The night before my 40th birthday, I did something kind of wild. I invited the fabulous, inspiring, real-life women I knew to join me at a wine bar and asked them to "sign my yearbook." Not happy birthdays, not well wishes. I wanted wisdom.

What they wrote was so raw and honest that I couldn't stop asking.

The 40 Portal is a coming of aging story told by 40 real women about the portal that is midlife. Each episode, I sit down with a different woman to explore the threshold she's walking through — the portals we all face between who we were and who we're becoming.

I believe a woman in her 40s is one of the most interesting, creative, powerful, and inspiring creatures in the universe. And as more and more of us step into our power, claim our own voices, our bodies, our good work in the world, this world is going to be a kinder, more beautiful, more emboldened, and more just place for all of us.

Portals can be big and specific—turning 40, battling cancer, losing a loved one, divorce, becoming a mother, leaving a career. Or they can be less specific but still all-encompassing—the "everything looks fine but I'm dying inside" feeling, the army crawl, the resentment. We talk about it all.

Each episode is anchored by handwritten wisdom submitted by listeners. Because typing is fast — it's what we're DOING all day. Handwriting is slow. Handwriting reveals our BEING. When you slow down, truth slips through.

This isn't a podcast about experts or influencers. This is a podcast about real women telling the truth about their real lives.

Because when women tell the truth (not the polished Instagram version, but the actual truth) it sets us all free.

New episodes weekly starting January 25, 2026. Submit your handwritten wisdom at the40portal.com.

Hosted by Catherine Zack, former Big Law attorney turned meditation teacher, executive coach, speaker, writer, and collector of women’s wisdom.

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