**The QUEEN behind the Queenager Movement**

When the COVID-19 lockdown hit the UK in 2020, journalist Eleanor Mills found herself at a personal and professional crossroads. Stricken with COVID-19, grappling with her career loss, and adjusting to an empty nest, she described her feelings poignantly:

“I felt like I’d been pushed off a roof—falling with nothing to hang on to; raw, fragile, and overwhelmingly sad.”

Eleanor, an award-winning editor, writer, and broadcaster, had dedicated 23 years to the Sunday Times, where she held prominent positions such as Editorial Director and Editor of the Sunday Times Magazine. Throughout her illustrious career, she interviewed notable figures from Mikhail Gorbachev to Sheryl Sandberg and Theresa May.

As Chair of Women in Journalism (2014-21), she championed a media landscape that reflects the true diversity of society.

Yet, at this pivotal moment in her life, Eleanor felt adrift and uncertain about the future.

Determined to reinvent herself, she embarked on a journey of self-discovery and now shares her deeply personal experiences and those of other women in her inspiring new book, Much More To Come: Lessons on the Mayhem and Magnificence of Midlife*. 

Alternatively, you can order the Kindle or hardcover from Amazon UK.

Eleanor’s research reveals compelling statistics, such as:

“By the time we reach fifty, over half of us have navigated at least five significant life challenges. These can range from divorce, bereavement, redundancy, and abuse to bankruptcy, illness, and coping with tricky teenagers or elderly parents falling ill and dying. Add to that our own health issues and menopause, and it often feels like these challenges converge in a midlife maelstrom, leaving us spluttering and stranded. As part of a pioneering generation of women—one of the first to reap the benefits of greater equality—we lack a guide for how to pick ourselves up and persevere. There’s no map for what our lives could look like from here on.”

To support women in this transformative phase, Eleanor created NOON, an online platform offering resources, community, and inspiration for women navigating midlife. Explore NOON here.

Through this process, Eleanor coined the term “Queenagers” to describe this vibrant stage—the later life counterpart to teenagers. “We are coming into our prime, becoming our true selves. This period is like emerging from a chrysalis; we spread our wings into our own brave new worlds like midlife butterflies.”

I encourage you to read her book and explore the NOON platform, both of which provide moving stories and practical wisdom, cutting through the uncertainty and self-doubt that often accompany midlife. Much More to Come proves that midlife is not to be feared, but embraced. It is a time for transformation, where we can finally become the women we always wanted to be.