Smart, often funny, and sometimes surprising. Everything's up for discussion: from divorce to dating app disasters, hot sweats, menopause myths, changing body image, family responsibilities, solo travel adventures, and challenging societal norms. Join me for candid chats, expert insights, and the conversations you wish you had. Subscribe here: www.nicolevanhattem.com
215 - If Menopause Is an Initiation... Who Are the Elders? | Part 3
If menopause is an initiation, then every woman needs someone who has already walked the path.
So where are the elders?
In Part 3 of this thought-provoking series, Nicole explores one of the greatest blind spots in modern society: we've created millions of women entering menopause with no recognised guides, while simultaneously sidelining millions of post-menopausal women whose lived experience and wisdom could help shape healthier families, workplaces and communities.
This isn't just a menopause issue.
It's a cultural design issue.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why every rite of passage throughout history has relied on mentors, guides and elders.
How modern society has separated generations and what we've lost as a result.
The hidden costs of age-segregated living for women, families, workplaces and communities.
Why loneliness and isolation are not inevitable consequences of ageing, but may be influenced by how we've designed society.
The surprising intergenerational living model in the Netherlands, where university students live alongside older adults and both generations benefit.
Why post-menopausal women may be one of society's most overlooked and underutilised resources.
How mentoring, women's circles and intergenerational communities could help women navigate menopause with greater confidence and connection.
Why the future of healthy ageing may depend on reconnecting younger and older generations.
Nicole also asks a question that challenges the way we think about ageing itself:
What if older women aren't people who have become less valuable... but people whose greatest contribution is only just beginning?
This episode invites you to reimagine what it means to become an elder—not as a title or an age, but as a role of wisdom, mentorship and service that benefits every generation.
If this episode inspires you, please follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with another woman who is ready to see ageing not as something to fear, but as an opportunity to become the guide she once needed.
www.NicolevanHattem.com
7 Jul 2026
214 - If Menopause Is an Initiation... How Would We Actually Do That? | Part 2
What if we prepared women for menopause the way we prepare them for pregnancy?
Imagine announcing to your family and closest friends that you've entered perimenopause. Instead of awkward silence or jokes about hot flushes, they respond with, "Congratulations. How can we support you?"
It may sound radical—but should it?
In Part 2 of this series, Nicole explores what it might look like if menopause were recognised as a genuine rite of passage worthy of preparation, celebration, community and wisdom. Rather than focusing solely on symptom management, this episode invites you to imagine a cultural shift that honours one of the most significant transitions in a woman's life.
In this episode, you'll discover:
What a modern menopause initiation could look like.
Why preparing for menopause may be just as important as preparing for motherhood.
The idea of a "Menopause Shower" and why celebrating this life stage could change how women experience it.
How intergenerational women's circles could reconnect younger and older women through storytelling, mentorship and shared wisdom.
Why the first anniversary of your final menstrual period could become a meaningful milestone to honour.
How retreats can provide the space, reflection and community needed to navigate this transition with intention.
What anthropology teaches us about rites of passage and why transformation has traditionally been supported by the whole community—not experienced in isolation.
Why wisdom doesn't arrive automatically with age, but grows through conscious reflection, curiosity and lived experience.
Nicole also asks an important question:
What if menopause isn't the initiation itself? What if it's simply the doorway into the next stage of becoming?
This episode challenges the cultural narrative that menopause is something to endure and instead offers a hopeful vision of what becomes possible when women are supported to evolve into the next chapter of their lives.
If this episode resonates with you, please follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with another woman who deserves to know that she doesn't have to navigate menopause alone.
Together, we can begin creating new traditions that honour women—not only for their fertility, but for the wisdom that follows.
www.NicolevanHattem.com
30 Jun 2026
213 - Menopause: The Missing Initiation? | Part 1
What if menopause isn't the end of something... but the beginning of something profound?
After attending a fascinating presentation at HerbFest on the major stages of human life, Nicole noticed something extraordinary. The speaker explored birth, puberty, coming of age, reproduction, old age and death—but one of the biggest transitions in a woman's life was completely missing.
Menopause.
In this thought-provoking first episode of a new series, Nicole explores the idea that menopause may be one of the last forgotten rites of passage in modern society. Drawing on anthropology, psychology, women's history and her own reflections, she asks what happens when women are expected to navigate one of life's greatest transformations without preparation, guidance, ceremony or community.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why every culture has traditionally recognised important life transitions through rituals and initiation.
What happens when those rites of passage disappear.
How girls are often introduced to menstruation through silence, shame, fear or sexualisation rather than celebration and wisdom.
The surprising similarities between puberty and menopause.
Why our culture celebrates fertility but largely ignores the transition beyond it.
How menopause has become medicalised while its psychological, social and spiritual dimensions are often overlooked.
The fascinating question of why humans—and only a handful of other mammals—live for decades after reproduction.
Whether menopause could actually be an invitation into wisdom rather than decline.
Nicole also reflects on a conversation with the HerbFest speaker that raises a much bigger question:
If we celebrate birth, puberty, weddings and even retirement... why don't we honour menopause?
This episode invites you to see menopause through an entirely different lens—not as something to fear, but as a powerful initiation into the next stage of your life.
If this episode resonates with you, please follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with another woman who deserves to know that menopause isn't the end of her story—it may be the beginning of one of its most meaningful chapters.
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