The last time I’d dated was almost last century, when a swipe left meant I’d been graciously groped.
We now have an extra 20/30 years of life expectancy, to be lived in the middle, not the end of our lives, so it’s...
