Rewriting Your Story: Reinvention, Identity & The Next Chapter with Ellen Baker

What if the key to changing your life wasn't burning it down — but making a small edit to the story you've been telling yourself about who you are?This week I'm sitting down with Ellen Baker, novelist and founder of Next Chapter Studio, and this conversation is one I know you're going to want to come back to. Ellen's own life is a masterclass in reinvention: she landed a two-book deal with Random House at 30, blew up her life anyway, moved across the country, and ultimately found her way back to herself — and to publishing in a major way with her novel The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson.Now she's channeling everything she's learned from writing complex, layered fictional characters into coaching women through their own reinvention — and the framework she's built is genuinely unlike anything I've heard before.In this episode we talk about:Why so many women in midlife feel like their only options are "burn it all down" or stay stuck — and what's actually possible in betweenThe "building" analogy that completely reframed how I think about changeHow Ellen uses the tools of fiction writing (yes, really) to help women identify and rewrite the hidden beliefs that are quietly running their livesThe most common stories women carry — "I must be quiet," "I must follow the rules" — and how to start unwiring themWhy midlife might actually be the moment women finally stop outsourcing their own authorityEllen's new novel Summerland Cove (out June 2nd!) and what draws her to writing women's stories across generationsWhat she's stopped apologizing for — and why it goes all the way back to kindergartenBooks mentioned:The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker - get it hereSummerland Cove by Ellen Baker - pre-order hereConnect with Ellen:Website & novels: EllenBakerNovels.comNext Chapter Studio: EllenBakerNovels.com/studioSummerland Cove Spotify playlist Connect with The Midlife Edit:Instagram: @thejenweinsteinTikTok: @thejenweinsteinNewsletter: The Backstage Pass - join here! Website: themidlifeeditco.com