Between Youth and Crone is THE EMPRESS & Alisa Kennedy Jones
Meet Alisa Kennedy Jones WSG 98
Happy Birthday, Dad! ❤️ Wishing you the happiest and healthiest! I love you.
Onward.
Self check-in: I’ve been feeling pretty scatter brained lately (all the time?). My attention span is teeny tiny. My thoughts are ping ponging all over the place. The good news is that I shook off last week’s issues. Feeling insecure really takes the fun out of a girl. But, like a hot flash, it will pass. We know this.
Last night I took part in
Zoom forum with this week’s Maven, Alisa Kennedy Jones, and I noticed a few things. We all had below the shoulder length hair and we wore it down, not in a pony or updo. Thirteen plus women mostly over 50 took part in the forum. I just thought that was interesting. Are we letting our hair speak for our us? Like “I whip my hair back and forth!” Mutha! Or, “I may be shrinking but my hair is still growing?” Or, “I have trouble remembering things including getting my hair cut?” That was not it because everyone was looking lovely and tidy.There is a sassiness to midlife long hair. Rebellion (not sure it’s that deep)? Is it a connection to youth (probably)? Or, is it a way to evolve from being a sweet little princess to a starfished Empress taking up space (maybe, but not consciously)? I’d say it’s like a lion’s mane, the way they shake their head and their beautiful mane flows and says, ‘oh yes, I am all that you see and what you see is me!’ But, those lions are male and I don’t think we women like that comparison at our age. In fact, it is the opposite. We are female with a vengeance! Or, at least a burp.
For what it’s worth, my hair hasn’t been as long as it is now for many years. Like, many years. I have a lot of hair, but it hasn’t easily grown very long since my early 30s. It seemed to stall out above my shoulders. But, thanks to hormone roulette it seems to grow longer now! Weird! I’m just going to go with it. It’s kind of like my body decided to create a new attribute for me. Like a new friend. Sweet, really. Thank you, Menopause. 😉
What do you think? Is there a message with how we over 50s wear our hair? Do you have a message with your hair length? Do tell! Better to leave a comment so others can participate, too!
MAVEN OF THE WEEK!
Alisa Kennedy Jones!
Alisa has been a wonderful discovery for me and I know she will be for you too, if you aren’t already familiar with her work. First of all, she’s a delight. Second of all, no one works harder. I happen to know she is juggling at least five live projects at all times: Two major blogs and their offshoots with 40k followers: The Empress and Gotham Girl. A TV series (about a tv host with epilepsy - I love her), her next comedic novel Ellery Allbright Goes Dark.
All of this she is doing with the midlife acquisition of epilepsy. She is also recovering from a very near death experience this past November. As a result of a sudden seizure she fell into a coffee table, cut the jugular in her neck and crushed her jaw, while alone in her apartment. A Ruggables shag rug saved her life. Watch the video below to hear her tell that story!
Interview! Please enjoy our chat about The Empress and more!
FIVE STOCK QUESTIONS FOR MAVENS:
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Indiana Jones… but not a grave robber so much as an archeologist-adventurer-professor… but then I realized telling the stories of the adventurers through film allowed one so much more creative license—and I’m very visually driven, drawn to painting and photography, so it made sense. It helped that my father gave me an old Remington manual typewriter and a Super8 camera… At the end of the day, by age 8, I think I was already a writer.
What are you excited about now? Sleep?
What books are on your bedside table?
Kelly Link’s The Book of Love
How to think like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson
Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women
What do you do to relax?
I like to go rowing! I love to walk the reservoir in Central Park.
What category/subject would you add to the Guide?
Hmm… A Department of Dark Errands & Magic?
A RECIPE YOU WON’T HATE! From Alisa
Bourbon Glazed Yams for Thanksgiving
Ingredients:
4 small yams
2 tblsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup chicken broth
Directions:
Peel and quarter the yams.
Place the yams in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until they are just tender but still firm, 20 minutes. Drain well.
Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the maple syrup and bourbon and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly reduced, 15 minutes.
Add the yams and stir until lightly coated. Then add stock and simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
ICYMI
Last week:
Feeling Insecure? It's all in your head 😉
I’ve been feeling insecure all week. I’ll explain why below. I don’t know about you, but when I feel insecure I usually feel blue, and feisty with a big dose of dread. Super charming, basically. Really productive. Not. Just because we are “mature” adults does not mean we don’t experience insecurity. Working hard, consistently at something that seems to …
ALISA’S MENO-HACKS AND WHAT TO AVOID IN HER WORDS FOR THE WSG PREMIUM SQUAD! Coming soon!
That’s all for now, my friends. Whip that hair back and forth, but don’t hurt yourself.
Great round up and ode to the modern day Empress, Alysa. 🥰
I wrote a poem early on in my substack about my hair loss. I’m still looking for the right supplement. I’ve tried Viviscal and Nutrafol. Nope. HRTs are not in my future or my past since I had bcancer and was estrogen positive.
It was great to meet you!
Alisa is such a force of good! So glad you spent time with her to mine that wisdom ore of hers. I especially appreciated her emphasis on the importance of questioning the narrative we’ve been fed, and choosing how to write our own. I’d love to hear more about how Alisa’s narrative evolves living with epilepsy. (I have her book Gotham Girl on my kindle queued up to read just as soon as I finish another one of her recommendations.) And p.s thanks for the mention Alisa!