Not Done Yet: A Podcast for Midlife Women

Rachel Perry
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Personal Journals

Not Done Yet is a podcast for midlife women who know their story isn’t finished. Through honest conversations about reinvention, purpose, and courage, this show will remind you that the life you’ve lived might be the very thing that leads you into what’s next.

  1. 4d ago

    Ep. 17 - The Era Of Me - A Midlife Mantra

    Rachel cracks open the belief that keeps showing up disguised as concern, judgment, or a raised eyebrow: that a midlife woman saying "it's my turn" is somehow too much. It started with a TikTok clip of Michelle Obama answering one question with one word, me, and the eye roll that followed from another woman watching. Rachel unpacks why that reaction lands so hard, why women dismiss each other's wanting the same way they dismiss their own, and what actually happens when a woman finally stops waiting for everyone else's permission to choose herself. In this episode: The TikTok clip that started it all: Barack Obama says "fun," Michelle says "me," and one word gets celebrated while the other gets an eye rollWhy a woman's reaction to another woman wanting something reveals what she believes about her own right to wantMy own confession: the time I judged my brother-in-law for moving to Colorado for himself, and what I had to admit about whyThe double standard nobody says out loud: men get to put themselves first, women get told it's selfishWhere the "selfless woman" script actually comes from, and the story about my mom and the bread basket that says it allWhy breaking this cycle matters for your kids, whether they're watching a mom who puts herself last or one who doesn'tThe reframe that changes everything: wanting more for yourself does not mean you love your life or your family lessWhat I've actually watched happen when women give themselves permission to want more, and it is not what you'd thinkThe line I need you to hear twice: choosing yourself doesn't take anything away from the people you love, it gives them more of youThe question I'd ask the woman who rolled her eyes: what answer would have felt okay to youWhy it's your turn right now, whether you're 45, 47, or 51, and why you don't have to earn it firstMentioned in this episode: Rachel's email list (with a freebie inside): rachelaperry.comNot Done Yet Sessions: a 90-minute conversation to figure out what you actually want, what's been stopping you, and your next step https://www.rachelaperry.com/ndysessionConnect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf this one hit a nerve, send it to a woman in your life who's been talking herself out of saying "me." She's not done yet either. Ready to stop circling the thing you can't stop thinking about? Take the free Not Done Yet Spark and discover your next step. www.rachelaperry.com/spark

  2. Jul 8

    Ep. 16 - Is It Perimenopause or Am I Just Losing It? with Dr. Shannon Cothran

    Rachel sits down with Dr. Shannon Cothran, a board-certified gynecologist who left 15 years of private practice to build Menostart, a direct-to-patient practice designed entirely around perimenopause and menopause care. They get into the real reason Shannon walked away from the traditional system, the messy history behind hormone replacement therapy, and why so many women are told to just take more Zoloft instead of getting an actual answer. Rachel also shares her own story of being dismissed, shamed, and talked out of asking for hormones, and what changed once she finally got a doctor who listened. This one gets into the specifics: symptoms, timelines, testosterone hype, and what to ask for at your next appointment. In this episode: My story: the doctor who wanted to just bump up my Zoloft instead of checking my hormones, and the question my husband asked me that changed everythingWhy perimenopause has over 70 identified symptoms, and how wild some of them get (a hot flash that only happens below the waist, water in your ear, joints that ache for no reason)The wild history of hormone replacement therapy: the book that started it, the study that scared everyone off it, and the data that got walked back decades laterThe truth about testosterone for women: what the research actually supports versus what influencers and a certain PBS documentary are hyping up, and why pellets can do real damageWhat to actually do first if you think you're in perimenopause or menopause, and what's included in Shannon's six-month program at MenostartMentioned in this episode: Menostart (Dr. Cothran's direct to patient practice for midlife women's health): www.menostart.comThe M Factor (PBS documentary on menopause and testosterone)Connect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf this episode hit close to home, send it to the friend who's been telling you her hair is falling out and nobody will listen. She's not done yet either. Ready to stop circling the thing you can't stop thinking about? Take the free Not Done Yet Spark and discover your next step. www.rachelaperry.com/spark

  3. Jul 1

    Ep 15 - Is It Normal to Feel Invisible in Midlife? (Yes. And Here's the Reframe That Changes Everything.)

