Lindsey Hilsum on Marie Colvin, menopause in a warzone and why going grey is NOT brave

This week’s guest this week is the epitome of grown up style - so much so that her effortless look has earnt her almost a million followers on Instagram. At 45, French model and producer Caroline de Maigret is the face of Chanel and co-author of two bestselling books that take a tongue in cheek look at the whole 'cult of the French woman' thing. So how does it feel when your face (and body) is your fortune and you discover that - yes! - even fashion icons age? Especially when you go to get a mole checked and your dermatologist suggests you “get those wrinkles looked at”! (Seriously...) Listen on for Caroline’s tips on loving your style post-40, how the fashion industry treats older women and why she thinks age is no excuse for anything. Plus you can learn the French equivalent of “old bag”. So, it’s educational too! Note: this podcast was recorded before lockdown. The Shift (on life after 40) with Sam Baker is created and hosted by Sam Baker, edited by Emily Sandford. I’d love to hear what you think - please let me know on twitter @sambaker or instagram @theothersambaker * The Shift: How I (lost and) found myself after 40 - and you can too by Sam Baker is out now in hardback and available to buy here. Older But Better (but older) by Caroline de Maigret and Sophie Mas is out now in hardback and available to buy here. Caroline's book recommendation: The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, available to buy here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Sep 202042min

How does it feel to suddenly become ultra-visible just as the world is trying to invisible you? That’s what happened to this week’s guest, mega-selling novelist Jojo Moyes, when the book her old publishers didn't want to publish - Me Before You - became a global bestseller and smash-hit movie in her mid-40s.  Since then every book Jojo has written has been a bestseller and she’s sold the movie rights to pretty much everything she’s ever written. (Not remotely jealous.) Her latest, The Giver Of Stars, the transporting story of a group of women setting up a horseback library in the Appalachians is currently at the top of the bestseller lists and a movie is underway.  But life wasn’t always like that. Far from it. Jojo is funny and frank about the impact of stratospheric success on her professional and personal life. How it felt to be suddenly visible in her late forties. Health, fitness, freedom, a new found love of clothes and why she feels better than ever at 50. She also reveals how she finally overcame Imposter Syndrome, why she no longer suffers fools and how making new friends at 50 has been a revelation.  Note: this podcast was recorded before lockdown. The Shift (on life after 40) with Sam Baker is created and hosted by Sam Baker, edited by Emily Sandford. I’d love to hear what you think - please let me know on twitter @sambaker or instagram @theothersambaker * The Shift: How I (lost and) found myself after 40 - and you can too by Sam Baker is out now in hardback and available to buy here. The Giver Of Stars by Jojo Moyes is out now in paperback and available to buy here. Jojo's book recommendation: Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, out now in paperback and available to buy here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Sep 202048min

My guest this week will give hope to anyone who’s looking at their work life and wondering WTF? The inspirational Sara Collins was a lawyer and mother of five (I know!) when she looked at her life and thought: no more! (The job, not the kids!) She took a creative writing course and wrote the first few chapters of the book that was to become her debut novel and a runaway bestseller on both sides of the atlantic that has received glowing reviews from everyone from Oprah to Margaret Atwood to Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo: The Confessions of Frannie Langton.  Now Sara is writing the TV script for Frannie and working on her second novel. All this while experiencing hot flushes, brain fog and all the other sure signs that menopause is coming for you. Sara talks frankly about turning a midlife crisis into career success, writing the book you’d always wished existed, the power of women’s anger and why she can’t decide whether or not to Botox those pesky frown lines. Note: this podcast was recorded before lockdown. The Shift (on life after 40) with Sam Baker is created and hosted by Sam Baker, edited by Emily Sandford. I’d love to hear what you think - please let me know on twitter @sambaker or instagram @theothersambaker * The Shift: How I (lost and) found myself after 40 - and you can too by Sam Baker is out now in hardback and available to buy here. The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins is out now in paperback and available to buy here. Sara's book recommendations: Such A Fun Age by Kylie read, out in hardback and available to buy here and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, available to buy here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Sep 202050min

Ask any group of women to name a woman they love and I guarantee you someone will name this week’s guest, because Marian Keyes is beloved of women the world over. (She won’t believe that, but she is!) And you know why? Because she speaks the truth. She can’t not speak the truth. Which could well be why she’s sold over 35 million books. Her trademark: the silk glove of laugh out loud funny stories that conceal within them the iron fist of tough contemporary issues. The latest of which is the frankly fabliss and immensely truth-telly no. 1 bestseller Grown Ups. Over the next 45 minutes Marian will tell the unvarnished truth about menopause (how different would it be if it happened to men???), invisibility, infertility grief, HRT, Botox and learning to be shameless. (Oh and her passion for fashion. And beauty products. And…) In short, this episode is not to be missed. Note: this podcast was recorded before lockdown. The Shift (on life after 40) with Sam Baker is created and hosted by Sam Baker, edited by Emily Sandford. I’d love to hear what you think - please let me know on twitter @sambaker or instagram @theothersambaker * The Shift: How I (lost and) found myself after 40 - and you can too by Sam Baker is out in hardback on 10 September and available to buy here. Grown Ups by Marian Keyes is out now in hardback and available to buy here. Marian's book recommendation: Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, out in paperback and available to buy here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Sep 202045min

My guest this week is the ultimate career pivoter, novelist, journalist, screenwriter, (potter!) Tasmina Perry. I’ve known Tasmina (Tammy) since we were both baby editors and stuck on the management training course from hell together. We have been firm friends ever since. She’s since gone on to write 15 (!) novels - 13 as Tasmina Perry, 2 psychological thrillers as JL Butler and is now, “pushing 50”, a screenwriter. But she started life as a lawyer and is the queen of reinvention. Exactly the woman you need right now when the world is going to hell in a handcart! She shares her advice on getting your confidence back on track, learning to put yourself out there and how not to get “stuck at the amber lights” where career is concerned. (Oh and Take That!) The new you starts here! Note: this podcast was recorded before lockdown.  The Shift (on life after 40) with Sam Baker is created and hosted by Sam Baker, edited by Emily Sandford. I’d love to hear what you think - please let me know on twitter @sambaker or instagram @theothersambaker * Sam's book, The Shift: How I (lost and) found myself after 40 - and you can too is out 10/9 in hardback and available to buy here Friend of the Family by Tasmina Perry is out now in paperback and available to buy here Mine by JL Butler is out now in paperback and available to buy here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Aug 202056min

Sam Baker gives us the lowdown on her new podcast series, The Shift. Check out Sam's new book, The Shift - How I (lost and) found myself after 40 - and you can too: At Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XSzw8h And Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781529329766 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Aug 20202min