Because we all want to be touched— mind, body, and spirit.
Welcome to my newest venture, a deeply personal newsletter about sex, psychedelics, and midlife awakening. If you know me, you know this is not the sort of thing I usually do. I’m a sensible person. I was raised Catholic in New England—where a good leather loafer never goes out of style, and discretion is a virtue. Self-exposure? Not so much. And yet, here I am, inviting you to subscribe to Touch Me There, a weekly missive in which I’ll share my personal journey—and welcome others to learn, reflect, share, and grow together in community.
Why now?
In case you’ve somehow missed it, we’re having a menopausal moment in the Western world—a “Menopause Gold Rush” as The New York Times put it. Former magazine editors are partnering with venture capitalists to sell Hormone Replacement Therapy, authors are scribbling their way up bestseller lists with literary midlife potboilers, and most visibly, icons like Nicole Kidman (Babygirl), Laura Dern (Lonely Planet), and Anne Hathaway (The Idea of You) are introducing us to a lusty midlife archetype. She’s a woman reclaiming her desires and agency—without shame, self-sacrifice, or the need for approval. It’s heady stuff. And I think I speak for many of us when I say, I’ll have what she’s having.
But how does a married mother of two, watching from under the covers with the latest romantasy novel on her nightstand, do more than passively consume all that juiciness? And if she dares become an active participant, will it blow up her life?
From the stories we watch, hear, and read of late, midlife reinvention would seem to require a steamy affair with someone younger, a divorce, a toe-dip into polyamory—perhaps even a bold upheaval à la Miranda July’s All Fours. Alas, these sexy midlife narratives often overlook what women truly need: a way back to ourselves.
For many women in midlife, it’s easy to look back and recognize that in pursuit of what we were promised—having it all: the spouse, the career, the kids—we submerged our deeper, primordial longings. For all our empowered striving, we lost hold of desire and now, in midlife, it’s time to reclaim it by reconnecting with ourselves and moving beyond the grind of everydayness—to heal, and to expand. This, I believe, is the undercurrent of the new midlife archetype that’s resonating with so many women. We want to know how to access that deep well of aliveness.
This is why I’ve started Touch Me There—to share the incredible powers of somatic and psychedelic therapy to reignite female vitality in midlife. Four years in, I’m still traveling. And that’s just it: There’s no other side to reach, no final destination.
I don’t claim to be an expert, but at 53, I feel more awake and alive than ever—energized and emboldened to share with other women a path forward. These are simply my experiences, and the meaning I’ve made of them. Everyone’s journey is their own.
I won’t promote any one method or formula—but I will open the door to lesser-known approaches to healing the body, mind, and soul for those willing to stretch beyond the familiar.
Midlife isn’t the epilogue to youth—it’s a brand new chapter, and we get to write it on our own terms. If there was ever a moment in history to build a new narrative about what middle age is and can be for women, this is it.
Curious about how this all began? Head over to my Welcome Post to read the full backstory.
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I love you.
Juliette
Juliette LaMontagne, EdD, spent her career designing learning environments that push people beyond what they think they know—first in classrooms, then in boardrooms, and now in the liminal spaces of midlife transformation. She is a teacher, entrepreneur, and TED Senior Fellow, exploring the intersection of embodiment and personal transformation.
As the Chief Learning Architect at Bionic, she helped organizations reimagine growth. Before that, she founded Breaker, a nonprofit focused on closing the gap between education and employment, and spent fifteen years leading innovation initiatives with the New York City Department of Education—as a classroom teacher, professional developer, and teacher trainer. Juliette’s work has been recognized by the Institute of Design at Stanford University, where she was a d.fellow. She has received excellence in teaching awards from Columbia University’s Teachers College, where she was a Lecturer from 1999 to 2004. In 2012, she was named to the Public Interest Design 100 for her work at the intersection of design and service.
Now, her focus is more personal—but no less radical. Just as she has spent years helping organizations and individuals navigate uncertainty, she is now turning that lens inward—unraveling old narratives, questioning long-held assumptions, and finding new ways forward.
She believes in the body’s wisdom, in curiosity over certainty, and in the power of transformation—both the kind we choose and the kind that chooses us.
Juliette is joined in this endeavor by the talented writer and editor, Genevieve Field. Genevieve was the cofounder of Nerve.com, which some will remember as the literate smut that broke the early-aughts internet. She brings her sharp mind, unflinching curiosity, and willingness to push boundaries to Touch Me There.
