Our Approach
Over the last twenty years, we’ve had the deep privilege of working alongside people on the stories that shape their lives. We were in our early thirties when we first began life story work, sitting with older adults who were reflecting on their lives with refreshing honesty — naming regrets, joys, moments of change, and what those experiences had taught them. Listening to people review their lives with courage and vulnerability shaped us deeply. Gifts of wisdom. Gifts of insight. Gifts that have stayed with us.
Midlife Questions
As we got older and entered midlife, new questions began to surface. There were hormonal and physical changes, and deeper emotional shifts too. A sense of reassessment. A desire for clarity. Moments when the ground felt less certain. As we tried to understand what was happening in us, we found ourselves drawn to a rich landscape of literature, research, wisdom, and science about this pivotal stage of life.
Who Guides Us
The people we’ve worked alongside over the last twenty years — and continue to work with — are our greatest guides. Their courage to share the ups and downs of their lives, and the humour they’ve shared even in difficult moments, has shaped our understanding of what it means to reflect, love, evolve, and be released from the old stories that no longer serve us. Their insight sits at the heart of our approach.
Alongside this lived wisdom, we draw on a range of thinkers who help us make sense of the emotional, psychological, and professional terrain of midlife. Jung’s view of midlife as a creative turning point resonates with what we see in our work: a moment to integrate parts of ourselves that have been forgotten or suppressed. Arthur Brooks’ writing on the “second curve” speaks to the shifts in purpose, work, and leadership that many people encounter, and how to adapt in ways that make the most of the next half of life.
We are also influenced by writers who speak to the emotional and relational experience of midlife. Brené Brown’s work on courage, boundaries, and wholeheartedness has helped us understand vulnerability as a form of strength during transition. Audre Lorde’s reflections on midlife — especially her reminder that “caring for myself is not self-indulgence”— capture the tensions so many people feel at this stage of life: the pull between responsibility and self-preservation, and the space between who we’ve been and who we are becoming.
How We Hold the Space
Our approach is grounded in the belief that midlife is not a crisis, but a meaningful turning point — a moment to pause, make sense of the path so far, and imagine the years ahead with greater clarity and intention.
Midlife can feel uneven — hopeful one moment, disorientating the next. We offer a steady, non-judgemental space where you can speak openly, be fully heard, and take time to understand what you need at this transitional stage of life.
“It’s been good to put aside responsibilities and trust that someone else has got it. I feel lighter, clearer, and ready to put my words into action”