A Grown Up's Gap Year

Monique van Tulder

How to Runaway, Seek Joy, & other Handy Mid Life Hints.

  1. 3D AGO

    Life After Menopause: Strong, Supported & Informed with Dr Joanna Bruce Womens Health Expert

    Today we’re talking about something that doesn’t get nearly enough airtime: life after menopause. Not the hot flush headlines, not the “is this peri?” panic – but what comes once the immediate hormone storm has settled and you’re looking at your 50s, 60s and beyond thinking: Right. What now? And how do I stay well enough to actually enjoy it?  In this episode of A Grown Up’s Gap Year – The Podcast, Monique is joined by Dr Joanna Bruce, GP and practice owner of Myma Health in Bondi Junction. Dr. Jo has been a doctor for almost 30 years, a GP for almost 20, and now spends much of her time seeing women exactly like us – post-menopause, carrying a lot, and wanting to feel well, strong and supported in the next bit of life.  Together they explore: what Dr Jo wants a woman to know when she’s been told she’s “through it” but still doesn’t feel herselfthe key health pillars for the 10–20 years after menopause – bone, heart, brain, muscle, pelvic floorwhere HRT might sit in the longer-term picture, not just for symptom relief but for future healthwhat not to dismiss as “just getting older” how to tune out the noisy supplement and “meno-washing” market (and what actually is worth spending money on) how to have better, less rushed conversations with your GP or specialist about this phase, including what to bring to appointments and what to ask  You’ll also hear them talk about travel and time-out – what to think about if you’re planning your version of A Grown Up's Gap Year and want your body to keep up.  This conversation is general in nature – it’s not personal medical advice or a substitute for seeing your own doctor – but it is designed to help you ask better questions and feel more informed when you do.  No scare tactics, no miracle fixes. Just clear, evidence-based guidance on how to feel strong, supported and well in the decades after menopause, so the next act of your life.   Additional Resources: Your SPACE PrescriptionFree Weekly NewsletterDear Blokes DownloadableSetting Boundaries That Stick - checklist52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year 📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year. Monique's LinkedIn Monique's Instagram

    53 min

  2. FEB 16

    The Anti-Guilt Calculator: From Mental Load to Real Time-Out and Space for You

    If you’re the one who remembers everyone’s everything – the logistics, the appointments, the emotions – but can’t remember the last time you had proper time-out, this episode is for you. In this Season Three opener of A Grown Up’s Gap Year – The Podcast, Monique talks about the mental load, invisible labour and unpaid work so many women carry, and introduces The Anti-Guilt Calculator – your SPACE Prescription to finally see what you do, name what it costs, and carve out real space and time-out without apology. In this episode you’ll: Turn the mental load into a visible “receipt for services rendered” you can see, share and use as a starting point for change.Use SPACE (Simplify, Plan, Act, Connect, Explore) as a practical, repeatable way to protect time-out in your actual week.Try a 10-minute writing exercise to sketch your next season of life and design one realistic “toe-in-the-water” escape. Additional Resources: Your SPACE Prescription - calculator Free Weekly Newsletter Dear Blokes Downloadable Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist 52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year 📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year. Monique's LinkedIn Monique's Instagram

    29 min

  3. FEB 9

    A Grown Up’s Gap Year, From “I Can’t” to “Of Course I Can": My Year of Choosing Yes

