After more than three decades as a television journalist covering major events around the globe, I came to realize that the most powerful story I could share was my own. In November 2023, I stepped away from the anchor desk and into a new kind of spotlight—one centered on reshaping the conversation around menopause, aging, and women’s health.
It was around age 48 when the changes hit hard. I started waking up at 3 a.m.—soaked in sweat, heart racing, thoughts spiraling like I was running from something in my sleep. My body felt foreign, like it had shifted overnight. And the confidence I had carefully built over the years—on camera, in my relationships, and within myself—began to quietly slip away.
One sentence echoed in my head again and again: I don’t feel like myself anymore.
Since then, I’ve heard that same sentiment echoed by thousands of women. And honestly, it says it all. Even now, in 2025, menopause often feels like a lonely road—something you’re expected to figure out on your own, without guidance, and without a real support system.
This year, more than a billion women around the world will be in menopause. Yet only two-thirds of OB-GYN residency programs report having a menopause curriculum.* So it didn’t surprise me when, after bloodwork and a brief visit to the doctor, I logged into my patient portal and saw a single sentence: In menopause. Any questions? No conversation. No context. Just four words that changed my world. I lost my mom to breast cancer when I was young. We never had conversations about menopause—let alone perimenopause. So when I entered this stage of life, I wasn’t remotely prepared for what it would bring—not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. It started with brain fog and anxiety, but quickly became something more disorienting. What really threw me wasn’t just the night sweats or the restless sleep. It was the thinning hair. The way my body was changing. The sudden dip in confidence. And the overwhelming sense that I—and so many women around me—were going through it without real support.
Because support in midlife isn’t just about what we take. It’s about what we talk about. And what we stop tolerating.
Real support means working with doctors who are actually trained in menopause care—not just guessing their way through it. It means creating workplaces that acknowledge what women are carrying every single day. It means asking how someone’s really doing—and sticking around to truly listen. Most of all, it means building a culture where women are seen, heard, and supported—without having to prove they deserve it. The conversation is starting to shift, but there’s still so much work to do.
I wish someone had told me what was coming. Not just the physical symptoms, but the identity shift, the loneliness, the anger—and eventually, the power. That’s why I talk about it. That’s why I won’t stop.
So here’s my invitation to you: stop apologizing for getting older. Stop pretending you’re okay when you’re barely holding it together. And please—stop believing you have to go through this alone. We’re part of a real movement now—where women are finally saying menopause out loud, without shame, and without waiting for permission. Speak up. Share your story. Because your voice might be exactly what someone else needs to feel seen—and to finally get the support they’ve been missing.
