Fran Braga Meininger writes personal narratives about the years beyond youth, a time in a woman’s life that can be vibrant, fulfilling, and wonderful, despite – or perhaps because of – all that comes with age. She lives in northern California where she hikes, bikes and lives life in big bites. You can visit her website at https://www.theyearsbeyondyouth.com

Latest Posts By Fran Braga Meininger

3 months ago

We Need to Talk About Female Hair Loss

The first thing I noticed about Rachel was not the absence of hair on her head, nor the dramatic tattoo prominently placed just behind her right ear, it was a quick and brilliant smile, an effervescent energy and a peaceful confidence…

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5 months ago

Growing Older the Way I Was When I Was Young Is Just Too Damn Hard

I’ve always been a high energy, hyperactive, super vigilant, take charge, independent woman. The difference is, now I’m also an aging woman, and that one undeniable fact has recently caused me to rethink how I approach life…

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6 months ago

Being an Older Person a Young Person Wants to Be Around

I work a few days a week as a professional chef and, at 66, I am the same age as many of my young co-workers’ grandmothers. It’s challenging sometimes, but mostly it’s fun, invigorating and keeps me feeling and acting younger…

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7 months ago

What’s My Passion? Exploring New Ideas and Finding Your Spark

I’ve signed up for a motivational workshop with Matthew McConaughey. No, I’m not embarrassed to say so. I find him charming, engaging and a good model of how to embrace life with exuberance and focus. In preparation…

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8 months ago

Do You Know How to Bloom Where You’re Planted? These 7 Steps Will Get You on the Right Track!

As life goes on over time, we change; everyone does. Sometimes we drift off course, caught up in a tide of circumstances that turn our world into something different than we anticipated. It happens, often, and the women I know are experiencing…

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9 months ago

The Dreaded High School Reunion and the 5 Things I Discovered Preparing for Mine

I graduated in 1973 from a small Catholic high school. I was young for my age, ill prepared to be rubbing elbows with girls who drove Jaguars and brand new Camaros to school, had streets named after their fathers and felt little to no use for me…

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9 months ago

Cultivating a Sense of Wonder by Opening Up to Curiosity

Do you remember what it was like to be a curious child with such an insatiable appetite for new experiences, you rushed into your day with boundless energy and enthusiasm? Perhaps it’s not always that way now. I know, it’s changed…

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10 months ago

Addicted to My To-Do List

A prolonged rainstorm trapping me indoors and the arrival of a three-month-old puppy, who required my attention to securely settle into her new home, presented me with weeks of unscheduled time – time that would otherwise have been spent…

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10 months ago

7 Ways to Foster Honest Conversation in Troubling Times

We’re programmed to face chin up and cheerful into whatever life brings. The etiquette of our upbringing in the 50s and 60s warned that people don’t want to hear our problems, only to exchange pleasantries and move along…

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11 months ago

Mature Women Are More Than Just Skin Deep

As a writer, my audience consists of women of a certain era. Those of us who now occupy the years beyond youth. I am my own demographic, and I write from personal experience about exploring options and deciding what we want…

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