Fifty and THRIVING
WOMAN - UK|October 02, 2023
Our sense of significance plummets around age 58, according to a poll, but these women are defying the trend and ensuring they live their best lives
FRANCES LEATE
Fifty and THRIVING

‘THERE’S PLENTY MORE ADVENTURES TO COME’
Susan Henry, 54, lives in Essex.

Admitting you’re not happy in life is a painful process, and when I slowly came to that realisation just months before my 50th birthday, it would have been easy for me to simply wallow in self-pity. It was 2018 and I’d spent the last 33 years working in senior management for a bank in the city. It was a full-on job and a toxic working environment and I felt completely burnt out.

I knew that I needed to make the most of my life, and try my hardest to find happiness. So, with a lot of courage, I quit my job and sold my house, moving to a more affordable town near the Essex coast.

My son Harry, 22, was at university and, with time on my hands, I thought about all the things that really made me happy, like being outdoors in nature and helping others. So I threw myself into a variety of volunteer work and in September 2022 I bought a people carrier and had it converted so I could sleep in it and travel around.

The van model was Highway Star, which I thought sounded a bit country and western, so I named the van Dolly, after Dolly Parton. When she finally arrived in May this year, I fell in love with her instantly.

We’ve not been together long, but we’ve already been hiking in the Peak District where I went on a hill-walking and map-reading course; the Lake District where I scaled Scafell Pike; Snowdon, which I climbed; as well as a road trip around Scotland with Harry and my rescue Jack Russell cross, Cookie.

Denne historien er fra October 02, 2023-utgaven av WOMAN - UK.

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Denne historien er fra October 02, 2023-utgaven av WOMAN - UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

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