There’s something especially powerful about a woman who doesn’t just rebuild her life, but actually likes the life she rebuilt.
That’s what stayed with me reading Kerry Farrell’s answers. She’s turning 54, she says this is the best season of her life so far, and honestly, you can feel that in the way she speaks. Not because everything sounds polished or perfect, but because there’s a grounded kind of joy in her words. The kind that comes when a woman has lived enough life to know what hurts, what heals, what drains, and what finally feels like freedom.
What I loved most about this interview is how clearly it speaks to reinvention, real reinvention, not the glossy kind people talk about in captions, but the kind that asks something of you. The kind that requires courage, effort, honesty, and a willingness to stop living as the version of yourself other people expected.
And maybe that’s why her answers land so strongly. They remind us that midlife is not a sentence. It’s not a slow fade; it can be the exact moment a woman starts telling the truth about what she wants and actually builds a life around it.
What stayed with me most was the simplicity of her story. Twenty years in one industry: a scroll through Facebook, an advert for a divorce coach training, a decision, and then, a completely different life.
I love that, because it reminds me that not every turning point arrives with some grand cinematic moment. Sometimes it’s ordinary, quiet, easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. But one small yes can still change everything.
I also really felt the clarity in what she says about sobriety, loving her body, and no longer wasting time on toxic family members. That is grown-woman energy. The kind that doesn’t need to justify itself, the kind that understands life is too precious to keep pouring yourself into things that diminish you.
And there’s something deeply moving about her saying she is finally happy for the first time in her life. That lands, because so many women quietly believe they should have figured it all out by now, or that if happiness hasn’t come yet, maybe it never will. But Kerry’s answers tell a different story. One where happiness isn’t late, it’s just arrived through a different door than expected.
Who are you, and what season of life are you in?
I’m Kerry Farrell, divorce coach and Founder of Team Rebuild, an online support group for men navigating separation and divorce. I’m 54, and this is the best season of my life so far!!
What surprised you most about your 50s?
How much I ache if I don’t keep fit! But also that it’s not too late to reinvent yourself if you really want to and put in the effort. I changed from 20 years in waste management to being a divorce coach. I’ve never been happier.
One thing you’ve stopped doing (and you’re better for it):
Drinking alcohol. Sobriety is one of the best decisions I have ever made.
One thing you’re choosing instead:
To love my body the way it is, and to look after it.
One boundary you now honour, no apology:
Not to waste my time on toxic family members.
One micro-decision that changed everything:
Deciding to scroll through Facebook and finding the advert for the training for divorce coaches
One practice that keeps you steady:
Not drinking alcohol
One belief about midlife you no longer subscribe to:
Midlife is not old. It can actually be a door opening to new beginnings, to a better future.
The best thing about being in your 50s:
The realisation that I can finally be who I really want to be. Not who others want me to be.
At 50+, I am…
Strong, I am determined, but most of all, I am finally happy for the first time in my life.
This week, I want women turning 50 to remember:
This is not old age. This is a new beginning. This can be the start of a whole new you. Take every opportunity you are offered. And live the way YOU want to live.
My Note to My Future Self
What I love about Kerry’s answers is the hope in them, not vague hope, not wishful thinking, but real hope. The kind that comes from a woman who has actually changed her life and can say, with her whole chest, that this season is better than what came before.
I think so many women need to hear that. That fifty-something is not too late, not too old, not the end of your becoming, that your body may need more care, yes. That some things may ache more, yes. But that your life can still open, your work can still change, your joy can still deepen, your happiness can still surprise you.
And maybe that’s one of the greatest gifts of midlife. You finally realise you do not have to keep being who you have been just because that’s who other people know.
If you’re following along this week
My Stop: Where am I still wasting time, energy, or loyalty on people or patterns that hurt me?
My Start: What would it look like to love my body as it is, and care for it accordingly?
My Boundary: Who am I no longer willing to let drain or disturb my peace?
My Micro-decision: What small yes could open a completely new path for me?
My Practice: What keeps me strong, steady, and more like myself?
Journal prompt: If this really is a new beginning, what kind of woman do I want to be from here?
If you’d like to be part of the ‘85 Weeks to Fifty' series, or you know a woman whose voice would feel like medicine here, email me at hello@kiransinghuk.com. And if you’re reading this thinking, same, tell me in the comments: What is your takeaway from this interview?
Fifty-something and finally happy for the first time. Not despite everything that came before. Because of it. That’s the part I’m not ready to stop thinking about.