Initiated by Life: A Conversation with Lianne Raymond on Midlife, Mentoring, and the Maturation of Women

From Self-Help to Rhythm, Agency & Confidence in MidlifeIn this soul-nourishing episode of The Midlife Ripening Podcast, I’m joined by my longtime coach and mentor, Lianne Raymond—a life poet and a deeply wise guide for what it means to grow into our fullest potential.Lianne invites us to rethink midlife as a sacred initiation offered by life itself. We talk about menopause, matriarchy, mentorship, and the cultural hunger for mature presence. We explore how women can move from self-help toward rhythm, agency, and confidence.Whether you’re navigating perimenopause, questioning your next era, or longing to reclaim your own authority, this conversation offers a balm.If you’re curious what ripening into elderhood might make possible…This episode is for you.In this episode, we explore:What nature teaches us about rhythm, growth, and unfoldingHow nature can be an initiation—even when culture fails usWhy women don’t need to be fixed, and how self-help can keep us smallElderhood, matriarchy, and feeding the village from our harvestThe longer, deeper lineage of coaching as soul-midwiferyBookmarks🍒 “Women are lucky. Nature provides us with initiation, even when culture doesn’t.” — LR🍒 “That kind of presence—where everyone around you feels more possible—is our birthright.” — LR🍒 “I think women have been midwifing each other’s souls forever. We just call it coaching now.” — LRSeed to carry with you: "A Summer's Singing" by Lorna Crozier, from Everything Arrives at the Light (McClelland & Stewart, 1995).Where does that singing start, you know,that thin sound—almost pure light?Not the birds at false dawn or their songwhen morning comes, feathered throatswarm with meaning. A different kind of music.Listen, it is somewhere near you.In the heart, emptied of fear,stubbornly in lovewith itself at last, the olddesires a ruined chorus,a radiant bloody choir.Where does the singing start?Here, where you are, there’s roombetween your heartbeats,as if everything you have ever beenbegins, inside, to sing.~ Lorna Crozier💌 Connect with Lianne Raymond:Follow Lianne’s work at https://www.lianneraymond.com/, or on Instagram, @lianneraymond.🫖 Ready to book a next step conversation with Brooke?https://brookehofsess.as.me/tuscany🫖 Learn more about the 2026 Tuscany retreat: Il Dolce Far Niente: From Overdoing to Overflowing.https://www.vitabellaretreats.com/il-dolce-far-niente-with-brooke-hofsess