You know when you get the very thing you thought you wanted…. and then it sucks? Lucy Pepper realized her fantasy of moving to Portugal, but she was miserable. She was wife to a workaholic husband, a city girl living in the country, an artist who no longer made art. This episode is about breaking free from places or people or roles that don’t feed us anymore. It’s about the courage it takes to grow up and become who you really are. 

#11:  Lucy in Lisbon

Donna Davis switched careers to pursue her dream job, travel the world, spend time with grandkids, and forage for wild mushrooms in the woods. Her life was a midlife success story…until she made a mistake. Today’s episode is about the importance of taking risks, even after you take a wrong turn.

#10: Donna in Wonderland

When I felt I’d started aging faster, I wondered: Should I take hormones? Fifteen years after a landmark study scared millions of menopausal women off the drugs, I found out the case against estrogen is a lot more complicated. Part two in my personal hormone journey.

#9: Menopause Monologues, Part Two

In the time between when my mother went through menopause and I did, the medical advice on how to handle it did a complete 180. So what happened? And what does it mean for me—for all of us—now?

#8: Menopause Monologues, Part One

Three years after launching Midway, I’ve pivoted to a new career, my son just started his senior year of college, and—well, I’m still trying to figure out this new period of my life. That’s what the second season of Midway is all about.

#7: New to Midway? Season Two.

I’ve been dreading my son Miro leaving home for college. Now the moment has finally arrived—and I'm surprised by my reaction.

#6: "You Have To Let Go"

Today’s show is about friendships—how they help shape who you are,  and why they can be so hard to navigate and keep going. 







  
    Midway in the journey of our life, I came to myself in a dark wood, for the straightforward path had been lost. 
  
  — Dante's Inferno



 Midway's Independent Cafe Tour of DC   Producer Barbara Paulsen and Middlebury College Intern Sara Hodgkins worked on the 5th episode—on friendship—in coffee shops all around the district: Big Bear Cafe in Bloomingdale; Open City at the National Cathedral; Tryst in Adams Morgan; and Coffee Nature in Tenleytown. Many thanks to Sara for her amazing insights and wise counsel on how to shape this story!







  

  



  
    
      

        

        

        
          
            
              
                
                
                  
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#5: I Need a Friend

When your kid applies to college, it can feel like the end of your child rearing, the last time they'll need your help, the final verdict on how you've done as a parent. This is the story of my son Miro applying to college, but it's also my own, sometimes frantic, quest to figure out what I’ll do as an empty nester.

#4: Getting In

 My family travels 2,000 miles from Oklahoma to California to witness the drought that's taken hold of the American Southwest and California—and to get closer as a family.







  

  



  
    
      

        

        

        
          
            
              
                
                
                  
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#3: Mother Road Trip

One spring day I woke up on my birthday and realized it was time to quit my dream job. 


































 

  
  
    

      

      
        
          
        
        

        
          
            
          
            
                
                  
                
            
          
        
          
        

        
      
        
      

    
  








  
    Midway through the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wood. For the straightforward path had been lost.
  
  — Dante's Inferno

#2: I Quit

The launch episode of Midway, a podcast about why it's never too late to restart your life.

Midway | Podcast

Midway | Podcast

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