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. 11h ago

    Who Decided You Were Behind?

    Who decided I was behind? If you've ever looked around and thought... "Everyone else seems further ahead than me." This episode is for you. This week, I'm unpacking something I've been quietly carrying myself: the feeling that somehow I'm behind. Behind financially. Behind professionally. Behind compared to everyone else who seems to have life figured out. But after an honest conversation with my sister about saving for our kids' college—and realizing the story I'd been telling myself wasn't even true—I started asking a different question: Who decided I was behind in the first place? In this episode, we talk about the invisible timeline so many of us are measuring ourselves against, why comparison is usually based on stories we've created, and why what feels like failure is often grief for the life we imagined we'd have by now. We talk about:  Why so many women feel like they're "behind" in midlife  The invisible timeline we've inherited without realizing it  The vulnerable conversation I had about college savings and the assumptions I was making  Why comparison is almost always based on incomplete information  The difference between failure and grief  Learning to stop measuring your life against someone else's highlight reel  A simple question to ask the next time comparison creeps in A question to take with you: The next time you catch yourself thinking someone else is further ahead... Ask yourself: "Do I actually know that's true?" Because maybe... You're not behind at all. Maybe you're exactly where you're meant to be. If this episode resonated with you, I'd love to hear from you. Come find me on Instagram and tell me: When have you felt "behind"... only to realize you were comparing yourself to a story you'd made up? And if you know another woman who needs this reminder today, send her this episode. Because none of us were meant to carry midlife alone. 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. Aug 12

    Ep. 21 - Five People Live in My Head (And Maybe They Live in Yours Too)

    Have you ever felt like your brain has 27 tabs open before you've even had your first cup of coffee? One minute you're thinking about your body. The next it's your kids. Then money. Then your parents. Then retirement. Then your marriage. Then the question that never quite goes away... Who am I now? This episode was inspired by something a friend texted me: "I think five people live in my head sometimes."I haven't stopped thinking about it since. In this episode, we're talking about the invisible mental load so many midlife women carry—and why it feels like we're constantly juggling everyone else's needs while quietly wondering what's happened to ourselves. If you've ever thought... Why am I so overwhelmed all the time?Why can't I seem to focus anymore?Why do I feel exhausted before my day has even started?Am I the only one carrying all of this?...this conversation is for you. In this episode, we talk about: Why "five people live in my head" perfectly describes midlife.The invisible mental load women carry every single day.Why so many of us think something is wrong with us when we're actually navigating a massive life transition.The identity shift nobody prepared us for.Why the question "Who am I now?" may be the quietest—and most important—voice in your head.Most of all, I hope this episode reminds you of one thing: You are not the only one. Mentioned in this episode ✨ Join the Not Done Yet community: https://rachelaperry.com/notdoneyet ✨ Ready to stop carrying it all alone? Book a Not Done Yet Session: https://rachelaperry.com/session If this episode resonated with you, I'd love it if you shared it with another woman who's been carrying more than she lets on. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can hear is simply... "Same." 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. Aug 5

    Ep. 20 - The Voice That Says You're Not Enough (And Why Midlife Is Calling Its Bluff)

    Rachel's parents are downsizing, and they just handed her a manila folder full of old report cards. Reading them out loud cracked open a story she didn't know she was still carrying: one teacher's comment, repeated year after year, that quietly followed her into every business she's ever built. In this episode: The report card folder that cracked open a revelationThe same two comments, written by one teacher, six years runningWhy she was a C student who felt clueless, and what she wonders about it nowThe familiar voice that shows up every time she puts herself out thereHow it connects to last week's episode on not choosing herselfWhy none of it had to be malicious to become part of her identityAn awkward moment at a party when someone said they'd listened to the podcastThe comparison habit almost all of us are still carryingBurning the folder, and what her mom said about itWhat "not working up to your potential" even means, and who decides thatHow her own struggle helped her catch her kids' learning differences earlyA message from her old orchestra teacher that flipped her perceptionThis week's question: whose voice are you still trying to prove wrong?Connect with Rachel: Website: rachelaperry.comInstagram: @rachelaperryTikTok: @rachelaperryIf this one hit close to home, send it to a woman in your life who's still trying to prove someone wrong. 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. Jul 29

    Ep. 19 - Why You Keep Circling the Same Dream

    This one gets a little woo, and I'm not sorry about it. I've been doing deep subconscious work lately, and something came up that genuinely surprised me. I thought I was choosing myself. Turns out, on a much deeper level, I wasn't. This episode is me being fully transparent about what I found, why it matters, and how it might be showing up in your life too. In this episode: The energy work that led me to a truth I did not see coming, that I wasn't actually choosing myselfWhy my business went quiet right when I knew what I was offering was life changing, and what I realized was really going on underneathThe difference between the surface level want and the underground belief, and why the belief almost always winsReal patterns I'm seeing over and over in Spark Reviews, the woman who wants to write a book but fears no one will read it, the woman who keeps finding reasons not to postWhere these deeper beliefs actually come from, and why they're not weakness, they're protectionMy client Linda and the courage it took her to finally write her bookThe simple daily practice I'm doing to retrain my brain that I am worthy of being chosen, and a challenge for you to do it with meIf this is you, I would love for you to share this episode with another midlife sister who needs to hear it. And if you've got two minutes, a review means more to me than you know. 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. Jul 22

    Ep. 18 - Men Could Never (And Other Truths About Midlife Women)

    This episode almost didn't happen the way you're hearing it. I scrapped the first recording after a rough weekend and came back with something more real. It's a love letter to every midlife woman doing more than anyone gives her credit for, and a reminder that showing up in the middle of the chaos is its own kind of superpower. In this episode: The funk I couldn't explain on Thursday, and the honest conversation I had with Mark that followedWhy "is it hormones or is it just life" might be the most common question in midlife, even on HRTWhat happened when I went looking for inspiration in the magazine aisle at Barnes & NobleThe Helen Mirren quote that stopped me mid-page (aging versus the alternative)The menopause symptom list that made me think "men could never," and why that's not a hate men momentMy friend who just closed a 20 year fitness studio, and what that ending is actually the beginning ofWhy midlife women are the superheroes of their own stories, and it's time we said it out loudIf this episode hit something in you, send it to a midlife woman who needs to hear it today. Because sister, you are not done yet. 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. Jul 15

    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

  7. 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

  8. 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

See All (22)

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

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.

Information