Hey there, Reader! Have you listened to today's new episode of The School of Midlife? I recorded this one with Brooke Amidei, founder of Babble, a free weekly newsletter that's basically the group chat every midlife woman wishes she had. I loved this conversation! About forty minutes in, we ended up somewhere I did not expect. We started talking about basic doctor stuff -- bone density scans, mammograms, that list -- and I told her about my own recent breast MRI. High risk, dense breasts, the...
19 days ago • 1 min read
I want to share something with you today, Reader. 💛 This is from a woman who attended a BEST LIFE Retreat in Sun Valley. She came not knowing exactly what to expect. She left with something she hadn't anticipated. I'll let her tell you: "Attending Laurie's BEST LIFE Retreat in Sun Valley was truly life-changing. I had never done anything like it before, and it exceeded every expectation. The experience gave me the opportunity to pause, reflect, and really think intentionally about how I want...
20 days ago • 1 min read
Hey there, Reader! Honest question for you on this Tuesday: did you choose your life? Think about it. The job you took. The city you live in. The path you went down right out of school. The partner you chose. The priorities that have organized your days for the last two or three decades. Did you choose those things? Or did you do what was expected of you? I recorded this week's episode of the School of Midlife on a whim. I was out on a hike, and this idea arrived that I had never quite heard...
26 days ago • 1 min read
It's hard to believe that it's already the end of the day on another Monday. Just like always, it feels like the summer is flying by. I mean, I'm looking at the calendar and there are just six (!) weeks left until September. What?! And when I think September, of course I'm thinking about the BEST LIFE™ Mastermind. There is a reason the retreats are not on weekends, Reader. Not because we couldn't do them on weekends. But because I made a deliberate decision years ago to stop relegating the...
27 days ago • 2 min read
It's the first week of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, so naturally I have shopping on the mind. (Although — and I say this as someone who genuinely loves a good sale — I've come to realize that buying something just because it's on sale doesn't actually make it a bargain. Especially if I don't need it in the first place.) And that has me thinking about auctions. Stay with me here, Reader. I promise I have a point. Do you get a little paddle-happy at a charity auction? Me too! I love the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hey there, Reader! Have you listened to this week's new episode on the School of Midlife podcast? I have been waiting to share this conversation with you. Tammy Hadfield has been a hormone specialist for 25 years. She was in the field in 2001 when the Women’s Health Initiative scared an entire generation of women away from hormone therapy. Instead of backing down, she leaned in...and spent years being called one of the “crazy gals” giving hormones to women when most of the medical community...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
I want to paint you a picture. It's September. The air is different. You know the feeling...that back-to-school energy that shows up every year, regardless of whether you're the one actually going back to school. There's something in the atmosphere in September that says: Okay, time to get serious. In this picture, there are two versions of you. Version A: You're looking at the calendar and realizing that the end of 2026 will be here before you know it. There is still so much you were hoping...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hey there, Reader! Have you listened to today's new episode on the School of Midlife podcast? I listened to it on my walk this morning. There's a line in this week's episode that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. My dad worked for 46 years. He said "someday when I retire" so many times that I would have been financially set myself if I'd had a dollar for every time I heard it. He had plans. Real ones. Europe. Fishing. Golf. Garage band. The whole thing. But then he died five months...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
It's July, Reader! Yes, I realize that it's not early on a Sunday morning. And I know many of you have big plans to celebrate the holiday weekend...so rather than wait to send out The BEST LIFE List, I decided to get it to you today. On July 1. And since it's July, let me be the first to wish you a Happy Independence Day! I love this holiday. I love a parade. I love bunting -- and if you’ve seen our house in early July, you know we do not do subtle. I love the fireworks and the flag sweaters...
about 2 months ago • 11 min read