Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Skylar Liberty Rose. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Skylar thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

After reaching my mid-forties I found myself feeling despondent about aging. I was struggling with the way I looked, and fearful that my best years were behind me. Then I realized that unless I wanted to spend the next half of my life feeling depressed about getting older, I needed to turn the experience around.

I started to get curious about what was really fueling my fear of aging. I began educating myself on what an anti-aging culture is designed to do, and how it impacts our self-esteem. Once I’d begun to recognize how limiting the vast majority of societal expectations are, especially relating to women and aging, I was able to disentangle myself from them and enjoy a freedom I’d never before experienced.

Already a writer and coach for women’s empowerment, I shifted the focus of my work to helping women embrace aging. I can now say I’m more confident at 48 than I ever was at 28. It’s my mission to help other women feel the same.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

In 2019 I was working as a coach, helping women find their courage through creativity. I was also firmly in a creative slump, disillusioned by influencer culture and everything that came along with it. I felt as though I was drowning in a social media sea of posts that either glorified hustle and lifestyles that don’t exist, or were the “faux-vulnerability” variety of confessionals, with all the illusion of authenticity – minus the actual authenticity.

I was 45, in perimenopause and starting to notice some very real signs of aging. My skin was beginning to sag, my hormones were running riot, I felt as though the landscape of my life was changing rapidly, and nobody else seemed to be talking about the issues I was experiencing.

I couldn’t see my story reflected. So I decided to share my own.

In 2020 I began a year long photo documentary diary, A Woman in the World. Every day I’d post a photo and a caption on Instagram documenting the truth about my life. I wanted to create more visibility for women to be seen as we truly are, not how we’ve been conditioned to present ourselves. I wanted a space that celebrated aging, and questioned beauty and body ideals. A space that challenged a culture of anti-aging and the pressure we face to conceal or erase signs of visibly aging.

I also wanted to be honest about how difficult the reality of aging can be. Because it isn’t especially easy to embrace slackening skin, cellulite or huge hormonal shifts. It’s not something we always feel ready or able to celebrate. Especially when we rarely see these experiences accurately represented.

A Woman in the World was all about giving visibility to my own aging process and what that really looked like. The images were in black and white, to symbolize what is usually unseen and to highlight the ways that our stripped back moments are still significant.

The project ended up being featured by the National Women’s History Museum as part of their “Women Writing History” project.

It was a big turning point for me. After I’d completed the project, I decided to shift the focus of my business to help women embrace aging. Now, I provide sanctuary and support to help women move through their 40s and 50s with joy and confidence.

My flagship program, Visible, is an eight week self-paced course that helps women gain confidence as they age. It’s a midlife roadmap and a space of transformation, rebirth and renewal.

My membership circle, You to Bloom, is a club for women in midlife that offers community gatherings, guidance from guest experts, and an opportunity to be part of a circle of women who are experiencing midlife with support, knowledge, inspiration and joy.

I also provide private coaching for women seeking personalized guidance on their midlife journey. Private coaching keeps my clients motivated and accountable and also allows them to move past behaviors and patterns that aren’t serving them so they can start to reclaim their power.

In addition to this, I have a seven day audio course, Spark, which is a journey of self-discovery in the form of daily guidance and prompts.

What’s unique about my work is that I largely work with introvert women. I’m INFJ and I love spending time in solitude but I also thrive on connecting with others. Many midlife spaces are geared towards being bold and living out loud as a pushback against sliding into invisibility. While that’s great (and necessary) this can feel incredibly overwhelming for an introvert who doesn’t necessarily want to take center stage and be in the spotlight.

My work is about offering sanctuary and support for introvert women in midlife in a way that feels safe and nurturing, but also coaxes them out of their comfort zone so they can increase their confidence and experience more joy.

I’m thrilled that I was able to take the uncertainty and confusion of my own experience of entering perimenopause and midlife and create something valuable from it. I’m proud of the community I’ve built and the ways in which the women who are part of it are transforming their lives. Seeing them find the confidence to start new hobbies, begin new careers, launch blogs and websites or embark on travel adventures is incredibly rewarding.

Midlife really is a whole new chapter and we get to shape it however we want.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In October 2021, I started feeling sick and was experiencing balance issues as well as vomiting. The doctors thought I had vertigo, but I wasn’t getting any better with the medication they prescribed. By Christmas, I was vomiting every day and being bounced around the healthcare system.

I had to keep advocating for myself and insisting on more tests. Finally, I had an MRI in February 2022. There was a tumor on my brain and I needed emergency surgery so I didn’t end up in a coma. I had a craniotomy within a week.

The tumor was benign but recovery has been rough. I had to use a walker for a while, and then a cane. The balance issues and vomiting continued post-surgery and it’s taken a lot of work, and patience, to get to the other side. I’m still dealing with symptoms, but I’m more determined than ever to keep forging forward.

I have always believed that our stories matter. Stories are how we’re able to relate to other people. They’re how we connect with one another. Sharing this particular part of my story on social media has been hugely helpful on my healing journey because it’s incredibly frightening to have an experience where you feel like a stranger, not only in your own body, but in your own mind. When you literally can’t look in the mirror because you have no idea who that person is looking back at you. It’s terrifying.

Creativity has always been my rock, my anchor, my reason to keep going, my process to help me make sense of everything I experience. Sometimes that’s through writing, sometimes photography or video. The medium doesn’t matter as much as the desire to create and connect.

When women share our truths and vulnerable moments, we offer other women an opportunity to do the same. We lay the foundations for a world with truth and courage at its core.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I have a relatively small but very engaged audience on Instagram. What I’ve come to realize is that the size of the audience is far less important than the sense of community you’re able to create. I value authentic engagement over follower numbers and interacting with people in a genuine way makes social media a space of true connection, as opposed to carefully curated posts that serve an invisible algorithm.

It can be tempting to follow trends, and sometimes that can be fun and rewarding in its own way, but I think most people are very social media savvy these days and they know when they’re being duped. I never post anything that feels inauthentic to me and I won’t sacrifice the relationship I have with my community just to garner likes.

I’d definitely recommend that anyone looking to start out on social media, or pivot in a different direction, gets very clear on who they’re serving and why. Otherwise you’ll just end up with a chaotic feed that confuses people. Rather than trying to stand out from the crowd, focus on offering value and building trust. And don’t be afraid to ask your audience questions. There’s so much opportunity to get feedback through stories, polls etc. Use the technology available to get closer to your ideal clients needs so you’re better placed to meet them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.skylarlibertyrose.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skylarlibertyrose/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skylarlibertyrose/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skylarlibertyrose/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/skylarliberty
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkylarLibertyRose

Image Credits
Leon Cato Photography