When Ann Dowsett Johnston attended her son’s graduation from Smith College she felt a “deep pang” that she says sounded like, “I will die and never have done this.” With her son’s encouragement, Johnston applied to Smith and moved into the student dorm with 25-year olds the next year. “I had broken my ankle and was in a wheelchair,” she says. “I was as old as many parents or grandparents. It was a phenomenal experience.” After graduating Johnston, a Canadian, who had been a journalist, then vice-principal of McGill University, launched her career as a psychotherapist at age 67 dealing with women in transition--”to post-retirement, wrestling with substance abuse or career disappointment”. When she found she missed writing, she dug into a topic she knew well: alcohol addiction (she is now 13 years sober). In 2013, she wrote the best-selling book, “Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol.” Today she runs memoir-writing workshops (“Writing Your Recovery”) in which she encourages women to tell their own stories of triumph over grief, substance, or burnout. “We have book proposals in the alumni group before international agents now,...articles in major magazines... pieces submitted to contests,” she says. “My approach to life is that we live in chapters. When friends are retiring, mine is fresh and inspirational. It’s very new. I plan to work until I’m eighty to pay off my student debt!”
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#243 What if COVID Inspired You to Go Into Business with Your Mother?
#242 Menopause in the Workplace: How To Beat the Stigma (Dr. Alicia Grandey)
#241 From Burned-Out Marketer to Fashion Maven (Ellie Steinbrink)
#240 Reinventing Your Skincare Routine to Feel Empowered After 40 (Nick Gavrelis)
#239 How to Reinvent Your Love Life After 50 (Evan Marc Katz)
#238 How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life (Jann Freed)
#237 A Sexual Assault Survivor Relaunches Herself as a Podcast Superstar (Kelli Moore)
#236 Her Leukemia Diagnosis Led to a Season of Bold Asks (Christina Langdon)
#235 Reinventing After Losing the Love of Your Life to Covid (Maureen Lippe)
#234 A Life-Changing Conversation Caused Her to Reinvent as a Coach (Sarah Fruehling)
#233 Reinventing Yourself After Childhood Trauma (Antonia ”Tuni” Deignan)
#232 How to Reinvent Your Career to Combine Your Passion and Skills (Pattie Siegel)
#231 From Financing to Fashion CEO to Skincare Entrepreneur (Allie Egan)
#230 Reinventing Your Sexual Self After Age 40 (Dr. Candice Nicole)
#229 How to Move Forward When You Feel Like You’ve Lost Your Identity (Anissa Buckley)
#228 Lessons in Reinvention from a One-Woman Powerhouse (Rochelle Udell)
#227 How to Rethink Your Attitude Towards a Side Hustle When You’re Over 40 (Aliza Freud)
#226 How to Hire a Virtual Assistant and Reimagine Time For You (Kristy Yoder)
#225 Her Reinvention Took Her from NASA to Podcasting (Izolda Trakhtenberg)
#224 When Healing from Your Childhood Trauma Leads to Radical Self-Awareness (Poonam Bhuchar)
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