PROVOKED by susan

10/21/2025

It’s a rebuild, not a rerun.

Confidence after 50 is becoming the woman who knows her worth, honors her limits, and protects her peace.

#50

10/18/2025

Eighteen words. That’s all it takes to capture a lifetime—or at least the part that still keeps you up at night. Our new Minimoir Challenge proves that the smallest stories often hold the biggest truths. From hard-won resilience to late-in-life love to defiance and reinvention, the 23 minimoirs we’ve collected are as diverse as the lives behind them. This season of change is the perfect moment to pause, look back, and distill your own story. Read the collection at the link.

📸: Getty Silver Screen Collection

minimoir, memoir writing, women over 50, women over 60, reinvention, purpose after retirement, life stories, 18 word challenge, self-reflection, life review, storytelling, legacy, personal narrative

Unveil the art of a memoir in 18 words, exploring themes of adulthood, happiness, and the significance of brevity.

10/17/2025

Is pretty privilege a trap? When beauty has been your currency, aging can shake your sense of worth.

Aging with confidence is real beauty. 

Who decided aging is something to fear? Let’s talk about it.

10/17/2025

Dorothy wasn’t just a wide-eyed farm girl in gingham. She was a teen who killed a witch, wrangled three hapless dudes, ignored the man wearing a bathrobe behind the curtain, and just went home. Watching The Wizard of Oz as a grown-ass woman reveals it’s less a fairy tale and more a survival manual for navigating patriarchal nonsense—with better shoes. Follow the Yellow Brick Road called midlife. Read the article at the link.

📸: Getty/Authenticated News/Archives

Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, women over 50, women over 60, reinvention, purpose after retirement, pop culture analysis, feminist lens, movie rewatching, childhood nostalgia, female empowerment, midlife perspective, cultural commentary

Experience The Wizard of Oz in a new light; its themes evolve as we grow, revealing deeper emotional connections.

10/16/2025

“Having it all” was the rallying cry for my boomers. My daughter, a millennial—pregnant and still grinding through 100-hour weeks—calls it what it is: a lie. The myth promised balance but delivered burnout, resentment, and a lifelong juggling act. In this mother-daughter reckoning, we unpack what’s changed, what hasn’t, and why today’s women are done apologizing for wanting both ambition and intimacy. Tap the link to read the full piece.

📸: SFD Media/Feodora Chiosea/Getty

having it all, working mothers, women over 50, women over 60, reinvention, purpose after retirement, emotional labor, mental load, work life balance, motherhood, partnership equality, generational wisdom, career and family

Unpack the reality of 'having it all' through the lens of a mother and daughter navigating professional and personal challenges.

10/11/2025

We’re told to reinvent ourselves in midlife—launch a startup, run a marathon, or write a memoir about doing goat yoga and living in a yurt. But what if you don’t want a second act right now? What if you just want a nap and zero pressure to prove your existence? With sharp wit and satire, this piece blows up the reinvention industry, calls out the double standards, and dares to say the quiet part out loud. Since when did midlife need a rebrand?

📸: SFD Media LLC

second act pressure, midlife reinvention, women over 50, women over 60, reinvention, purpose after retirement, anti-reinvention, self-acceptance, rest, midlife expectations, societal pressure, permission to rest

Debunk the myth of the perfect second act. Should I put my next act on hold? Discover your unique path forward.

10/09/2025

When does generosity turn into sacrificing our own future?

From supporting our kids to giving freely, we pour from our own retirement cup without refilling it.

Let’s talk about generosity, guilt, and guarding our financial independence in the comments.

10/05/2025

We’ve been taught to treat aging like a disease. But aging isn’t the problem, fear is.

At PROVOKED, we’re rewriting the narrative—telling the stories that have been ignored, silenced, and pushed aside. Not just for ourselves, but for the generations to come.

We show up boldly, fully, exactly as we are.

10/01/2025

The world doesn’t reward perfection, it rewards confidence.

Lean into every good, bad, and ugly experience that has made you stronger. That is more impactful than perfection.

Confidence is your superpower.

09/28/2025

Our generation of moms gave it all—we helicoptered, we snowplowed, we sacrificed. And yes, our kids may be thriving because of it.

But when they grow up and don’t “need” us the same way anymore, that ache of disconnection is real.

You’re not alone. Share your experience in the comments.

09/24/2025

Why does book club culture feel like high school all over again? The gatekeeping is real—interviews, ghosting, rejection—all for the chance to sip wine and discuss a paperback.

Have you ever been turned away from a book club? Share your story and join the conversation on PROVOKED (link in bio).