Kaitlin Murphy's Facing Forty, with Love

When Kaitlin Murphy and I worked together 15 years ago in W.W. Norton's publicity department, we were both in our 20s.  She started out as my assistant, which, hordes of survivors will agree, is about as close to boot camp as you'll get in busines casual attire.  Kaitlin actually deserved a Purple Heart - after breaking her finger in the door (no doubt while rushing to make the FedEx delivery cutoff) she went on to type press releases with a bandaged hand for six weeks. 

I have a clear image of her in her office, surrounded by paper, books, jiffy bags, ringing phones, and me in her doorway yelling the equivalent of "Iceberg! Straight ahead!" and her not being fazed in the slightest.  "Here are your media lists," she might have said, saving the day once again.  We had fun, we laughed a lot.  We were young and energetic, with so much life yet to come.


How is it possible that Kaitlin just turned 40?  That would make me...well...how is it possible that Kaitlin just turned 40?  When her latest blog post "To My Forties (from My Thirties, with Love)" came up on Facebook, I didn't want to read it, because reading would make it real.  But I'm glad I did, because Kaitlin brought me right to the reality of midlife, in such a thoughtful and joyful way. 

For example:  "I learned in my thirties what I was oblivious to in my twenties. My thirties sanded rough edges, increased my level of comfort with myself and decreased my level of concern for how others viewed my choices. I figured out what I want and how to walk away from what I don’t."

And although our storylines have differed, our feelings about getting older and what the next stage in life may bring resonate:  "One thing I’m sure of," she writes. "We are not stagnant. No matter what our decade, we are still becoming."

Read her 4 pointers for facing forty with love at her blog Angels and Shipwrecks:  here
And if you're looking for a top-notch writer/communications expert/iceberg-dodger, find her bio here