    Rachel cracks open one of midlife's most disorienting experiences: the moment the world stops noticing you. Not because you've changed, but because the culture has decided you're no longer the most interesting person in the room. In this episode, she names the thing a lot of women feel but don't know how to say, and then reframes it in a way that might change how you move through it. Rachel talks about the grief that comes with midlife invisibility (the grief we rarely give space to), the unexpected freedom on the other side, and the most important distinction she wants you to hold onto when the invisible feeling hits. Fair warning: she also mentions boobs more than once. You've been advised. In this episode: The friend who warned me I'd become invisible in my 40s, and how hard I laughed at her (and then didn't)The three moments that made me go, okay, something has actually shifted: the store clerk, the talking-over, and the thing I almost didn't say out loudThe grief piece we skip straight past in midlife, and why rushing to "liberation" does us a disserviceWhy feeling invisible and being irrelevant are not the same thing, not even closeWhat you've built, survived, lost, and rebuilt that cannot be faked or shortcutted by anyone younger in that roomWhat invisibility actually clears when the world stops tracking you, and why that space might be exactly what you neededThe version of you that becomes visible on the other side of all of this: she knows who she is, she knows what she wants, and she is way more interesting than the one who was performing for everyoneMentioned in this episode: Coming next week: an interview with a gynecologist on all things perimenopause and menopauseConnect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryKnow a midlife woman who's been feeling this lately but hasn't had the words for it? Send this her way. She's not done yet either. Ready to stop circling the thing you can't stop thinking about? Take the free Not Done Yet Spark and discover your next step. www.rachelaperry.com/spark

  4. Jun 24

    Ep. 14 - What Midlife Women Aren't Saying (And Why We Stay Silent) with Katie Pulsifer

    Rachel sits down with master certified life coach Katie Pulsifer for a conversation about the thing most midlife women never say out loud: that the life that looks fine from the outside doesn't always feel fine on the inside. They get into the silence, the guilt, the hollow spaces, and what actually becomes possible when you stop filling them with yes. In this episode: The basement stairs moment: what it looks like to stand at the threshold of a gorgeous-looking life and still not want to walk back inWhat Katie listens for that women aren't saying, and why so many women have never told anyone the truthWhy guilt isn't something that happens to you, it's something you subscribe to (and what you get from staying subscribed)The brain's actual job when you try to change your life, and why it's working against you on purposeWhat fills the hollow spaces once you stop saying yes to everythingMentioned in this episode: Katie Pulsifer: katiepulsifercoaching.comKatie's Get Unstuck Quiz (on her homepage): personalized voice memo response from KatieKatie's Substack: You Are GoldenConnect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf this one hit home, send it to a woman in your life who needs to hear it. She's not done yet either. Ready to stop circling the thing you can't stop thinking about? Take the free Not Done Yet Spark and discover your next step. www.rachelaperry.com/spark

  5. Jun 17

    Ep. 13 - The Confidence Lie Midlife Women Keep Falling For

    Rachel shares a story she almost didn't tell, about a post she almost didn't publish, and the ripple it set off that she never saw coming. This episode is about the difference between confidence and courage, and why waiting to feel ready before you say yes might be the most expensive thing you're doing right now. Rachel unpacks what her sister's story reveals about every woman who's ever sat with a big opportunity and talked herself out of it before she even started. If you've ever thought, "I just need to feel more confident first," this one is for you. In this episode: Why confidence is not what you need before you say yes, and what actually isThe difference between wanting more and being ungrateful (they are not the same thing)What my sister's story reveals about the thing you might be waiting for right nowWhy you don't have to be in crisis or even unhappy to feel the pull toward something biggerWho is waiting on the other side of your courage, and why you can't see them until afterMentioned in this episode: Not Done Yet Session (podcast special, normally $497): rachelaperry.com/podcastspecialConnect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf this episode hit you somewhere real, share it with one woman in your life who needs to hear it. She's not done yet either. Ready to stop circling the thing you can't stop thinking about? Take the free Not Done Yet Spark and discover your next step. www.rachelaperry.com/spark

  6. Jun 10

    Ep 12- Nobody Told Us the Checklist Would Run Out

    Rachel cracks open a reel that's been quietly giving midlife women anxiety everywhere: the idea that after 50, the milestones just stop. Birthdays, graduations, the whole checklist — done. So now what? Rachel takes that fear head-on and names what's actually happening: the milestones haven't stopped, they've changed. This episode is about why "I don't know what I want" is protection, not confusion, and what it looks like to finally step into your own era. Rachel shares a conversation with her husband Mark that reframed everything, two downloads she woke up with that she couldn't keep to herself, and the real reason so many women are circling the same dream for years without ever letting it breathe. If you've been feeling like the exciting part of your life is behind you, this episode is your permission slip. In this episode: The reel that gave me (and probably you) anxiety: "after 50, the milestones stop" — and why that fear makes total senseWhat my husband Mark said over the weekend that reframed everything: the milestones aren't over, they're just yours to create nowWhy "I don't know what I want" is protection, not confusion — and the thing you keep coming back to at 2 am that proves itWhat I'm calling the You Era: the first era of your life where the milestones belong entirely to youThe client with a children's book series, my own scary pivot out of network marketing, and what we both had to stop doing to move forwardThe challenge I'm giving you this week: start dreaming, and name your milestonesWhat my friend said that I haven't been able to stop thinking about: "It's a new chapter. It's scary and unfamiliar, but it's just as meaningful."Mentioned in this episode: Not Done Yet Sessions (one-on-one conversations about the thing you keep dismissing, with a $200 credit for podcast listeners): rachelaperry.com/podcastspecialConnect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf this episode landed for you, send it to your midlife sisters. The ones who are circling something. The ones who tell themselves they don't know what they want. She's not done yet either. Ready to stop circling the thing you can't stop thinking about? Take the free Not Done Yet Spark and discover your next step. www.rachelaperry.com/spark

