We recently connected with Wendy Valentine and have shared our conversation below.

Wendy, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The biggest risk I ever took was finally deciding to stop living a life that wasn’t true to me.

At the age of 45, I found myself at one of the lowest points in my life. I was going through a divorce. I was unemployed, deep in debt, battling chronic illness, depression, and grieving the sudden loss of my brother. Everything felt like it was falling apart—and honestly, it was. On the outside, I kept up appearances. But on the inside, I was lost, overwhelmed, and uncertain of how to move forward.

Eventually, I came to a moment of reckoning. I could either stay in the pain, repeating the same toxic patterns, or I could take a leap into the unknown and create something new.

Brick by brick, I began to rebuild my life. I paid off my debt, focused on healing my body and mind, and slowly started to imagine a different kind of future. After two years of deep inner work and steady progress, I had saved enough money to finally make a dream I’d carried for years come to life.

I sold everything, bought an RV, and hit the road—without a real plan, just a vision. I wanted to finally pursue the dreams I had long buried: to write, to speak, and to share my story in a way that could help others. I didn’t know where it would lead, but I knew I couldn’t stay where I was.

There’s a quote by Marianne Williamson that spoke to me deeply during that time: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” I started to ask myself, “What if you fully stepped into your light? What would it look like to live as the woman you were meant to be?” I realized that staying small was no longer an option. The greatest gift I ever gave myself was the permission to shine.

Today, I’m the host of The Midlife Makeover Show, author of Women Waking Up: The Midlife Manifesto for Passion, Purpose and Play, helping other women transform their lives. But more than that, I’m someone who chose to walk the path back to herself. Taking that risk changed everything.

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.

I’m Wendy Valentine—author, podcaster, certified life coach. I help women in midlife reinvent themselves and create lives filled with passion, purpose, and play. But I didn’t arrive here overnight. My path to this work began long before I ever coached a client, wrote a book, or spoke into a podcast mic.

Believe it or not, my first love affair with transformation actually started in the kitchen—specifically, a pastry kitchen in Paris. Years ago, I enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu to become a French pastry chef. To document the experience, I started a simple blog called GoWendyGo, sharing daily stories about my time in culinary school—rolling dough, navigating the French language, and giving away pastries to the homeless on my walk home. I blogged every single day. And every day, I fell deeper in love with writing. Within four weeks, I had over 80,000 readers—and this was before followers were even a thing!

One day, a fellow student approached me and asked, “Are you GoWendyGo?” She told me that reading my blog had inspired her to chase her dream of becoming a pastry chef. That was the moment everything changed. I realized that words could move people. My words could make a difference. That experience planted a seed I would eventually return to—one that would grow into the work I do today.

Fast forward to midlife—and my own full-blown meltdown. At 45, I found myself divorced, unemployed, in debt, battling chronic illness, grieving the death of my brother, and asking myself the scariest question of all: Is this really all there is?

But instead of staying stuck, I chose to break free. Over two years, I rebuilt my life—physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. I paid off my debt, healed my body, and saved enough money to pursue a wild dream I’d carried in my heart: buying an RV and traveling the country to rediscover myself. That cross-country journey eventually led to me starting The Midlife Makeover Show podcast and writing Women Waking Up: The Midlife Manifesto for Passion, Purpose and Play.

The work I do now was born from that transformation. I created the products and services I wished had existed back when I felt lost and alone in midlife. There weren’t many resources speaking directly to women navigating the big shifts of this season—menopause, empty nest, identity shifts, career pivots, relationships, and aging. So I decided to build what I couldn’t find.

For women who like to read, I wrote Women Waking Up—a book for anyone feeling stuck, invisible, exhausted, or quietly unfulfilled.

For women who love to listen, I created The Midlife Makeover Show—a top-rated podcast that explores everything from emotional wellness and healthy aging to reinvention and spirituality, with expert guests from around the world.

For women ready to take action, I designed FREEDOM at Midlife—a powerful 7-week group coaching program built around my signature 7 Steps to FREEDOM framework. It’s a step-by-step roadmap to help women rediscover who they are, decide who they want to become, and design the life they want to live.

What sets my brand apart is its heart, its honesty, and its holistic nature. I don’t just offer a program or a podcast—I offer a whole ecosystem of support for women waking up to the truth that midlife isn’t the end… it’s the beginning.

And I walk my talk. I’ve studied with some of the most respected names in the personal development space. I’m certified in Positive Psychology, a Heal Your Life Workshop Leader, a Chopra Center yoga instructor, a Desire Map facilitator, a Master Practitioner of the Energy Leadership Index, and a graduate of the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.

But above all, I’m a woman who’s lived the breakdown and the breakthrough—and now I help others do the same.

What I’m most proud of is creating a brand that reminds women: You’re not too old. It’s not too late. And your best chapter is just beginning.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

At a certain point in my midlife journey, I realized that the biggest transformation I needed wasn’t just in my circumstances—it was in me. I didn’t just have to flip the script on midlife; I had to flip the script on who I had become and who I truly wanted to be.

I was coming out of a painful season—divorce, unemployment, debt, depression, chronic illness, and the death of my brother. I was emotionally drained, physically exhausted, and spiritually disconnected. But the turning point came when I stopped waiting to feel better and started choosing to become better.

The #1 thing I did to build resilience and rediscover my power was this: I became my own best friend. That meant watching the words I said to myself. Honoring my body. Choosing who and what I allowed into my life—and what I needed to release.

I made a conscious decision to design a new version of myself—one who was strong, courageous, and unstoppable. And every single morning, as I placed my feet on the floor, I made a powerful choice: to act like the woman I wanted to become. Even when I didn’t feel brave, I showed up as brave. Even when I doubted myself, I moved forward anyway. That daily decision to override the old, scared Wendy and step into the new, empowered Wendy—that’s what changed everything.

People often ask how I became so courageous, and my answer is always the same: by taking action. No one hands you a jar of courage. You have to fill it yourself—one brave choice, one honest moment, one aligned step at a time. Every action I took, no matter how small, became a deposit in my courage bank. And over time, those deposits transformed me.

That’s what resilience is to me. It’s not about being fearless—it’s about deciding that your dreams and your future matter more than your fear. It’s about becoming the woman you were always meant to be—and loving her every step of the way.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes—my mission is to help women at midlife wake up to their power, rewrite the narrative of who they think they are, and design a life filled with passion, purpose, and play.

For far too long, midlife has been painted as a slow fade—a time when women are told to quiet down, settle in, and shrink back. But I believe midlife is the exact opposite. It’s a bold invitation to reinvent yourself, reclaim your voice, and finally become the woman you were always meant to be.

Everything I create—from my book Women Waking Up, to The Midlife Makeover Show podcast, to my coaching programs—is designed to support women who feel stuck, lost, or disconnected. I know that feeling, because I lived it. And I also know what’s possible on the other side of it.

I want women to know they’re not alone. That they’re not broken. And that it’s not too late to create a life they love. My goal is to provide tools, inspiration, and community for women ready to say “yes” to themselves—sometimes for the very first time.

At the heart of it, my creative journey is about transformation. It’s about lighting the path for others while continuing to walk it myself—with honesty, joy, and an open heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wendyvalentine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendy_valentine_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellowendyvalentine/
• Other: Substack: https://wendyvalentine.substack.com

Image Credits

All pictures by Lisa Kathan