What you will learn in this episode about:

• How your milestone birthdays like 40 and 50 can affect you
• The importance of curiosity and compassionate with yourself
• How writing a novel can relate to your life
• The story of how this book came to be
• Why being stuck or trapped alone in an elevator with a few other people can be personally revealing and insightful
• How understanding the role of fear and anxiety in your life
• Why this author believes we carry all of our past and future selves with us.
• Why it’s never too late to rewrite your story.
• Why it’s important to start, even if you’re starting small.

Welcome to another episode of the Women in the Middle® Podcast!

Today you’ll discover insight into how writing a book can instigate insight into your own reinvention, especially when it’s about midlife women. My guest today is Jennifer Oko.

Jennifer Oko is the author of four books of fiction and nonfiction. Her memoir Lying Together: My Russian Affair was twice named an “Editor’s Choice” by The New York Times Book Review. Her novels include Gloss, a satire of morning television hailed as “a rare treat” by The Chicago Tribune; Head Case, a comic mystery about psycho-pharmaceutical trafficking.

Her latest novel, Just Emilia came out in June, just a month before her 56th birthday, and she says that the writing and publishing of it has forced her to reinvent herself in ways she couldn’t have imagined. The process required her to be very vulnerable, but in doing so it has opened a whole new world of possibilities.

Her book, Just Emilia, is a darkly comic, time-bending story about three women (a troubled teen, a frazzled midlife mom, and an older woman grappling with regret) who discover they are all the same person, trapped in a Washington, DC Metro elevator and forced to confront an unresolved trauma that has shaped their lives. It’s women’s fiction with a speculative twist (Jennifer says, “think The Midnight Library meets Fleishman Is in Trouble” and early readers have called it “gripping,” “imaginative,” and “a perfect book club pick.”

Outside of her writing, Jen is also a journalist and filmmaker. She is co-founder of Because.Media, a women-owned production company that creates documentaries for outlets such as HBO, Netflix, PBS, and The New York Times. She lives in Washington, DC where she and her husband have recently become empty nesters…well, perhaps we should say open nesting as the two college kids do come back from time to time!

Please enjoy this interview.

Featured in this Episode:

Midlife Doodle-Think™ Club: Slow down with Zentangle-inspired doodling. As a Certified Zentangle® Teacher (CZT), I invite you to slow down and create a space to think. Doodle-Think™ is about a simple, mindful doodling practice for midlife women who want more presence, clarity and confidence; no art skills or creative talent required! Join here! www.doodlethink.com

You May Also Like:

• Ep 404: Permission to Play in Midlife: Why Creativity is Self-Care in Disguise. https://suzyrosenstein.com/podcast/ep-404-permission-to-play-with-in-midlife-why-creativity-is-self-care-in-disguise/
• Women in the Middle Blog: https://suzyrosenstein.com/blog/midlife-doodle-think-method/
• Ep 367: From Accountant to Author of Midlife Stories for Women with Kimberly-Diede. https://suzyrosenstein.com/podcast/ep-367-from-accountant-to-author-of-midlife-stories-for-women-with-kimberly-diede/

Connect with Jennifer Oko:

• Website: www.jenniferoko.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferokoauthor/

Buy the Book, Just Emilia:

• Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/just-emilia-jennifer-oko/c0ac5b204ca71335?ean=9781646035779&next=t 
• Amazon: https://a.co/d/anxStHY

Connect with Suzy

Next Chapter Direction Session  Free: Next Chapter Direction Session: A Private 50-Minute Conversation to Help You Get Clear on What You Want Now. If something in your life feels a little off, unclear, or out of sync…this is where you figure out what’s really going on and what you want to do about it. session, This insightful session is designed to help you see where you may be getting in your own way and how I might be able to help you turn the page on your next chapter! Book Now  www.talktosuzy.com 

Midlife Doodle-Think™ Club: Slow down with Zentangle-inspired doodling. As a Certified Zentangle® Teacher (CZT), I invite you to create a space to think. See yourself and your next chapter more clearly. Doodle-Think™ is about a simple, mindful doodling practice for midlife women who want more presence, clarity and confidence; no art skills or creative talent required! Join here!www.doodlethink.com

Midlife QUIZ: You’re also invited to take the free “Next Chapter Midlife Quiz” to discover if your next chapter is trying to get your attention! It only takes about 90 seconds! You can start the quiz here:www.midlifequiz.com.

Work with Me: Group Coaching Women in the Middle Academy: Learn to start living like time matters…because it does!  The Academy helps you do this in a 12 month group format that includes coaching, community, creativity and connection. Get unstuck and create your happiness blueprint for your future!  Apply now: www.womeninthemiddleacademy.comand book your free call to learn how I can help you find what’s missing so that you love your life after 50.

Private Coaching – Limited Availability. Midlife transformation coaching is the fastest way to rediscover joy and purpose after 50! Regret-Proof Private Coaching to get unstuck, clear and excited about your life again. Available in3 month, 6 month and 1 year options. Powerful results! Flexible payment plans. Book your free, no obligationMomentum Call here

Masterclass: Get Unstuck: Midlife Clarity Fast &Easy: Take this fun DIY midlife masterclass and get clear about your next chapter priorities without spin, confusion and overwhelm in less than an hour!www.midliferoadmap.com

Download Suzy’s eBook: 50 Ways to Celebrate Life after 50: Get unstuck, avoid regrets, and live your best life:www.50waystocelebrate.com and Amazon  

OTHER RESOURCES:

• Free Resources
• Free Monthly Webinars and Workshops offered by Suzy Rosenstein:https://suzyrosenstein.com/webinar/  
• Email your feedback: info@suzyrosenstein.com

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