  7. Jun 3

    Ep. 11 - Why Your Midlife Exhaustion Is Not Just Hormones with Sheri Johnson

    Rachel sits down with her friend Sheri Johnson, co-founder of Midlife Women Rising, for one of those conversations that starts with matching outfits and ends with you rethinking everything you believe about aging, exhaustion, and why you still can't say no. Sheri spent 20 years in corporate, hit 45, and decided there had to be another way. What she found was that the symptoms every midlife woman is blaming on hormones? Go a lot deeper than that. This one is personal, funny, a little uncomfortable, and completely necessary. In this episode: Why 40 can be the year everything happens at once (new house, new marriage, a miscarriage, a cancer diagnosis, a job that expects you to be on 24/7) and why so many of us just... push through anyway.The decision Sheri and her husband made to stop fertility treatments, and the grief, the relief, and the self-worth unraveling that came after.The belief Sheri had to untangle: that mothers are more worthy. And why it is not just a childless-women thing.Why the symptoms you are blaming on perimenopause (the exhaustion, the sleep issues, the constant overwhelm) are actually connected to cortisol, blood sugar, and the subconscious beliefs you have been carrying since before you knew to question them.The three-pronged approach Sheri and her sister Jen use with clients: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Because you cannot supplement your way out of a self-worth problem.What Thomas Edison has to do with why women feel guilty for taking a nap. (No, really.)Why the "I don't care what people think anymore" energy on social media is real for embarrassment, but shame is still running the show underneath.People pleasing as a stress response: why it is not a willpower problem, it is fawning, and your nervous system is in it with you.The quiz that will show you which midlife coping strategy is costing you the most, and what belief is underneath it.Rachel's very honest feelings about her period getting irregular, Sheri's equally honest response, and why "it feels like an ending" is also the beginning of something.The Spanx incident. The stage. The pantsuit. Sheri brought it up and honestly, it needed to be said.Why the word "midlife" makes some women cringe, and what that reaction is actually telling you about what you believe.Sheri's eight-day retreat to Peru and Machu Picchu in November, because some midlife decisions deserve to be made at altitude.Mentioned in this episode: Sheri Johnson and Jen: Midlife Women RisingMidlife Women Rising podcastSheri's quiz, which midlife coping strategy is costing you the most: midlifewomenrising.com/quizPeru retreat to Machu Picchu, November (limited spots): find Sheri @midliferisingConnect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf there is a woman in your life who has been blaming everything on her hormones, share this episode with her. There is more going on. She deserves to know that. She is not done yet either. Ready to stop circling the thing you can't stop thinking about? Take the free Not Done Yet Spark and discover your next step. www.rachelaperry.com/spark

  8. May 27

    Ep. 10 - I Could Never" (And Other Lies Your Midlife Brain Tells You)

    In this episode, Rachel takes apart the phrase that quietly ends more midlife dreams than any other: "I could never." It feels like a fact. It's actually one of the lies your brain tells you, and Rachel makes the case that you're not lacking confidence at all, you're just lacking the belief that courage is enough. She gets honest about leaving her seven-figure partnership, the years she spent questioning that choice, and the truth she finally landed on: courage always goes first, and confidence only shows up after. In this episode: Why "I could never" isn't a fact, it's a feeling, and I'll show you the differenceThe thing I used to believe the women "doing the thing" had that I didn't (spoiler: they have nothing on you)What courage actually feels like in real life (hint: dropping stomach, shaking hands, the voice saying nope)The story of leaving my seven-figure partnership, and how long I questioned whether I'd made a horrible mistakeWhy I'm a little Delulu and think you should be tooThe hidden cost of staying stuck, and the midlife exhaustion nobody's connecting to self-denialThe 59-year-old woman who told me she finds it harder to believe in herself than in anybody elseThe one woman in my world who finally posted the thing, and what happened nextThe dark hallway, the light at the top, and why you only need to see one stepThe one small act of courage I want you to do this weekMentioned in this episode: Free midlife conversations Rachel hosts a couple times a month (find out by joining her email list or following her on social)One-on-one chats: a 90-minute session ($497) to figure out where you're dismissing yourself and what's next. Reach out on Instagram, TikTok, or email rachel@rachelaperry.comConnect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf this one hit, share it with a midlife woman in your life who keeps saying, "I could never." She's not done yet either. Ready to stop circling the thing you can't stop thinking about? Take the free Not Done Yet Spark and discover your next step. www.rachelaperry.com/spark

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5
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About

Not Done Yet is a podcast for midlife women who know their story isn’t finished. Through honest conversations about reinvention, purpose, and courage, this show will remind you that the life you’ve lived might be the very thing that leads you into what’s next.

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