Episode 99 Not Dead Yet: Life Lessons, Dating After Divorce, & Aging Without Apology with Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane
What does it take to sustain a 38-year creative partnership — and friendship — through divorce, death, partnership, relocation, and countless life transformations? Margaret Crane and Barbara Ballinger, co-authors of Not Dead Yet, Suddenly Single After 50, and Kitchen Conversations, as well as lifelessonsat50plus.com, share their unfiltered insights on collaborative writing, making new friends in your 70s, navigating adult children, and why they both refuse to remarry.
From Barbara's 350 internet dates (yes, she kept a spreadsheet) to Margaret's move from St. Louis, MO to NYC, these women prove that life after 50 is about risk-taking, reinvention, and refusing to play by outdated rules. They discuss aging without apology, cutting toxic friendships, why sex gets better with age, and the surprising freedom that comes from putting yourself first.
Whether you're navigating an empty nest, contemplating a major life change, or simply trying to maintain friendships as you age, this conversation offers wisdom, humor, and the kind of candor that only comes from decades of lived experience.
Episode recorded January 20, 2026.
Life lessons at 50 plus
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Books by Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane
Kitchen Conversations: Sharing Secrets to Kitchen Design Success (2024)
Not Dead Yet: Rebooting Your Life After 50 (2021)
Corporate Bloodlines: The Future of the Family Firm (1989)
Additional Reading
Pearson, Catherine (2026, January 27). The Friendship Advice Experts Swear By. nytimes.com. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/well/friendship-make-keep-friends.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
American Psychological Association (2023, June 1). Making new friends and keeping existing friends is hard. Here’s some science-backed tips to help. apa.org. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/06/making-and-keeping-friends
Barbara & Margaret Recommendations
Denworth, Lydia. Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond. WW Norton & Co., 2020.
O’Farrell, Maggie (2020). Hamnet.
Evans, Virginia (2025). The Correspondent.
Maugham, W.S. (1925 ).The Painted Veil.
Walls, Jeannette. (2006). The Glass Castle.
New York Times Food blogs and writing by Melissa Clark, Genevieve Ko, and Emily Weinstein
The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
Financial Sense blog by Scott Galloway