The inspiration for this episode came from writing my bi-weekly email to my list of those of you who have signed up to receive it.

I was thinking about how many of us have yearnings and desires that have been put on pause, pushed aside or forgotten…or abilities, talents and skills that have yet to be discovered.

What are we waiting for? Time is going to keep tick-tocking no matter what, so what exactly are we afraid of happening? Who cares if we try something and we don’t like it or discover we’re not good at it? Time is going to pass regardless, so why does the outcome matter so much?

I also share something I’m going to be doing (to practice what I preach), so I hope you’ll join me…in more ways than one!

If you’re looking for a sign, this is it.

Vicki DeArmon is the founder/publisher of Sibylline Press; a publisher of the brilliant work of women authors over 50, and a revered 40-year veteran of the book industry.

Vicki started Foghorn Press in 1985 at age 25 in San Francisco before selling it fourteen years later. Her novelistic memoir about this era, Foghorn: The Nearly True Story of a Small Publishing Empire, was published in the Spring of 2025.

A lifelong writer of memoir, she also previously worked as the marketing and events director at Copperfield’s Books and as a consultant to the California Indie booksellers.

Sibylline publishes 60 plus books a year in memoir and fiction and this Fall, will introduce a new imprint, Sibyl Writing Craft offering books and classes for writers.

Vicki and I had so much fun talking (and laughing, and laughing) about her adventures in publishing and in life. You don't want to miss this conversation!

To learn more about Vicki:

www.sibyllinepress.com
Sibylline Press social: @sibyllinepress
Substack: @publishingwithVickiDeArmon

For those of you who are Loving Later Life regulars, you know that I began this podcast to connect us all so that we feel heard, seen, inspired and also entertained.

My hope is that you'll be inspired by my guests and perhaps even through my experiences that it is not ever too late to go for what you want in this precious life we have been gifted.

There are also times when I am compelled to express a point of view that I am passionate about. This is one of those times, and the way it manifested was in a spoken word poem.

Some of you may have seen my YouTube video of this already and if you haven’t, after you listen to this episode, I invite you to go watch the video. The link is in the show notes page for this episode, if you go to nancylanggibbs.com, click on the arrow next to podcast in the top bar and then click on Show Notes. Then click on this episode entitled It’s Up To Us and scroll down for the link. Or you can go to YouTube and search Nancy Lang Gibbs, It’s Up To Us. (Or below if you're reading this on the Show Notes page!)

I ask if perhaps you are not on the same page as I am, that you listen anyway to open the aperture of your lens. For those who are on the same page, please forward the link to others and ask them to do the same. The message, I believe, is so very important to share.

Thank you for listening and until the next time, Live Passionately, Live Vulnerably and Keep Loving Later Life.

YouTube Video Link: https://youtu.be/vLdDCUKrRc0?si=PlC9V3Em1_658kU3

Satori Shakoor is my guest and she is a dynamic storyteller, multi-disciplinary artist, and social entrepreneur known for her bold and transformative work in the arts. A 2017 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow, Satori began her career as a recording and touring vocalist with George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic as one of the Brides of Funkenstein before expanding into acting, comedy, and television writing.

She is the creator and Executive Producer of The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers®, an award-winning storytelling platform that fosters healing and community connection. Satori’s storytelling prowess has been showcased on global stages, including The Moth, PBS, and NPR, while she also serves as host of Detroit Performs Live for Detroit PBS.

With her solo, standup storytelling concert film, Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale, she breaks outdated stigmas around aging and womanhood, bringing humor, truth, and empowerment to center stage.

A sought-after facilitator and speaker, Satori has worked with major institutions like Duke University, the University of Michigan, and even the United Nations. Her work continues to inspire and transform communities, using the power of storytelling to connect humanity and spark meaningful dialogue.

Join us to hear the importance of storytelling!

What a time it is in our lives right now. What a crazy ass f-ing time. I told a friend that if all of what is occurring in our country and in our world were the plot of a movie, we’d all be saying thank goodness this couldn’t actually happen, that’s so unrealistic!

And, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you are out there worrying about something. Am I right? I mean heaven knows there are a lot of things to be worried about right now. Like real things.

Then there's the type of worrying about things that have not yet happened. And for frosting on the worry cake, add the thought process that if you worry it will prevent something bad from happening.

I’ve earned a master’s degree in this kind of worrying, from thousands of hours of life-long learning. And I thought I was unique in this special brand of fear and worrying, until I found out that I wasn't. How?

Join me as I share my biggest worry, the big A Ha I had about it, and what I'm now doing to stop it!

Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging and the new retirement. She has received numerous awards for her university teaching at USC’s Davis School of Gerontology and for her contributions to the field of aging, the community and literary arts.

As one of the nation’s leading experts on preparing for the non-economic aspects of retirement, she has worked with over 25,000 employees at corporations and universities to do just that.

As a syndicated columnist on “Successful Aging” for the Southern California News Group, Helen has published over 1,000 columns reaching 1.2 million readers weekly.

Additionally, Helen has served as an expert witness for large class action age discrimination cases. She is co-founder of Renewment and co-author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller, "Project Renewment®: The First Retirement Model for Career Women" (Scribner) and has been recognized by PBS Next Avenue as one of the 50 influencers in aging.

I promise that you will be inspired on so many levels! Do yourself a favor and listen to the very end!

Website: www.HelenMdennis.com

It’s the end of May, can you believe it? How many of you have said that to someone recently?! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “How is it Memorial Day weekend already? Summer? What?!”

“Life goes faster the older you get,” I also hear all the time. Or, “Life is like a roll of toilet paper…the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes!”

In this episode I share some theories from experts as to why it feels like time goes by so fast, and how to slow it down…including a theory of my own.

If you’d like to feel that time wasn’t going by quite so quickly, you need to listen to this episode!

See you there….

Mar Rosati completely changed her life in her late 40's. She is capital I- Inspiring! Only she can tell her story, which is a must listen, so just press play!

Mar is now the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization Proyecto Florecer in Medellin, Colombia, which focuses on vocational and personal growth education in poor neighborhoods. Formerly a software sales executive in California, she reset her life eight years ago to align it with her values and purpose.

Today she facilitates various personal development and emotional resilience programs in English and Spanish. She has recently launched The Academy of Emotional Mastery, which is designed to help participants recognize and reset behavior and decision patterns that don't align with their goals and values. She has also spent the past years learning how to scuba, whitewater kayak and ride a motorcycle.