I’m Michelle Madrid
Hello,
I companion women in midlife through the sacred work of becoming...again.
The Woman Behind the Roles
For decades, I did what so many of us do: I disappeared into roles, performed for approval, and carried everyone's needs but my own.
I was a television news anchor with a #1-rated show and an Emmy nomination. Then, a wife, and a mother.
From the outside, I looked like I had it all together.
But inside I was collapsing under the weight of boxes I'd been carrying since childhood.
The Boxes I Carried
I grew up feeling fundamentally wrong.
Born from an affair in the UK, placed in foster care, then adopted by American parents—I spent my life struggling with a lost sense of identity long before I had language for it.
I was taught early on: shrink to survive. Be convenient. Don't make waves
So I boxed it all away—the shame, the fear, the unworthiness—and kept moving forward.
I became excellent at carrying weight that wasn't mine. At performing competence while feeling invisible.
At making everyone else comfortable while I disappeared.
The Grief That Woke Me Up
Real change began when my children started leaving home.
As a mother "empty-nesting," I expected to feel proud, maybe a little wistful...but I also felt overwhelming grief.
At first, I thought I was just missing my kids.
But the truth was deeper: I was grieving myself.
The identities I'd buried. The roles I'd over-functioned in. The woman I'd never let myself become because I was too busy being convenient.
That grief became an invitation—the moment when I said, "enough" to shrinking myself.
This was my call to stop disappearing and start becoming.
I developed the Ache to Action Reset: a method born from my own midlife reckoning and refined through years of coaching women navigating their own "enough" moments.
Because here's what I know: midlife isn't a crisis.
It's a breaking point that cracks us open to who we've been and who we haven't gotten to become yet.
The ache—that uncomfortable, undeniable feeling that something has to change is your body and soul telling you it's time.
From Ache to Action
The Ache to Action Reset helps you:
Feel the ache without dismissing it or pushing it down
Name the need beneath the discomfort—what's really asking for attention
Take one small step forward and out of the place that's keeping you stuck
This isn't about massive transformation overnight.
It's about honoring what's true, understanding what you actually need, and moving toward your own becoming.
Why I Do This Work
Today, I walk beside women in midlife using my training as a Certified Wellness Coach through the Institute for Life Coach Training (ILCT), my Grief Informed Professional certification, my Cornell certification in Leadership Psychology, and decades of lived experience.
Not as an expert who has it all figured out.
As a companion who knows the terrain—because I've walked it myself.
Midlife is meant to be done together.
Not in isolation. Not in silence. Not while pretending we're fine.
If you're feeling the ache—the grief of who you've been and who you haven't become—I see you.
And I'd be honored to walk beside you as you unbox your next becoming.
Let’s Break Free Together
No matter where you’ve come from or how long you’ve felt invisible, it’s time to unbox your potential. It’s time to stop shrinking and start living boldly.
You belong here, and the world needs your story. Let’s take the first step toward building a life that’s authentic, powerful, and entirely yours.