Before we dive in I have a quick favor to ask. Please follow Talk With Tara wherever you listen, leave a review, and follow me on social. It truly helps this show grow and keeps it possible for me to keep creating these conversations for you. In this episode I am bringing back one of my favorite formats, the Dear Tara segment. I answer real questions from women just like you about holidays, loneliness, dating, and finding love in midlife. I talk about what to do when your kids are with your ex for the holidays and you are home alone, how to tell if you are lonely for a partner or simply missing your old life, and how to enjoy the holidays without a romantic partner without feeling like the whole season is incomplete. We get into the big one too, whether it is too late to find real love in your fifties, and why you can sometimes feel even lonelier after a party or a date than you did before you went. I also share a bit of my own story. I went to film school, earned an MFA in screenwriting, optioned a screenplay, and then walked through a very painful time in Los Angeles that led to years of writer block. Now I am writing again and working on a very juicy fiction book on my new Substack, and I would love for you to read the first chapters and tell me what you think. If you want to send in your own Dear Tara question or be part of the online group I am planning for women in transition you can get in touch with me here Instagram@talkwithtarapodcast Emailtalkwithtarapodcast@gmail.com SubstackMy writing and book chapters are on my Substack, just look for Talk With Tara or follow the link in my Instagram bio. Thank you for listening and for supporting the show by following, reviewing, and sharing it with a friend.