Hi there, my name is Beth.

I’ve changed a lot in the eight years since I turned 50.

I got divorced after 28 years, loaded my dog and cat into my Honda to leave Iowa for the Oregon Trail, and then stepped off the corporate management track and — after a site closure — eventually departed the corporate culture altogether.

Being laid off felt like an incredible gift.

Is it a midlife crisis? NO.

It’s an opportunity to begin a life that is now uniquely and simply mine.

• I publish Substack essays about change after 50.

• I excavate tricky memories and even trickier feelings for a memoir project.

• I research where my curiosity takes me -- which right now seems to be with an American heiress born at the turn of the century who chose to live life in a very different way than her society parents intended.

Statement on use of AI

I no longer use AI for anything, although there was a time I'd use it for help with headlines. I never used them verbatim. Now I'm learning to use the time and space of a day or two to clarify how I want to label my essays, instead of relying on AI.