Episode 100: Getting Older Without Getting Smaller — My Daughter Interviews Me

What have 100 conversations taught me about life lessons, relationships, resilience, motherhood and reinvention? For the 100th episode of Joy of the Hang, we're turning the tables. My daughter, Haley Stark, takes over the microphone — and this time I'm the one answering. Haley is a Harvard graduate with dual degrees in psychology and theater, and now serves as Executive Director of the Lowell House Opera at Harvard. She turns 25 in November. I interviewed her back in Episode 44. She has been waiting to return the favor. We talk about the life lessons I learned the hard way, what motherhood has taught me, the moments that shaped who I am, and what I understand now that I wish I had known years ago. Haley also asks about the nearly 100 guests I've interviewed on Joy of the Hang: the conversations I'll never forget, the people who surprised me, the stories that changed my perspective, and the lessons that stayed with me long after we stopped recording. But this episode is about more than looking back. We get into getting older without getting smaller. Starting over. Taking risks. Navigating relationships. Finding purpose. Knowing when to hold on and when to let go. What it means to keep reinventing yourself as life changes around you — and where Joy of the Hang goes from here. There are laughs, some vulnerable moments, and a few questions I was not prepared for. After 100 episodes spent asking other people about their lives, Haley gave me the chance to reflect on mine. Maybe that's the biggest lesson of all: we are never finished becoming who we're meant to be. In this episode: Life lessons I wish I'd learned earlier Motherhood and what my children have taught me Reinvention and starting over at any age Resilience through life's unexpected chapters A mother-daughter conversation across two generations My most memorable Joy of the Hang interviews Relationships, purpose and personal growth What's next for me — and for Joy of the Hang If these conversations have meant something to you over the last 100 episodes, follow the show and share this one with someone who needs it. Listen to Haley's own episode: Joy of the Hang Episode 44. One note on the trade you're making. "Getting older without getting smaller" is the line people will actually repeat, and it's now sitting in paragraph five where almost no one reads. It's still indexed there, so you lose nothing on search — but if you ever want a pull quote for the audiogram or the social cut, that's the one.