Brash Midlife

pamradtkerussell

The Secret to a Happy Life? Friendship.

There was almost nothing I used to dread more than filling out the “emergency contact” on school and medical forms. This contact, the...

pamradtkerussell

Giving up Old Music in Search of a New Life

My music tastes stagnated when I was in my 20s. For the last 30 years I’ve been listening to versions of the same things: New Orleans...

pamradtkerussell

Life is Not a Race. Maybe it's Time to Readjust Your Route

Everything I need to know about life I learned from bike riding. (lesson no. 1) I love to ride my bike. Hurtling down hills, taking...

pamradtkerussell

Never Let Them See You Cry. They Might Think You're Human.

I cry everyday. Sometimes more than once. It may not be for hours, or even for minutes, but tears fall. And when they do, it allows me to...

pamradtkerussell

Leaning into the Discomfort of Midlife

The past few months have been … well, uncomfortable. Sure, we had Hurricane Ida, an evacuation to my ex-in-laws and came home to a messy...

pamradtkerussell

Twitter Made Me Angry, and I'm Not Sad About it

Illustration courtesy of Alan Berning/Flicker I’m angry y’all. Downright pissed. Anger is an emotion I have long denied. I have gotten...

pamradtkerussell

I am Not Weak, I am Human: Being Emotional in the Aftermath of Hurricane Ida

Unflappable. For years the adjective was my badge of honor. It was my answer to the interview question: “Why should we hire you?” Because...

pamradtkerussell

In New Orleans, Waiting Out Hurricane Ida and an Unfortunate Anniversary

(Originally published in Roll Call in 2015) It’s an incredibly rare 73-degree August morning here. The stately live oaks stand out...

pamradtkerussell

Being Done, Letting Go and Moving on

When I first arrived at my self-selected writer’s retreat in Mississippi, I thought I had found a second home of sorts. I imagined coming...

Welcome to Brash. Stories about living a full, meaningful life in midlife or at any age.