The topic came up again, the third time in one week, so I knew to pay attention. “What exactly is a midlife crisis?” a colleague asked. “And does it always have to be difficult?”

When I look back on my midlife days (which, to me, were my early fifties), I have such compassion for the woman who felt unsettled. Really unsettled. I knew change was on the horizon because I was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with life. I was starting to realize what I no longer wanted (too much time away from hom...