Kathleen Logan and Betsy Smith

Second Blooming for Women: Growing a Life That Matters After Fifty is a book to do, not just to read, for the six thousand women who become invisible in America every day.

Every day nearly six thousand women in America turn fifty…and become invisible. They disappear from books, magazines, television, and media. Society’s implicit message is that youth and beauty trump age and experience, so go away mature women, you don’t matter. However, according to Prime Time for Women by Marti Barletti, every fifth person in America is a woman over fifty. Altogether, they make up 22% of the adult US population, and 41% of the adult female population.

 Second Blooming for Women: Growing a Life That Matters After Fifty  authors Kathleen Vestal Logan and E. L. (Betsy) Smith coach women step by step to consciously and purposefully plan their future through guided reflection, personal assessments, and action plans. “While some women navigate this stage of life well, other women need encouragement and guidance. The uniqueness of our book is that it is prescriptive, with specific strategies for creating a ‘second life’ that provides women personal fulfillment while making valuable contributions to their community,” notes Smith. “It engages every aspect of a woman’s being, setting her on her own path to an abundant stage of life. We want her to be able to say, ‘My life matters,’” adds Logan .

In the book, the authors share successful strategies for women over fifty to stay visible by living fulfilling lives. Second Blooming guides women to:

• Understand they are unique because they have another forty years to live after fifty
• Thrive where they are
• Embrace change
• Trust their authentic self
• Inventory skills
• Clarify passions and dreams
• Ascertain values and vision
• Create a life purpose statement
• Develop an action plan

Pam Bilbrey, author of Ordinary Greatness: It’s Where You Least Expect It…Everywhere, says: “It’s as if Kathleen and Betsy were living my life. Their insight into the new reality for women in their fifties is nothing less than astonishing.”

Following the garden theme of the book, Logan says, “Women over fifty are often treated like annuals, pulled out and tossed on the compost pile when they’re no longer young. Actually, they are perennials—a permanent, colorful, and vital part of our nation’s garden.”

 Logan and Smith co-authored articles on “Second Blooming for Women” published in On the Coast Magazine and Coming of Age:  Lifestyle Magazine for Seniors. The article in Coming of Age earned the authors a Bronze Award in the 2009 National Mature Media Awards, presented by the Mature Market Research Center to honor the best in advertising, marketing and educational materials for older adults.

About the authors

Logan and Smith are experts in assisting women over fifty to live meaningful and fulfilling lives.

Kathleen Vestal Logan, M.S., M.A.

In a seemingly peripatetic life, Kathleen Logan has been an elementary school teacher, Navy officer, writer and speaker on Navy deployments and family life, counselor, college instructor, and coordinator of a hospital-based Employee Assistance Program. Currently, she does private consulting.  She has conducted hundreds of lively seminars for businesses, civic organizations, and non-profit groups on building personal skills and enhancing relationships.  She inspires and empowers people to trust themselves while developing a vision for their future.  Married to a career Navy officer, Kathleen and their son moved frequently and experienced long separations.  With each new duty station or deployment, she had to reach deep inside herself to find personal resources to help her not just adapt, but thrive, in changing circumstances. 

 Kathleen has had articles published in Naval Institute Proceedings and Toastmaster Magazine. She has a bachelor’s degree in Education, a master’s in Management, and a master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy. 

Elizabeth L. (Betsy) Smith, Ph. D.

Betsy’s two top strengths are “strategic” (innovative, original, and resourceful) and “maximizer” (has a keen ability to help people embrace and savor their success). A proud Texas Aggie, Betsy is a certified professional life coach. Her highly-developed sense of humor combined with her boundless energy and her zest for life create her coaching style—fast-paced, bold, purposeful with great results, and, of course, fun!

 Betsy has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Social Work, a master’s in Adult Education, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration. She was recognized as one of the Thirty Distinguished Graduates from the College of Education at Texas A & M. Her long and extraordinary career at a large community college in Pensacola , Florida , involved coaching female students, faculty, and staff to greater self-confidence and success. She has had articles published in both magazines and academic journals, and is a well-known speaker and seminar leader.

They are both enjoying their own Second Blooming.