Starting from Strength not Scratch
Building New Path: Reinvention after Age 50
Dear Friends,
I'd been planning to launch this Substack for months now. Like so many of us, I've been finding my footing in this new year, taking stock of all that's changing in the world and in my own little corner of it.
The Current Moment
I live in Washington, DC, arguably Ground Zero for the current wave of federal workforce cuts, accounting for nearly a third of the total. I've been thinking a lot about friends and neighbors caught in this moment and tens of thousands of people I don' know—suddenly on uncertain ground.
Echoes of the Past
Watching this wave of layoffs unfold, I can't help but think back to the years following the Great Recession—when, in my mid-fifties, I found myself suddenly unemployed. My book 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal grew out of this experience – a survival manual for late in life job loss and reinvention.
History Repeating
Now here we are again. This time, I'm 70 plus, closer to the exit than the entrance.
Did you know that more than 42% of the federal workforce is over 50. I don’t have to tell you that finding work when you’ve been let go at that age can be daunting. You're more likely to face long-term unemployment and may have to reinvent yourself at an age when the world would prefer you just quietly…disappear.
Refusing to Disappear
Well, I've never been good at disappearing quietly.
That's why I'm here now—on Substack—finally. Because we need places where we can talk honestly about aging, work, housing, purpose, love, money, and how to build lives that still feel satisfying, connected, and vital, even when life doesn't look the way we thought it would be now.
Looking Ahead
Next week, I'll share more about the journey that brought me here—including how I turned my own "starting over" into a coliving startup for older adults.
But today, I just wanted to reintroduce myself and say hello. If you're feeling a little wobbly, uncertain, or like you didn't expect to be starting over (again), I get it.
Making Our Path Together
Never before have so many of us landed here. Going to have to make our path by walking — side by side.
More soon,
Elizabeth'd been planning to launch this Substack for months now. Like so many of us, I've been finding my footing in this new year, taking stock of all that's changing in the world and in my own little corner of it.
The Current Moment
I live in Washington, DC, arguably Ground Zero for the current wave of federal workforce cuts, accounting for nearly a third of the total. I've been thinking a lot about friends and neighbors caught in this moment and tens of thousands of people I don' know—suddenly on uncertain ground.
Echoes of the Past
Watching this wave of layoffs unfold, I can't help but think back to the years following the Great Recession—when, in my mid-fifties, I found myself suddenly unemployed. My book 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal grew out of this experience – a survival manual for late in life job loss and reinvention.
History Repeating
Now here we are again. This time, I'm 70 plus, closer to the exit than the entrance.
Did you know that more than 42% of the federal workforce is over 50. I don’t have to tell you that finding work when you’ve been let go at that age can be daunting. You're more likely to face long-term unemployment and may have to reinvent yourself at an age when the world would prefer you just quietly…disappear.
Refusing to Disappear
Well, I've never been good at disappearing quietly.
That's why I'm here now—on Substack—finally. Because we need places where we can talk honestly about aging, work, housing, purpose, love, money, and how to build lives that still feel satisfying, connected, and vital, even when life doesn't look the way we thought it would be now.
Looking Ahead
Next week, I'll share more about the journey that brought me here—including how I turned my own "starting over" into a coliving startup for older adults.
But today, I just wanted to reintroduce myself and say hello. If you're feeling a little wobbly, uncertain, or like you didn't expect to be starting over (again), I get it.
Making Our Path Together
Never before have so many of us landed here. Going to have to make our path by walking side by side.
More soon,
Elizabeth