Hi, I’m Skylar.
writer.
COACH.
Introvert.
pro-aging advocate.
I'm 50, originally from London, and I've been a New Yorker since 2014. Through my writing, courses, ceremonies, and meditations, I've helped thousands of women connect with their wisdom and presence so they can honor life's transitions with intention and meaning.
I'm INFJ. I love spending time in solitude but I also thrive on connecting with others. I'm compassionate and curious, intuitive and attentive. I believe sensitivity is a strength, and creativity and community are key in helping us build richer, more fulfilling lives.
I was the child who felt infinitely more comfortable around books and animals. I hid away a lot, and my bouts of extraversion later in life were usually alcohol fueled. I never thought I'd find my true footing in this world.
But the more I tuned out of what society said I should do, and the more I leaned in to who I truly was, the more grounded, connected, and deliberate I became.
My Why
I was around 44 when I first started noticing the sagging skin under my chin. I’d caught a glimpse of it here and there, but on one particular morning, I was applying make-up and, to my horror, the angle of my vanity mirror reflected back to me just how much my neck had softened. It was no longer taut or smooth but seemingly losing elasticity by the day.
I flinched as I saw my reflection, shock flooding my body. I couldn't reconcile the woman staring back at me with the woman I believed myself to be inside.
I was appalled at how old I thought I looked and immediately made a mental note to avoid showing that angle when I was with other people. I couldn’t stand the idea that anyone else might see how slack my skin was.
Around the same time I started to notice that the tops of my thighs had developed a crepe-like texture along with my stomach, breasts and arms. When I looked down at myself, I saw my grandmother’s skin.
It seemed to have happened overnight. I’d gone from feeling fairly good about being in my mid-forties to suddenly having an unwelcome flash of insight that my body and face were changing in ways I wasn’t prepared for. It was a definitive moment. And I didn’t like it one bit.
After sitting with these emotions for a few days, I decided that since I was going to continue aging as long as I was living, I might as well embrace as much of the journey as I could. After all, what was the alternative? Hiding away? Afraid to let people see me? That didn’t sound much like living.
As I began to make peace with this new chapter, I realized how utterly ludicrous it was that women spend their teens, twenties and thirties being objectified only to reach their forties and fifties and feel as though they’ve aged out of attractiveness and that they’re now becoming irrelevant or invisible.
I thought of the countless hours and dollars many of us have spent trying to make ourselves as attractive as possible in order to cater to the heterosexual male gaze, only to now spend countless hours and dollars trying to minimize or erase the signs of aging.
We’ve swallowed the lie that our bodies are something to be ashamed of. Too thin, too fat, too curvy, too flat, too dark, too pale… why not add “too old” to the list?
Better still, why not burn the list entirely.
courage & truth are at the core of my work
In an age of influencers and an era of filters, I am intent on sharing in the most honest and authentic way I can. I offer sanctuary and support for midlife women seeking to mark their transitions with presence and intention.
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MY MISSION
I want women in midlife to:
✺ Liberate themselves from ageist stereotypes.✺ Disentangle themselves from a culture of anti-aging.
✺ Honor their transitions with presence and intention.
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MY IMPACT
Through coaching, courses, ceremonies, and circles, I have helped thousands of women reframe their fears of aging and embrace midlife in a way they never before believed possible.
I plan to keep going.
Ginger tea ● Classical music and eighties pop ● The story beneath the story ● Fluffy dogs ● Poetry that stirs the soul ● Libraries ● Being by the ocean ● Milk chocolate ● The solitary moment that we can claim as ours and ours alone ● Michelle Obama, because obviously
I’M A LOVER OF
I’M A BELIEVER IN
A woman’s right to choose ● Black Lives Matter ● Boundaries ● LGBTQIA rights ● Joy ● The transformative power of creativity ● Protecting and respecting nature ● Intersectionality and gaining a greater understanding of experiences that are not mine ● The magic that happens when women come together in true community
I’M COMMITTED TO
Not promoting anything anti-aging ● Not promoting “health” aids or supplements that support diet-culture ● Not appearing on panels or summits that don’t have fair representation of people of color
✺ AS FEATURED BY ✺
GLOBAL INSTITUTE FOR EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN
AUTHORITY MAGAZINE
CNN
HUFF POST
WOMEN YOU SHOULD KNOW
THE NEW YORK POST
THE PRO-AGE WOMAN
GUIDED MIND
MASS APPEAL MAGAZINE
THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM
GLOBAL INSTITUTE FOR EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN AUTHORITY MAGAZINE CNN HUFF POST WOMEN YOU SHOULD KNOW THE NEW YORK POST THE PRO-AGE WOMAN GUIDED MIND MASS APPEAL MAGAZINE THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM
My 2020 documentary diary: A Woman in the World is featured in the National Women's History Museum as part of their Women Writing History project.
I share meditations, talks, and courses on Insight Timer where I have a growing community. I’d love to connect with you there.
Every Friday, I share my 2024 personal docu-diary A Woman in the World: The Year of 50) via Substack. Sign up to receive it. It’ll help you feel less alone on your own journey.
Every Sunday, I share six things to offer you sanctuary and support via The Sunday Six. It’s more of a hug than an email and it’s one of my most popular shares. I’d love to share it with you too.
If you’re someone who often feels “other” in some way—maybe not quite on the margins but not quite in the mainstream either—then I suspect you’ll feel visible and valued in my spaces.
Whether you're new to the world of pro-aging, exploring what divesting from a culture of anti-aging might mean for you, or looking to mark a significant transition with intention through a Customized Ceremony, I'm thrilled you're here and I'm looking forward to getting to know you.