Finding Light: Reclaiming YOU in the Midlife In-Between with Dr. Tracy Rodgers
Menopause won’t break us.
It will strip away what no longer fits and ask us to finally look at ourselves honestly.
In this episode of FoundHer, I sat down with Dr. Tracy Rodgers, an obstetrician-gynecologist with more than 25 years of experience and a contributor to The Embers We Carry, Volume 3 of the Lighthouse Book Series, to talk about menopause, identity, and the quiet work of reclaiming your light.
Her chapter, Finding Light, is a deeply personal reflection on midlife transition, written not from clinical distance, but from lived experience. It is both a mirror and an invitation.
When the Life You Built No Longer Holds You
Dr. Rodgers shared how midlife and menopause coincided with profound changes in her personal and professional life, including leaving her marriage and shifting her career. These changes unsettled her sense of identity in ways she hadn’t anticipated.
Despite decades of caring for women through similar transitions, she found herself asking questions she had never fully asked before:
Who am I now?
What parts of me have been quieted?
Where did my light go?
Menopause, she explained, has a way of lifting the veil. It brings clarity whether we’re ready or not.
Poetry as a Path Back to Self
Rather than writing in prose, Dr. Rodgers turned to poetry.
The poem at the heart of her chapter Finding Light became a vessel for emotions that didn’t fit neatly into paragraphs. Vulnerability, grief, longing, and hope all found space there. Sharing it didn’t come easily. In fact, she initially resisted the idea. But with encouragement, she allowed herself to be seen not as a physician, but as a woman navigating her own unraveling and reassembly.
What emerged was honesty. And relief.
The Light We Give Away
One of the most resonant themes in the conversation was how women dim their own light.
Sometimes it’s taken. Sometimes it’s surrendered. Sometimes it’s never fully claimed in the first place.
Dr. Rodgers spoke about realizing that her light was not something others were responsible for protecting. It was hers. And she could choose where, how, and with whom to let it shine.
Menopause as a Remembering
Rather than framing menopause as decline or loss, Dr. Rodgers offered a different lens. Menopause can be a remembering and a chance to step out of self-imposed constraints and reclaim worth without apology. She shared how this season pushed her to stop waiting for clarity and start taking action. Not perfectly. Not all at once. But intentionally. Her hope is that women reading her chapter will recognize themselves and understand they are not broken, alone, or too late.
Why This Story Matters
Finding Light is for women who feel untethered in midlife. For those who sense something shifting but can’t yet name it. For anyone who has dimmed themselves in order to survive. Dr. Rodgers’ story reminds us that menopause is not the end of who we are. It is our opportunity to reclaim ourselves.
Volume 3 of The Embers We Carry launches April 11, offering stories that illuminate what is possible when we stop hiding and start remembering our worth.
Learn more about the FoundHer Summit here!
“Menopause doesn’t take your power. It asks you to claim it.”
About Dr. Tracy Rodgers
Contributor to The Embers We Carry, Volume 3
Chapter title: “Finding Light”
Obstetrician-gynecologist with over 25 years of clinical experience
Writes about perimenopause, menopause, identity loss, and self-reclamation
Uses poetry as a tool for self-expression and healing
Advocate for women’s health, visibility, and community in midlife
Involved in Menapalooza, a menopause-focused conference in Victoria
