Shirley B. Novack has spent a lifetime proving that there is no prescribed age for becoming someone new. From laboratory science and teaching to interior design, entrepreneurship and finally publishing her first novel at 75, Shirley has repeatedly followed opportunities, curiosity and her own determination.

In this lively conversation, Shirley and I talk about:

• Growing up in a family where girls weren’t expected to go to college
• Working her way into laboratory science—and discovering opportunities she hadn’t imagined
• Reinventing herself through several very different careers
• Earning an interior design degree one course at a time while raising three children
• Finding herself after a 29-year marriage she describes as emotionally abusive
• Self-worth, boundaries and learning to recognize your own talents
• Why trying and failing is very different from never trying at all
• Returning to the love of writing first encouraged by a teacher when she was nine
• Publishing her first novel at 75—and continuing to write as she approaches 80
• Challenging assumptions about what older women can do, learn and become

There are a few wonderfully unexpected detours along the way—because Shirley can find a story almost anywhere.

Her message for women wondering whether they’ve waited too long is wonderfully uncomplicated: know your worth, keep trying and stay open to the next door. As Shirley reminded me just when I thought we’d finished, when one door closes, another one will open.

Listen below and then share this episode!

Content note: This conversation includes references to emotional abuse, gambling addiction, sexual violence, human trafficking and a serious medical crisis.