Welcome! It’s so good you’re here.
I’m Patricia, and Life In The Second Half is the name of my newsletter. Why that title for the newsletter? It’s a Jungian term; Carl Jung, the psychotherapist, believed that we live life in two halves, so I’ve claimed the concept for those of us living from around 45 onwards.
I see my Substack as being a place for a community of people who want to learn to live their older years differently from previous generations. If it’s what you want: to be fitter, more active, more in control of your own health and wellbeing as you grow older, to live life more fully, then this is your community.
One of our goals in this half of life, is to enhance and expand our Healthspan - to maintain disease-free good physical and mental health throughout our life. As a subscriber you will receive science based health tips, as well as practical insights and inspiration for living your best life after 50, because I truly believe it’s never too late for us to thrive.
For thirty years, since my forties, I’ve been following the science of health and fitness. Now in my late seventies, I’m fit and well, with no medications other than eye drops for an inherited eye disease. It’s my mission to share what I know about Healthspan so others can live life fully in older age, too.
As a lifelong lover of reading, and an artist, I sometimes also talk about books, art, films, reviews of what I’ve been watching, and just - life. Join me and the Life in the Second Half community on this journey to make the most of every day as we go through life in the second half.
Whether you choose to be a free subscriber or a paid Member, I do hope you’ll join us.
Free subscribers have access to
Newsletter posts:
Essays, articles, reviews, recommendations, suggestions, some in-depth, some shorter, every Sunday
Podcasts:
usually a reading of that week’s post, but sometimes something different
An occasional video
A monthly activity challenge for everyone who wants to be active in our group. Currently 4,000 steps and 2 Exercise Snacks, but they change monthly.
Members of the Second Half Collective (paid subscribers), besides making my writing possible, have access to all the above, plus
An occasional post just for SHC Members
An occasional video, also just for SHC Members, there are several available now.
An occasional podcast, ditto above. In a recent one, How I Uncovered the Truth About My Great-Grandad’s Murder I tell you about my family tree and genealogy, one of the subjects of my next book.
A podcast of my published book Healthy Aging : A Wellness Guide to Aging in chapters, the first one: Introduction and Chapter 1 is available now.
Access to all paywalled posts, including archived posts, podcasts and videos
A monthly chat for the paid community, currently on the last Tuesday of the month.
A Two Week Plan for a Healthy Way of Life pdf download to print out.
A Sleep Guide: 21 Tips for Achieving Quality Sleep. A post especially for Members of the Second Half Collective
My gratitude for your support in helping me in my work to grow this community and help change the social narrative around ageing.
Support independent writing and publishing by getting the annual subscription of just £50.
My Policy on AI
Eighteen months ago I wrote a post on AI and I reposted it last September. I do use AI but I’ll establish at the outset that I never use it to generate any content for my posts. I research and write them, then get Prowritingaid, which is AI, to check for grammar, as I’m prone to writing long sentences without punctuation. Since being on Substack my writing has improved so much, I could probably now do without it.
I also use Claude to generate ideas for Notes. I rarely use unchanged AI generated content there now, but when I’m pushed for time I may let one through. It knows my niche and the content it generates is absolutely what I share, anyway. I believe AI is here to stay so we may as well make use of it without allowing it to damage our integrity as writers, artists, photographers, in other words, human creators.
About Me
I’m a writer and an artist. I’ve written and self-published one book, plus a workbook (see the Book Shop tab on the Home Page) and I have several books in the pipeline to self-publish this year. I paint in oils and draw in pastels, pencil and charcoal. I’m a member of my local art society and exhibit occasionally with them, in the local church.
I have two children, a son and a daughter, now in the second half of life (amazingly to me!), and four grandchildren. My children are chips off the old block as they, too, are committed to their health; we often share new information we’ve learned about some aspect of ageing well. My life in a beautiful old town in central England, with its medieval buildings and a castle, is busy and fulfilled, especially with my writing and researching for our Substack community.