    Hello, for the first episode of season three, I'm going to replay one of our most downloaded, most messaged about episodes to ease you into the year and ask, what about me and what about right now? Season 2, episode 8: If you’ve ever looked around your life and thought, “Is this it?” while simultaneously being needed by everyone, this one’s for you. In the final episode of Season Two, author and nutritionist Monique van Tulder looks at what actually happened when she stopped just writing about A Grown Up’s Gap Year and lived it – running away, coming home, writing the book, and then spending a year saying “yes” to things that made her mildly nauseous but curious: TV couches, radio interviews, speaking gigs and all. Monique shares: how one “Mum got mad and took off” moment became a book, a podcast and a very public experiment in mid-life reinvigorationwhat readers and listeners have done with the ideas – from cruises and retreats to blunt conversations at home and long-service-leave experimentswhy the Sydney Morning Herald comments and Morning Show clips made her double down on solo women’s travel, money, and the mental loadwhat changed in her 25-plus-year marriage when she stopped being the default setting and both partners decided to partner with purposeYou’ll also hear how her new Your SPACE Prescription quiz (the “anti-guilt calculator”) and the 52 Ideas for Your Version of a Grown Up’s Gap Year list fit into all of this – simple tools to help you put yourself back in the picture, whether your escape is a solo night in a hotel or something more adventurous. No resolutions, no 75-day challenges, no pressure to be anyone else. Just one woman reporting back from the field so you can plot your own version, in a way that fits the life you have now. Additional Resources: Your SPACE Prescription - calculator Free Weekly Newsletter Dear Blokes Downloadable Setting Boundaries That Stick - checklist 52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year 📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year. Monique's LinkedIn Monique's Instagram

    37 min

  4. JAN 26

    Ask Why Not You: How Values Become Your North Star

    Hello and Happy New Year. During January, I'm replaying four of our most downloaded, most messaged about episodes. Think of them as a short series to ease you into the year and ask, what about me and what about right now? So we're going right back to the Foundations. Season 1, episode 5: Ever feel like you’re circling the same question - What now? Why not me? - without actually moving forward? This episode of A Grown Up’s Gap Year takes you straight to the compass you’ve been missing: your values. In less than half an hour, you’ll learn how to uncover your 3–5 non-negotiables - the litmus test for every yes, no, and “not for me.” Monique van Tulder guides you through her five-step “Values Lab,” weaving in real-life stories, Joan Didion wisdom, and practical micro-actions you can try this week. Episode Resources & Links: Download: Grown Up's Guidebooks - Core Values List Additional Resources: Your SPACE PrescriptionFree Weekly NewsletterDear Blokes DownloadableSetting Boundaries That Stick - checklist52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year 📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year. Monique's LinkedIn Monique's Instagram

    21 min

  5. JAN 19

    Emptier Nest And Everyday Resets That Work: with Prue Francis

    Hello and Happy New Year. During January, I'm replaying four of our most downloaded, most messaged about episodes. Think of them as a short series to ease you into the year and ask, what about me and what about right now? So we're going right back to the Foundations. Season 1, episode 6: If your house is quieter and you aren't quite sure what comes next - this episode is for you. Mid-life reinvigoration, an emptier nest, and the everyday resets that stick. Monique talks with Prue Francis about naming the wobble, choosing small changes that actually work, and rebuilding connection - fun and supportive. Practical, candid, immediately usable. Why not now? Why not you? Plus, an invitation, to join us at 'A Grown Up’s Gap Year – THE CLUB' (Facebook) to keep the conversation going — plan escapes (big or small), share what’s working, meet some new friends - all to 'put yourself back in the picture'. Prue highly recommends this article: Why growth requires saying goodbye - Ozan Varol. ozanvarol.com/why-growth-requires-saying-goodbye/ Use this program to check in with better eating and nutrition habits: healthwithbec.com/ And if you would like to get in touch with Prue you will find her business details here: Agricultural Consultants. Experts in farm business strategy and growth. instagram.com/agrista.au/ Additional Resources: Your SPACE PrescriptionFree Weekly NewsletterDear Blokes DownloadableSetting Boundaries That Stick - checklist52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year 📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year. Monique's LinkedIn Monique's Instagram

