The Big Four Oh!
Podcast host: Stephanie McLaughlin
Midlife Redesign: Turning 40 and becoming “uncorked”
Mikelann Valterra’s transformation began just before her 40th birthday, with a divorce that ended a “good on paper” marriage, the loss of nearly all her financial stability, and a year spent rebuilding from zero while living in her childhood bedroom. What followed was not a collapse, but an “uncorking,” a period of deep self-reflection, creative awakening, and intentional redesign of her life, her finances, and her sense of self.
Midlife transitions are rarely neat or linear, but they can be profoundly liberating. Through honesty, humor, and hard-earned wisdom, Mikelann illustrates how rebuilding after loss can open the door to creativity, clarity, and trusting yourself. Her story reframes starting over not as failure, but as an invitation to design a life that aligns with who you truly are, not who you were told to be.
Episode Highlights
- How a career that looked unconventional on paper led Mikelann to pioneer money coaching before it was widely known
- Why “losing everything” after divorce felt terrifying and oddly freeing at the same time
- The messy middle between ending a marriage and starting over financially at age 40
- How journaling, therapy, and deep self-reflection helped her rebuild from the ground up
- The shift from living by external “shoulds” to designing a life that actually fit
- Why knowing yourself is the foundation of both financial peace and personal fulfillment
- How synchronicity, intuition, and curiosity led Mikelann to Argentine tango, and how dance became part of her second adulthood
Podcast –