Stacey Lindsay w/ Chelsia Andreassen, BEING 40

Journalist and editor Lindsay Stacey discusses her new book Being 40: The Decade of Letting Go–and Embracing Who We Are. In Being 40, journalist Stacey Lindsay crafts a new narrative that captures the diverse experiences of women entering midlife today, shattering the limiting stories and acts as a compass for anyone ready to trust their intuition, embrace change, and step fully into who they are. She is joined by Chelsia Andreassen.

An empathetic, practical, and deeply relatable exploration of midlife today—and a field guide to do it your way.

Your forties can feel like navigating a relentless wave of pressure. Questions such as “Am I where I ‘should’ be?”, “Should I be married?”, “Have kids?”, “Switch careers?” often dominate our thoughts. For too long, society has marked this decade as one of decline and predictability. Today, though, it’s anything but. Shaped by thrilling possibilities, your forties can be a time of profound self-discovery. You know yourself better than ever, and are finally ready to let go of the “shoulds.”

Through insights from experts such as Dené Logan, Vanessa Cornell, and Tara Mohr; candid interviews with real women; and her own journey, Lindsay provides a modern, bold exploration of marriage and relationships, living with and without kids, beauty standards, career transitions, and health shifts. Each chapter includes questions and prompts to help you uncover what you truly desire in this phase of life.

Being 40 is a brave and inclusive reframing of what it means to be a woman today, and a compass for anyone ready to trust their intuition, embrace change, and step fully into who they are.

Stacey Lindsay is a multimedia journalist, author, and editor. Known for her empathetic approach, she has interviewed hundreds of public figures and civilians on topics like spirituality, health, civics, politics, identity, art, sexuality, women’s equality, and work. Her writing and reporting have appeared across national and global media. Currently a senior contributing editor at The Sunday Paper, she was an editor at goop and an evening TV news anchor and reporter in the Four State region. As a reporter and anchor, she investigated the veteran healthcare crisis, the disappearance of small-town America, the plight of local factory workers, the rising cost of food, and other stories about humanity. Stacey earned a B.A. in media studies from Emerson College and an M.A. in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is a fierce advocate for women's rights, often mentoring women in the workplace.

Chelsia Andreassen knows what it feels like to arrive at a major life transition and realize the path forward looks nothing like you expected. After 16 years in marketing, she made a deliberate shift as she approached 40, returning to school, changing careers, and rebuilding her identity around what actually mattered to her: health, purpose, and letting go of the expectations she had carried for years. Today, she works as a nutrition and functional medicine practitioner in Seattle, helping women navigate complex health challenges through a science-based, personalized approach. She brings a candid, lived perspective on reinvention, the pressure to have it all figured out, and what it actually looks like to stop performing the life you planned and step into something more authentic.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Elliott Bay Book Company