After 30 Years of Being A News Anchor, Menopause Is My Most Important Story

For years I thought I knew what midlife would feel like. I thought it meant slowing down, fading out, or stepping aside. What I didn’t expect was that it would turn out to be the most purposeful chapter of my life.

Yes, the hot flashes and sleepless nights were real. The brain fog was beyond frustrating. But something else happened at the same time: I started to see my life differently. I started asking myself, “What do I actually want next?”

I had spent decades in front of a camera, anchoring the evening news in New York City. My life ran on deadlines and adrenaline. My identity was built around being composed and in control, the calm voice when everything else was breaking. So when my body began to change, it felt like betrayal. I didn’t recognize myself physically or emotionally, and I wasn’t sure where to turn.

What I’ve learned since then is that menopause doesn’t erase you. It reveals you.

Longevity, for me, stopped being about how long I live and became about how fully I live. It’s not about chasing youth. It’s about using this stage to feel strong, purposeful, and deeply alive.

Yes, our hormones shift. And do they ever. Our priorities shift. But so does our awareness. And that awareness gives us the power to make choices that serve us. We start to move, eat, rest, and work in ways that sustain us. We start to protect our bones, our hearts, and our minds.

When I stepped away from the anchor desk two years ago after a 30-year career as a journalist, I didn’t know what would come next. What I did know was that I wanted to tell a different kind of story, one that mattered to women like me who felt unseen, unheard, or unprepared for what midlife was bringing.

That decision led to the most important work of my life: The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause. With screenings in 1,000 cities so far and 43 countries, I am now working on my next film, The M Factor 2: Before The Pause (coming March 2026).

Walking away from a career I loved was never part of the plan. Neither was getting remarried at 50. But both became the heart of my story. And at 54 years old, I am once again reminded that life is not a straight line and that the parts of our story we never planned for often turn out to be the ones that define us.

There’s a freedom that comes with this chapter of life, the moment you realize you no longer have to meet anyone else’s expectations.

The roles we’ve carried for decades start to fall away, and suddenly we can see ourselves clearly again. We are no longer defined by what we’ve lost but by what we’re still capable of creating.

Women everywhere are proving that every day. They’re launching companies, finding love, lifting weights, going back to school, traveling solo, and speaking up for their health in ways the world can no longer ignore.

I’ve told thousands of stories over my career, stories that unfolded without a moment’s notice and stories that impacted all of us at the same time. But this one, the story of women in menopause, is the most important of my life.

Because it’s not just my story. It’s our story.

We’ve been taught to stay silent, to hide the signs of aging, to downplay what we’re going through. But when we start talking, when we start demanding better, when we start owning our power, that’s when real change begins.

If you’re in the middle of this transition and wondering who you are now, I want you to know this: you are not fading out. You are coming into focus.

I invite you to embrace change as your greatest teacher and to create the life you’ve always wanted, starting right now.

Because you are not done. You are unfinished. And trust me, that is the most powerful place to begin.

What more? Visit our peri/menopause+ guide for all the latest research and support for this phase of life.