The best stories start in the middle.
That’s midlife—a jumble of paradox, a stress sandwich, and a powerful opportunity to become a deeper, truer version of you.
There is a lifetime between forty and finished. You’re right on time.
AS SEEN ON
CTV Your Morning
CBC Fresh Air with Nana Aba Duncan
Beyond reinvention: Living authentically
We love stories of midlife reinvention. The person who published their first novel after 40, the one who became a triathlete at 60, or who left her corporate job to start a sheep farm at 50. Why? What feels important about making changes in the second half of life? Why is it so inspiring?
More than reinvention, I think we admire authenticity and moxie.
Authenticity means moving past the “shoulds,” getting to know ourselves outside our various roles, and noticing, accepting, and responding to our real wants and needs.
It takes moxie to be authentic in a world that tries to tell us exactly who we need to be in order to be “good.” And it takes even more moxie to do it in the second half of life when so many messages tell us that the best is behind us.
It also appeals because even if we don’t anticipate headline-making changes in our future, most of us want to feel that we’re being true to ourselves in our daily lives and are the authors of our stories.
But in the thick of midlife, with all its complexities, transitions, and challenges, it can feel overwhelming to imagine doing anything different, being different. It’s precisely because of all those things that this work is so valuable. It helps you make intentional choices about how you spend your energy, time, attention, and resources. And it expands your pool of possibilities to create options you never knew you had.
This is not about checking off goals and mindset hacks. This work is deep, immersive, expansive, and freeing.
Photo by Marina Dempster
Programs
One-on-One Private Coaching
A private space that's just for you.
Midlife is often a time of shifting roles and identities. Private coaching allows us to explore who you are becoming and how that impacts your choices, experiment, deepen your self-awareness, and move you forward with integrity. My clients use our one-on-one time to clarify thoughts, feelings, and decisions relating to relationships, contribution/work, family, recreation, creativity, spirituality, health, etc. In our time together, I use various techniques, tools, and practices to find the most resonant and true answers for you now.
Map of Now Workshop
Map of Now is a unique and exciting collaboration between renowned painter Johanna Reynolds and certified coach Sara Smeaton, blending the worlds of art, creative expression, and personal growth.
When: Sunday, February 2nd, 2025 from 3:00–5:00 PM
Cost: Introductory offer $165 plus HST.
Sign up for the waitlist to be notified when registration opens.
The Creative Midlife Review
The Creative Midlife Review is a workbook filled with creative prompts and a process for assessing what thoughts, patterns, habits and behaviours you want to keep, tweak, or let go.
It is meant to help you see things from different perspectives so you can take stock and move forward with intention.
Download your copy now and start working through it. If you want to meet to deepen what you’ve learned you can book a private session.
This 46-page digital workbook costs $29.
Resources
Podcasts & Press
Sara is one of the go-to thought leaders on midlife. Listen to her various podcast guest appearances and read the articles she's been featured in.
Unearth the answers to your midlife questions
The answers are closer than you might think.
Midlife Manifesto
This is my stake in the ground for what I believe is true about midlife. If it resonates with you, print and post it somewhere to keep you inspired and feeling powerful.
Latest from the blog
Reclaiming yourself: The power of taking off the “good masks” in midlife
Unmasked by Sarah Russell I shivered when I took them off, those masks of forty years — goodgirlgooddaughtergoodstudentgoodwifegoodmother goodgoodgood. I stood naked in a new day. Who was left? Could I find her? Would I love her? Would anyone? I set out to build a woman without masks. It took a while. I lost people […]
Midlife creativity: Finding inspiration in everyday choices
Midlife can be a period of profound self-discovery if you let it be. It’s also a time that has the potential to be creatively robust even if you’ve never thought of yourself as creative. I think for many, this call to creativity stems from a desire to make meaning and connections. For some people, midlife […]
Adding “life layers” in midlife
One summer, I was sitting alone on the dock at a cottage and looking around at the lake, the beach, and the landscaping on the property thinking about what made it so pleasing to my eyes. A single word popped into my head: layers. Layers add complexity, variety, depth, and interest. It’s how we express […]