The day I dropped my daughter off at college, everything changed. I gave her a kiss, said goodbye, and got on the plane with a pit in my stomach. That moment marked the start of a quiet I wasn’t ready for and a chapter I didn’t quite know how to begin.

If you’re navigating an empty nest, feeling the stretch of a big life transition, or just wondering where you fit into this next season, you’re not alone.

In this solo episode, I’m sharing what it really felt like to come home to a quiet house and a full heart. As a midlife mom and life coach, I’ve spent years helping others through change, but this time, I had to walk through it myself. I’ll take you inside those early emotional days, and the slow, honest process of creating a new chapter that feels like mine.

You’ll hear the messy, real parts of the journey, along with what helped me come back to myself in the process. It’s a story of grief, yes, but also of self-discovery, reflection, and small steps toward intentional living.

Here’s what I’m sharing:

• The raw emotions I felt coming home to an empty house
• The quiet fears I had about my marriage and identity
• How I gave myself permission to feel everything without rushing to fix it
• A journaling practice that helped me reconnect with my desires
• How I use Sunday planning to support my mental wellness and structure my week
• Simple ways I started creating joy again (on my terms)
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If you’re in this season too where everything feels unfamiliar and tender, I hope this episode gives you comfort and a few gentle tools to help you move forward. You don’t have to figure it all out at once. You just have to start where you are.

To the beauty of this new chapter,

Allison

Want to be a guest on the show? Apply to share your story.

Connect with me:

Website: https://www.lifecoachallisongoldberg.com

Email: navigatingthelaunch@gmail.com

Can you believe it? Forty episodes in! In this milestone episode of Life After Launch, I'm taking a moment to look back at this beautifully complicated empty nest chapter and share everything I’ve learned about midlife reinvention, emotional well-being, and designing a life of intentional living after the kids leave.

This season of life is full of contradictions: joy and grief, freedom and uncertainty, self-discovery and letting go. I open up about what this transition has truly taught me and the quiet power of giving ourselves permission to evolve.

We talk about how strange it feels to not know every detail of our kids’ lives anymore, and how to find peace (and even joy) in that space. We also dive into what it really means to design this next phase of your life with intention—not by accident or default, but on purpose.

If you've been feeling the tug between who you were as a parent and who you’re becoming now, this one's for you. Because the truth is: this next chapter isn't just about our kids launching—it's about us launching, too.

Listen in and find out everything I have learned about midlife self-discovery while everything continues to change during the empty nest. Here's to the next 40 episodes!

Connect with Life Coach Allison Goldberg

Want to be a guest on the show? Apply to share your story

Find out more about empty nest coaching here, or shoot me an email: https://www.lifecoachallisongoldberg.com

navigatingthelaunch@gmail.com

The kids are grown, the calendar’s a little more open, and suddenly the mirror feels like it’s asking bigger questions. Stepping into midlife can bring unexpected reflections on who you are beyond parenting, or who you thought you were supposed to be.

In this episode, we’re joined by our guest, Cecilia (aka Silver Sister), a midlife creator whose viral TikToks about embracing her gray hair and growing into her truth have sparked powerful conversations about self-image, self-worth, and what it really means to age on your own terms.

We explore how letting go can look like choosing not to color your hair, releasing the need for validation, and challenging the idea that aging makes you irrelevant. Cecilia opens up about her journey from hiding to authentic living, and how the process of choosing herself has been both a personal challenge and a form of emotional healing.

We also get into:

• What the empty nest season can reveal about long-ignored parts of yourself
• How beauty standards shape the way women over 50 see themselves
• What it’s like to silence the inner critic and practice radical self-love
• Why personal growth sometimes starts with something as simple as going for a walk
• How shifting your mindset around natural aging can unlock a different kind of freedom

If you're navigating change, craving clarity, or simply tired of feeling like you have to apologize for growing older, this episode is a gentle nudge toward a richer, freer version of you.

To the beauty of this new chapter,

Allison

Want to be a guest on the show? Apply to share your story.

Connect with me:

Website: https://www.lifecoachallisongoldberg.com

Email: navigatingthelaunch@gmail.com