    35 min

  6. JAN 12

    Why More Women Over 50 Are Travelling Solo: And Loving It

    Hello and Happy New Year. During January, I'm replaying four of our most downloaded, most messaged about episodes. Think of them as a short series to ease you into the year and ask, what about me and what about right now? So we're going right back to the Foundations. Season 1, episode 7: Somewhere between society decided women need permission slips to take a breath. If you need it (and of course we don't 'require permission' - our lives, we need look to only ourselves for how to live life fully) “But if a good nudge is required — take this episode as your signed slip." Episode Resources & Links: glamgirlsluxtravels.cominstagram.com/pineapplevillaintrepidtravel.com/au/womens-expeditions Additional Resources: Your SPACE PrescriptionFree Weekly NewsletterDear Blokes DownloadableSetting Boundaries That Stick - checklist52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year 📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year. Monique's LinkedIn Monique's Instagram

    34 min

  7. JAN 5

    Treat Yourself Like a Project: How Small Actions Lead to Big Clarity

    Hello and Happy New Year. During January, I'm replaying four of our most downloaded, most messaged about episodes. Think of them as a short series to ease you into the year and ask, what about me and what about right now? So we're going right back to the Foundations. Season 1, episode 1: What happens when you hit your limit - and run away instead of continuing to ‘run on empty?’ In this first episode of A Grown Up’s Gap Year – The Podcast, host Monique van Tulder (author of #1 amazon bestselling A Grown Up’s Gap Year - The Guidebook for mid Lifestyle. Wellbeing. Adventure) shares the real story behind her eight-month escape, why she left, what she discovered, and what it means to hit pause without burning your whole life down. This is the beginning of a bold, heartfelt season - and a cultural reset for women everywhere who’ve been juggling it all. 👂 Plus: A book reading, a listener prompt, and a surprising note for ‘The Blokes’ Free Resources Additional Resources Your SPACE PrescriptionFree Weekly NewsletterDear Blokes DownloadableSetting Boundaries That Stick - checklist52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year 📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year. Monique's LinkedIn Monique's Instagram

    26 min

  8. 12/29/2025

    A Grown Up’s Gap Year, From “I Can’t” to “Of Course I Can": My Year of Choosing Yes

    If you’ve ever looked around your life and thought, “Is this it?” while simultaneously being needed by everyone, this one’s for you. In the final episode of Season Two, author and nutritionist Monique van Tulder looks at what actually happened when she stopped just writing about A Grown Up’s Gap Year and lived it – running away, coming home, writing the book, and then spending a year saying “yes” to things that made her mildly nauseous but curious: TV couches, radio interviews, speaking gigs and all. Monique shares: how one “Mum got mad and took off” moment became a book, a podcast and a very public experiment in mid-life reinvigorationwhat readers and listeners have done with the ideas – from cruises and retreats to blunt conversations at home and long-service-leave experimentswhy the Sydney Morning Herald comments and Morning Show clips made her double down on solo women’s travel, money, and the mental loadwhat changed in her 25-plus-year marriage when she stopped being the default setting and both partners decided to partner with purposeYou’ll also hear how her new Your SPACE Prescription quiz (the “anti-guilt calculator”) and the 52 Ideas for Your Version of a Grown Up’s Gap Year list fit into all of this – simple tools to help you put yourself back in the picture, whether your escape is a solo night in a hotel or something more adventurous. No resolutions, no 75-day challenges, no pressure to be anyone else. Just one woman reporting back from the field so you can plot your own version, in a way that fits the life you have now. Episode Resources & Links: Your SPACE Prescription - calculatorFree Weekly NewsletterDear Blokes DownloadableSetting Boundaries That Stick - checklist52 Ideas for YOUR Version of A Grown Up's Gap Year 📚 Get your copy of A Grown Up’s Gap Year the book, from Amazon, moniquevantulder.com, bookshops and libraries, subscribe to the podcast, and take the first step toward your own A Grown Up’s Gap Year. Monique's LinkedIn Monique's Instagram

    38 min
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About

How to Runaway, Seek Joy, & other Handy Mid Life Hints.

Information

  • Creator
    Monique van Tulder
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 A Grown Up's Gap Year
  • Show Website
    A Grown Up's Gap Year

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