Welcome to Life Branches
Your midlife crisis is actually a midlife awakening. Here’s how to stop surviving it and start designing it.
You didn’t see it coming.
One day you’re checking all the boxes—partner, career, kids, the life you thought you wanted. The next, you’re sitting in your car in a parking lot wondering who the hell you are and what you’re doing with your life.
The promotion went to someone younger. The kids moved out and took all the noise with them. Your body doesn’t work the way it used to. Your friends don’t get it. And everyone keeps telling you this is “just a phase.”
But it doesn’t feel like a phase.
It feels like an earthquake. And you’re standing in the rubble, trying to figure out what to rebuild—and whether you even want to rebuild the same life you had before.
Here’s what I know: You’re not broken. You’re breaking open.
And that’s exactly why you’re here.
Whatever brought you here, I'm glad you found me.
Why subscribe?
I’m Ellen Scherr—therapist, life coach, and professional translator of “what the hell is happening to me” into “oh, that’s actually completely normal.”
For over two decades, I’ve worked with women navigating the messy middle of life. The ones who’ve done everything “right” and still feel lost. The high-achievers who suddenly can’t get out of bed. The smart, capable women who wake up one day and realize they’ve been living someone else’s life.
This newsletter is for you if you’re tired of:
Generic “self-care” advice that feels like a bandaid on a bullet wound
Positive thinking that ignores the very real grief of who you used to be
Being told to “just be grateful” when your whole identity is shifting
What you’ll find here instead:
Real talk about cognitive distortions, fear, anxiety, and the psychological patterns keeping you stuck, explained like I’m texting you from my sofa.
Practical tools you can actually use.
Permission to grieve the old life while building the new one (both things can be true).
And the occasional reminder that yes, you can reinvent yourself at 45, 55, 65, or 75—and no, it’s not too late, you’re not too old, and you’re definitely not crazy.
What we'll explore together
Midlife transitions that feel like earthquakes
Divorce recovery and rebuilding your identity from scratch
Navigating menopause with clarity and self-compassion
Career reinvention after layoff, burnout, or retirement
Redefining Your Purpose when you've spent decades being everything to everyone else
What is Life Branches about?
Life Branches is where psychology meets real life—specifically, your real life in the middle of a major transition.
This isn’t your typical “10 ways to practice gratitude” newsletter. (Though gratitude is fine. It’s just not going to rebuild your identity after divorce.)
Here’s what you’ll actually get:
The psychology behind why you feel stuck — not surface-level tips, but the actual cognitive patterns and schemas keeping you in loops you can’t seem to break.
Frameworks that cut through the mental fog — when your brain is screaming “I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT,” you need structure, not more options. I’ll give you the questions that actually matter.
Honest stories from the therapy room (anonymized, obviously) — because sometimes you just need to know you’re not the only one who cried in Target because the leggings you wanted weren’t available in your size.
This is for women who are done pretending they have it all figured out and ready to actually figure it out, one messy, honest, strategic step at a time.
No toxic positivity. No “just deal with it.” No advice that requires you to quit your job.
Just clarity, compassion, and a roadmap forward when everything feels like chaos.
My story
At 46, life handed me what I thought was a second chance. I enrolled in graduate school to become a mental health therapist. A bold midlife pivot that was both terrifying and necessary.
Two weeks into my new journey, the universe decided to test my commitment in a brutal way: my marriage collapsed like a cheap umbrella in a thunderstorm.
Picture this: You're 46. Going through a divorce. Raising a preteen and a teenager. Working full-time. Taking night classes and surrounded by stacks of psychology textbooks. Studying for exams. A heart that felt like it had been fed through a blender. Navigating a body that’s decided perimenopause should be added in for another challenge.
Here I was, diving deep into theories about human resilience and emotional regulation, while my own world was spinning completely out of control.
Those first few months were a masterclass in chaos management. I'd sneak study sessions between soccer practices and parent-teacher conferences, highlighting passages about grief stages while wondering which stage I was in. My clinical skills textbook became my nighttime reading, not because I was dedicated, but because it was the only quiet time I could find after both kids finally went to sleep.
I was learning to help others heal while my life resembled a case study in crisis intervention. Some days, I wondered if I was living proof that the universe has an exceptionally dark sense of humor, or if this was exactly the education I needed to truly understand what my future clients would be going through.
Somewhere between studying trauma theory and living through it, things started to click.
This wasn’t happening to me. It was happening for me.
Every paper I wrote on resilience was about me.
Every case study on recovery, I applied to my own messy life.
I wasn’t just becoming a therapist. I was becoming a new person.
One who had actually walked through fire… and could now help others out of theirs.
Two years later, I graduated with my master’s degree.
The woman who walked across that stage wasn’t the same one who enrolled at 46. She was braver, stronger, and real in the ways that only come from surviving what you thought would kill you.
Today, I sit across from clients who are living their own versions of falling apart. When they tell me they feel broken, I don't just understand intellectually. I understand in my heart and soul.
When a 51-year-old woman tells me she can't see a way forward, I can look her in the eye and say, "I couldn't either. I was there once.”
This is what no one tells you about becoming a therapist in midlife:
Your wounds become wisdom.
Your story becomes someone else’s lifeline.
And your brokenness? That becomes your credibility.
You’re never too old to become who you were meant to be.
Maybe you're 40 or 50 or 57, sitting in your own version of hell.
Maybe you're good at something that's slowly killing your soul.
Maybe you're wondering if it's too late to change course.
It's not.
It's never too late to break yourself open and let the light in.
But guess what? Some things have to unravel before they can be rewoven. Because beneath all of your unraveling, there’s a thread that’s been waiting for you to tug. And when you do, you’ll realize that you're stronger than you ever imagined.
And if any of this sounds like you, even a little, just know: you’re not too late. You’re not broken. You’re right on cue.
My promise
Start by subscribing to my free posts, and take the first step toward a more intentional, authentic next chapter.
Every post will give you something you can use. Today. Right now.
You don't have to have it all figured out today. What matters is showing up for yourself and your goals.
Remember: every small action you take can lead to big transformations. It's okay to feel uncertain or even scared—change can be intimidating. But each step, no matter how small, is a step forward.
Let’s start rewriting your next chapter, your new fresh start, that weird, wonderful sequel you didn’t see coming, that might just be the best part of your life yet!
Ready to stop being stuck and become unstoppable? Let’s do this. Start by subscribing now!
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