The Untold Pattern Behind Women's Reinvention at Every Age

Dr. Jennifer Ashby talks with Grace Kraaijvanger — founder of The Hivery, the Bay Area women's coworking space and inspiration lab — about the restless yearning so many women feel and can't quite name. Grace first felt it at 27, as her dance career was ending; she's felt it in grief and again at 51 as an empty-nester. Out of that "wrestling" came The Hivery and a mission to elevate the voices of women. Together they reframe a woman's whole life as an act of creativity: treating your life like a work of art gives you permission to keep working on it — to experiment, and to not have it all figured out yet.FEATURED OFFERSThe Hivery — Grace's women's coworking space, inspiration lab & mentorship community in Mill Valley, CA, plus a digital membership (relaunching this summer) with local chapters. Events open to everyone. 👉 https://www.thehivery.com/ The Energy Prescription — Dr. Jennifer Ashby's new Wiley book turning her whole-body approach into a daily toolbox for thriving through perimenopause and menopause. Out October 20th. 👉 Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/13943896635 KEY TAKEAWAYSHonor the yearning — it doesn't go away. That hard-to-name "wrestling" is information, not a problem to squash. "Pay now or pay later." Honoring it can be as small as writing, talking, or exploring.Treat your life like a work of art — even if you don't feel creative. It gives you permission to experiment with "the clay of your life" and to not know yet. As Martha Graham said, "no artist is ever satisfied."Change usually rides in on a "life-quake." Real reinvention rarely comes when things are smooth — it takes a catalyst: layoff, ageism, caregiving, divorce, loss, or grief. The hard thing becomes the door to "who am I on the other side of this?"Confidence isn't required and readiness is a myth. If you wait to feel ready, you never start. Small actions are big: the only way to write the book is to sit down for the first fifteen minutes.Community is underrated medicine. We try to figure out our next chapter alone and blame the laundry — it's not the laundry, it's the isolation. Creative energy is contagious; doing the work in community is a real intervention.TIMESTAMPS (approximate; recording opens with an audio check; also YouTube chapters)00:00 Start04:10 what The Hivery is for05:30 A dancer from age four09:45 The yearning at every life stage15:30 The title lands: Life as Art17:30 Grief as a creative force20:15 8,000 women later24:05 Finding your inner artist when you don't feel creative28:00 why midlife can be the most powerful chapter33:05 Invisibility vs. being seen36:25 Loneliness as a health crisis: community as medicine46:00 The myth of readiness48:50 The thing she almost didn't do 54:00 Radically inclusive🔗 CONNECTDr. Jen Ashby — Website: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/ · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjenashby/ ·YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjenashbyGrace / The Hivery — https://www.thehivery.com/ ·Events: https://www.thehivery.com/events