The Truth About Midlife: Julie Flakstad on Aging, Identity & Starting Over

Julie Flakstad, host of The Midlife Truth Project, joins Stacy for an honest, expansive conversation about midlife's emotional, physical, and cultural realities. Julie opens up about the wave of personal and professional changes that led her to create the Midlife Truth Project—a series of candid interviews with over 100 women exploring the unspoken truths of midlife. From grief and friendship to sex, shame, and reinvention, this conversation unpacks what it means to be a woman coming into her own—again. Julie’s latest essay will be featured in the highly anticipated anthology Midlife Private Parts, set to release June 24, 2025. From menopause and identity shifts to reinvention, loss and grief, this book captures the complex but liberating experience of being a woman over 40. You can check it out here. Julie Flakstad is the founder and host of The Midlife Truth Project, a research-based platform and Ambie-nominated podcast aimed at amplifying the explosive shifts that women experience as they approach and settle into their 40s and 50s. As a pro-aging advocate and passionate about female storytelling, Julie is also the Executive Producer of Her Second Act, a groundbreaking new documentary about midlife. Hello Menopause is a podcast from Let’s Talk Menopause. Produced in partnership with Studio Kairos. Supervising Producer: Kirsten Cluthe. Edited and mixed by Justin Thomas. Artwork by Stacey Geller. Subscribe to Hello Menopause on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you loved this conversation, leave us a review and share it with your community. Visit LetsTalkMenopause.org for menopause resources, expert Q&As, and a symptom checklist. This episode is sponsored by Versalie and Always Discreet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices