There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from overwork or lack of sleep. It comes from showing up, again and again, for something that keeps taking more than it gives. For Blythe Alpern, a Gen-X copywriter living in Atlanta, that something was modern dating, and specifically, the grinding daily ritual of the apps. Her story isn’t really about swiping left or right. It’s about what happens when a woman decides that the energy she’s been pouring into finding a partner might be better spent building a life she actually loves on her own terms.
Blythe’s story will resonate with anyone who has felt the quiet exhaustion of dating app fatigue: the notifications, the half-hearted conversations, the dates that go nowhere, the emotional whiplash of it all. It’s also for women who have found themselves asking a harder question beneath the surface one: not “why can’t I find the right person?” but “do I actually need to keep looking?”
Blythe arrived at that question the way most people do, through accumulation. A relationship that started with what she’d later recognize as love bombing. A string of genuinely terrible dates. A moment on a highway, stuck in traffic during a chemical spill, when she realized the man she was seeing hadn’t once checked in to see if she was okay. That was the moment everything clarified. She didn’t announce a breakup or delete her apps with ceremony. She just stopped. And what she found on the other side of that decision is worth paying attention to.
When the Apps Stop Working and You’re Not Sure They Ever Did
Blythe’s dating history with apps wasn’t always miserable. She’d taken a long break from dating between 2015 and 2020 while caring for her parents, both of whom passed away in that window, and hadn’t really been in the game during the early years when apps were novel. When she moved to Atlanta and re-engaged, the landscape had shifted.
“I have had the worst dates of my entire life, and they have all taken place in Atlanta,” she said. “And I have lived in Miami and Chicago and New York.”
The specifics were almost comedic in their awfulness. A date that lasted five minutes because the man was so rude he ended up following her into the parking lot, yelling. Another who couldn’t read the menu and required her to translate for the waiter. Men who couldn’t be bothered to Google a restaurant for a first date. Ghosting. Bots. Scammers fishing for personal information. The whole catalog.
“Google is free,” she said. “It’s so easy to type where to go on a date.”
What she’s describing isn’t just inconvenience. It’s the grinding accumulation of feeling like your time and effort are worth less than the other person’s comfort. And as she pointed out, this experience isn’t unique to women in their 50s. The same complaints show up across age groups. Dating app fatigue is generational in the worst possible sense. It doesn’t discriminate.
The final relationship before she quit entirely started with what she now recognizes as love bombing, intense early affection that gradually evaporated. By the end, she wasn’t hearing from him during a difficult trip home to support her sister. She was navigating a highway detour alone, and he didn’t notice or ask.
“I want to be with a partner,” she said. “I made the decision. Not that I’m not open to love, but I’m not doing the apps anymore.”
“I Choose Me” Is Not a Consolation Prize
One of the most striking things about talking to Blythe is the absence of apology in how she describes her choice. She invokes Samantha’s line from Sex and the City, “I choose me,” not as defeat, but as something closer to a declaration.
The question of pushback came up: when you make a decision like this, do the people around you push back?
“I definitely didn’t get any pushback from any of my friends,” Blythe said. In fact, the main feedback loop she’d had with friends around dating was more comedic than cautionary. Her best friend’s husband had responded to one particularly alarming profile photo with the observation that the man looked like he wanted to use her skin as a lamp. “I’m dating for their amusement,” she said.
The shift she describes isn’t dramatic. She didn’t make a public announcement. She just stopped checking the apps, stopped going to singles events, and quietly redirected her attention. She poured that energy into her work, her podcast, her fitness, her family. She started her own business in 2021, Word Woman Creative, named for the nickname her late father used when he needed her writing help. She launched a podcast about the Gen X experience. She went to Portugal for her 50th birthday.
“I don’t think about men,” she said. “When I’m out for a walk with my dog, I just walk. I stopped caring as much about what someone thought of me.”
The freedom she’s describing is real and specific. Not having to explain why she doesn’t want to do something. Not having to calculate whether an event is worth attending based on whether she’d be going alone. Not having to wake up and perform availability for an algorithm.
She’s also clear that she isn’t closing the door permanently. “If somebody comes along that’s the right fit, then great. But otherwise, I’m good.”
Making Peace With a Life That Didn’t Follow the Script
Things get quieter when Blythe reflects on Pandora’s box: her peace with not becoming a mother.
She’s careful to note this wasn’t a simple or quick process. She had always assumed she’d have children. She’s the oldest of three siblings, nurturing by nature, and had once imagined herself with four kids. She has nieces and nephews she adores, a 14-year-old nephew and two 12-year-old nieces, and she’s found genuine joy in being the cool aunt who shows up for them and then gets to go home.
“It took me probably until I was in my 40s to accept that this is what my life was going to look like,” she said. “And I can either dwell on it and be unhappy, or I can accept it and make the best of it.”
She’s also sharp about the double standard embedded in how society processes this kind of life path. Women who don’t have children, whether by choice or circumstance, are routinely made to feel like they’ve failed at something fundamental. Men aren’t held to that same accounting.
“Especially as a woman, you’re made to feel like a failure if you don’t have children,” she said. “Men aren’t made to feel that way, but we are.”
Part of what makes this expectation so durable is the invisibility of childfree adults during childhood itself. When you’re a kid, every adult you know has children. They’re at the pediatrician, at the school pickup, at the birthday parties. The adults who aren’t doing those things are simply not in your field of vision. The script gets written early, and revising it takes time.
Solo Travel, Introversion, and the Practice of Showing Up for Yourself
Going to Portugal alone for her 50th birthday wasn’t a casual decision. Blythe is, by her own description, an introvert, someone who can talk herself out of leaving the house with remarkable efficiency. She’s honest about the days when the anxiety and the Atlanta traffic and the effort of getting dressed all conspire to keep her on the couch. She doesn’t pretend that’s always a failure.
“Sometimes I just can’t do this. So I just don’t,” she said. “And other times, it’s okay. Just stay home.”
But she went to Portugal. She walked around Lisbon and Porto alone, went to a museum by herself, had the most amazing time. She came back with a revised relationship to solitude, not as something to be managed, but something that can actually be good.
Her goal going forward is more of the same: coffee shops, small outings, incremental expansion of what she’s willing to do alone. And more importantly, she’s trying to stop being hard on herself when the antisocial days win.
“Know that that’s not going to be the way it is all the time,” she said.
That might be the most honest summary of what choosing singlehood actually looks like in practice. It’s not a permanent mood. It’s not unbroken contentment. It’s a decision you make, and then you make it again on the days when it’s harder, and you give yourself permission to stay home when the boulder on your shoulders is just too heavy. And sometimes you get on a plane to Portugal and walk through a museum by yourself and it’s one of the best days you’ve had in years.
Blythe Alpern didn’t walk away from dating because she gave up on love. She walked away from a system that kept demanding her effort while returning exhaustion and disappointment. What she found in that space was not a consolation prize. It was her own life, built on her own terms, with room for love if it arrives and enough joy to sustain her if it doesn’t.
This article was inspired by an interview with Blythe Alpern and Amy Stone on The Art of Imperfect Adulting podcast.https://imperfect-adulting.captivate.fm/listen https://www.youtube.com/@imperfectadultingTo hear more compelling conversations like this one and receive special offers from our guests directly to your inbox, join our email community today.
Dating: Interview Transcript Blythe Alpern with Amy Stone | The Art of Imperfect Adulting | March 2026
Amy Stone [00:00:05]:
Welcome to the Art of Imperfect adulting. Blythe Alpern, are you ready for a fun chat today?
Blythe Alpern [00:00:10]:
I am. I’m looking forward to being a guest instead of the interviewer.
Amy Stone [00:00:14]:
That’s right. So inside scoop. I was on Blythe’s show, and I’ll tell you more about her show towards the end. But she’s also got a podcast and she’s a wonderful host. So this is the flipping of the script. I start all of my conversations asking my guests what part of the world they call home. Where are you these days?
Blythe Alpern [00:00:32]:
I am in Atlanta, Georgia.
Amy Stone [00:00:34]:
Love it. And so one more warmup question before we dig into the topic of the day. How does art or beauty show up in your life day to day?
Blythe Alpern [00:00:45]:
Well, I am a copywriter, so I am basically an artist all the time. And I do work with beauty brands. So it’s a combination of beauty and art and just getting to be creative, which is stressful. But I also love it a lot.
Amy Stone [00:01:00]:
Love that answer. Fantastic beauty in copywriting. I love it. All right, we are going to talk today about a choice that you made a couple years ago with relationships. So that’s all I’m going to say. I’m going to let you sort of lead it because. And I’m not trying to keep this a secret or have like some big dangly thing, but when I was writing out this first question, when I was getting ready for this, I. I had it flash through my head. I was like, I might be making some assumptions here of what she meant with this description, and I don’t want to do that. But are you ready to talk about with me about this today?
Blythe Alpern [00:01:33]:
Yes, definitely.
Amy Stone [00:01:34]:
All right, so the year is 2023. Not now, but when you, when this happened, what was going on when your life. When we talk about relationships in 2023.
Blythe Alpern [00:01:46]:
So it was kind of a combination. I was like in the throes of perimenopause, which I feel like I have not stopped talking about since 2019. But I was, like, going through it, trying to figure out what was going on and to find a doctor. And at the same time, I was dating someone. And it’s just that relationship, it started off really good, really well, but I didn’t know he was love bombing me and I had never had. I didn’t even know what that was. As you know, that’s not something that we talked about growing up. And. And I. So I was like, oh, this is great. This is perfect. And then it just sort of kind of started to just decline and it was, like, the same text every morning and the same text in the evening, and it was just boring. And I just felt like he was tuning out. And really, kind of the final straw is I had to go home to my hometown with my sister because her best friend’s mom had passed away. And this was someone I knew growing up, and I did not hear from him one time. And I was driving, like, by myself, and I went to my brother, and I was driving back, and I think at one point, yeah, like, I got stuck in traffic because there was a chemical spill on the highway, and I had to go around, and he didn’t seem to care that I was staying by myself or driving by myself. And I was just like, I don’t want to do this anymore if I’m going to. I want to be with a partner. And so I just kind of made the decision that, like, not that I’m not open to love, I’m not cutting out, but I’m not doing the apps anymore. And I’m not actively, like, putting myself in situations where I have to. I just don’t want to go to singles events and. Because I just. I’m just happier by myself, and I just want to, you know, work on me and building my life, and if somebody comes along that’s the right fit, then great. But otherwise, I’m good.
Amy Stone [00:03:26]:
Okay. So, yeah, because I. When I wrote the question, I was like, okay, is this about the apps? And I didn’t know, so I didn’t want to ask. Okay, so you mentioned. I didn’t want to assume. You mentioned a couple areas of focus when you wrote this out in the. In the pitch, and I’m going to walk you through this in the next couple questions so you can share a little bit more about what was driving this choice. You shared that after so many terrible dates with so many awful, lazy, lackluster men, I knew enough was enough. Copywriter by trade. That’s a very specific description. I really. The word choice makes me chuckle. Can you share more about. Because you talked about this one relationship, but, like, your description is more or encompassing of male kind. Tell us more about what you were experiencing then.
Blythe Alpern [00:04:11]:
So I. From, like, 2015 to mostly 2020, I. I kind of took time off dating because my parents had gotten sick. They both passed away in that time, and I just didn’t have the capacity to give to anyone else. And. And I didn’t want to drag anybody else into all the stuff that was going on. And then I moved to Atlanta, and I’m like, okay, you know, I’m going to try dating. And I have had the worst dates of my entire life, have all taken place in Atlanta, and I have lived in Miami and Chicago and New York. And I just. I had a date that lasted five minutes because the guy was so rude and just obnoxious. He was rude.
Amy Stone [00:04:46]:
I’m, like, grinning, but I don’t mean to be. I’m grinning because it’s an entertaining story. Sorry.
Blythe Alpern [00:04:51]:
He was so. And then he, like, kind of followed me out of the restaurant, was yelling at me in the parking lot. I went out with a guy who. He didn’t know how to read a menu. Like, he didn’t know what something was. And I had to go up to the waiter and be like, he doesn’t eat this. Like, just. And guys would be like, okay, I don’t know your area, so where do you want to go? I’m like, you.
Amy Stone [00:05:10]:
You.
Blythe Alpern [00:05:11]:
Google is free. Like, you. Literally, it’s so easy to type where to go on a date. Like, what is good in this area? And I just. I just got tired. And the guys would ghost you on the apps. They’re just using you as, like, you know, boost their ego. There’s bots on there. There’s people trying to get your information, like your passwords, and just weird, weird stuff going on. I just. I just got tired. I’m like, why am I putting effort when I’m not giving the effort back? And I deserve better. Every woman deserves better than a man with a picture of a fish, because there’s a lot of them on there. And I just was like, no, I’m just going to choose a different path and stop thinking that I need a man in my life to complete me. The notion that we’re all told when we’re growing up, you need a man, and then you’re good.
Amy Stone [00:06:00]:
Right? Happiness comes if you follow the instruction. Okay, so you make a decision. You describe it as deciding to stop trying to find my person. So you. Was this mostly about swearing off the apps? And I am not a dating app expert, but I must admit I don’t ever hear positive things very often about the apps. Although I meet a lot of people who find relationships on apps also. So was it mostly about closing the dating app accounts or what else was going on?
Blythe Alpern [00:06:29]:
It definitely. That was definitely a huge catalyst. It was just a waste of time. It’s. And it’s. You know, even though I’m an adult in my 50s, it’s still hard on your ego when you’re being treated so poorly and this happens to women across the age range. Like, it’s not just, you know, women in their 50s. You hear it from younger women, too, in their 20s, 30s, etc. And then I’ve gone to a couple of, like, single events, and I was like, okay, I’m the youngest person in this room, and I’m in my. Like, the time was, like, late 40s, early 50s. I’m like, no. And it just. I just felt like I was putting an effort and not get anything back. And there are just other things that I just didn’t want to put so much focus. That’s what I did in my 20s and my 30s, and I. It really did affect my life. And I’m like, why am I. I’ve been through the worst thing ever. I lost both my parents, and I am resilient through that. And even though it hurts still every day, I don’t want to have some man also trying to drag me down when I’m trying to build a business and a life and the podcast. And I wouldn’t. I choose as. As what Samantha said in one of the Sex and the City movies. I choose me. Yeah, that’s what I decided to do.
Amy Stone [00:07:40]:
And I think that’s good. So let’s talk. So you mentioned that you lost both of your parents, so they were not there to help you, give you feedback or support you. When you made this decision, was it something that you came to, like, all on your own, like on a walk in the shower? Or was something that you were talking about with other people, friends, support group therapists, stuff like that?
Blythe Alpern [00:08:02]:
Definitely, partially, it was me and the experience of dating here in Atlanta. But I would talk to my friends about it because some of my friends are also single, and we, you know, they live in different areas. I have some friends that live here that are single, and we would just talk about, you know, it was the same nonsense we were all facing and just questioning, like, why are we putting ourselves through this? Why are we making ourselves feel bad when we could be doing something else? And maybe at some point, men will start to get a clue that their bad behavior is the reason that they’re lonely. Not because, you know, not because women don’t want to be with you. Your behavior. Like, if we’re. If we’re telling you that we would choose a bear over you, that that should be a clue.
Amy Stone [00:08:48]:
And there’s undoubtedly. Well, actually, I don’t know. I don’t know. Most. Mostly the audience of the show is women, but is a man out there listening, thinking. But I’M not that bad. Listen, generalizations do, you know, they just are generalizations, right? That totally is the case. But the bear thing is pretty funny. It really was a funny time to be alive when we were having the bear conversation. All right, so you talked about it with your friends. When you were talking about it with people, did they give you feedback? Was there, like, agreement? Did you get any pushback? Or was it something that you didn’t kind of announce? Like, you talked about your friends, but you didn’t make, like, a public announcement, like, hello, world, I’m closing my apps.
Blythe Alpern [00:09:28]:
I. I definitely didn’t get any pushback from any of my friends. My best friend loves, like, or her husband and her love when I would send, like, pictures or, like, comments I would get from guys. You know, there was one time I sent someone, they were that had swiped on me, and my best friend’s husband was like, I, I hope you’re swiping left, because he looks like he wants to use your skin as a lamp. So I was like, okay, I’m dating for their amusement. But no, none of. All my friends are supportive. My brother and sister are supportive. I don’t think I made, like, the official announcement. I just kind of stopped doing it. And then I think people ask. I’m like, yeah, yeah, I’m not dating. I. Not. Not interested.
Amy Stone [00:10:07]:
I can. I can totally see that. It is one of those things where it’s like, you don’t actually have to tell anybody. You can just not do it. And I do think. I think fatigue. There’s even, like, I read about it. There’s, like, fatigue with the apps overall. Like, people fatigued with dating apps and multiple age groups. One of the funny outcrops of that is that the affection for running clubs as a place to meet and meet other people. And this story is about a decade old, but I’ve been a longtime run club person, and 10 years ago, I was somebody who’s like, hey, why don’t you go to Brickell Run Club? And I was like, oh, I kind of think of it as a meat market for young kids, which is fine. They can have fun with it. It’s hundreds of people. I can do my run at home. And the guy who I was talking to was, no, no, it’s totally not like that. And in the two minutes that I was talking to him about it, it was so funny because at that exact moment, like, people were coming up, and they’re like, well, how was your hookup with this person? And what was all of these all of these things. And I was like, there’s nothing wrong with it being a single scene here. I’m just like, I’m just saying I’m not coming for the single scene. Super funny. Very funny. Anyway, how has your life changed as a result of making that decision? Because you said you wanted to focus on you and the things you were building. How has your life changed?
Blythe Alpern [00:11:25]:
I don’t, you know, get up in the morning and be like, oh, I gotta check the apps, or I don’t spend time. I mean, I now I spend time doom scrolling on TikTok and Instagram, which I keep telling myself to stop do because. Stop doing because it’s not great for your mental health. But yeah, I don’t. I don’t think about men. Like, when I’m out for a walk with my dog, I just walk. Like, I don’t. I. I stopped caring as much about what, you know, someone thought of me, which is. I know as we get older, they say you do that it’s not that easy to just turn it off. And I really just poured myself into my work and, and the podcast and spending time with family and friends and just feeling I didn’t have to answer to anyone. I didn’t have to explain, like, why I didn’t want to do something or, you know, think about going somewhere. I’m like, oh, what if I don’t have a date? I’m like, I’ll just, you know, either not go or go by myself. Which isn’t always easy as an introvert. But I just put my efforts, you know, into working out and to just other things that brought me fulfillment.
Amy Stone [00:12:25]:
I love that. And so I’ll talk. I have a question about doing things by yourself. But first, I want to open Pandora’s box. One of the things that you mentioned was that you had made peace with the realization that you would never. You didn’t think you’d be a mom. Um, and talking to people about parenthood is what I talk about. Like societal’s. Pandora’s box. People have very strong opinions about this and so only share what you feel comfortable. But I would like to give you the chance to share a little bit of reflection about whether or not parenthood was something that when you were much younger, that you had thought about as an adult or even just assumed that it was the thing that everybody did. Like, what was that process like for you?
Blythe Alpern [00:13:09]:
Yeah, I. I definitely assume that’s what everyone did. But I wanted to be a mom. I’m the oldest of three. My sister’s only 16 months younger, but my brother is four years, and I would be like, oh, my baby. And, you know, I’m nurturing is just who I am. And I just always dreamed of my life, of having. I used to want four kids, which, you know, and then I was like, as I got a little older, I was like, two is fine. But, yeah, I really wanted to be a mom. And, you know, I. I have a nephew who’s 14 and two nieces. They’re both 12. And I love getting to see them grow up. And, you know, when they were little and sometimes I would be a little sad, like, I’m not going to get to have this, but at the same time, I do get to have some of it. And then I get to go home and I don’t have to take anyone. I’m not, you know, Uber. I’m not like, you know, I don’t have to go to everything. I don’t have to deal with all the kid, the homework and everything. So I try to remote myself as that. But, yeah, it took me probably until I was in my 40s to be like, okay, this is what my life is gonna look like. And I can either dwell on it and be unhappy, or I can accept it and make the best of it and, you know, be the cool aunt who spoils them and. And shows up for them and. And so that’s what I’m doing.
Amy Stone [00:14:23]:
And there’s a lot of variety and options for how people end up with where they deal with that. I think it’s a very interesting human dynamic because all children have parents. So, like, our exposure when we’re kids is that, like, you know, all the adults we know have children. Like, we don’t ever. As a child, you may not really ever run into the adults who are not having kids because they’re not coming to the pediatrician office and they’re not hanging out at the playground, because that would be creepy. And so it is an interesting thing. And then it leads into this, like, mindset of go. You use the word acceptance when it comes to, like, readjusting, to, like, hey, this is what my life is going to look like and we can talk about this. And then also doing things by yourself, was it partly, like, acceptance, but also, like, hey, it’s not actually necessary. Like, it’s not unusual for me to. For somebody to be in the spot that I’m in.
Blythe Alpern [00:15:23]:
Yeah, I mean, it took me probably longer to get to, like, it’s not unusual because, you know, I come from. I’m Gen X and, like, We. We were sold. The. You grow up, you go to college, you get married. The white picket fence with 2.5 kids. I don’t know what 0.5 is, but. But you just think that’s what you’re supposed to do. And especially as a woman, you’re made to feel like a failure if you don’t have children. Men aren’t made to feel that way, but we are. And so it took me a while to realize, hey, you know, not everybody has them. And a lot of people make the choice not to. And then there are some of us who wanted to, and it just didn’t happen. And, you know, that’s okay too. And because you do run into more people as you get older that don’t have kids or their kids are grown, and so they’re living a different life as well.
Amy Stone [00:16:08]:
Yeah, no, it definitely is. So, like, it should not be. Women are judged based on their decision of whether or not they have children. I would never sugarcoat that they aren’t. But it should not be a value judgment about, are you a good person? And that, I think, is a big leap. And then this summer, I did some solo travel. Um, and I had to re. And I. I am like, I have a big family. Being alone until recently was hard for me to figure out how to do it. So I did some solo travel. And it was super interesting because I am an extrovert, but I had to, like, rework that through, like, get up the courage to go and do things by myself. And a big piece of it. I was. In the beginning, it was super funny because I was like, there are tons of people out here by themselves once I actually get out here. And then there was that awareness. And then there was also. I kept remembering. I was like, I used to do, like, stuff all by myself all the time. It was like a reset that it was like, I’m not. I don’t have to be with somebody else. Like, this is something I can do. So talk a little bit about how you work through that. Cause you’re an introvert, so how do you work through that? When you have now decided you’re like, this is what I’m gonna do for this moment. How do you. When it comes up and you’re like, do I wanna go by myself? How do you work yourself through it?
Blythe Alpern [00:17:23]:
Sometimes it’s just like, no, I’m not going. Like, I. I just. The anxiety, the introvert. I’m like, I just can’t do this. So I just don’t. But there are sit. I. For my 50th birthday last year, I went on a solo trip with a group, but it was a solo trip to Portugal with wild terrains. And I had the most amazing time. The women were incredible. But I also had alone time, and I’m. And I enjoyed it. I loved walking around Lisbon and Porto. Porto was, like, one of my favorite cities. I just. It was great. I didn’t feel weird or, you know, I just had a good time. I went nate by myself and went and looked at a museum, and it was great. But there are times, you know, that my anxiety and introvertedness, like, just are just like, sitting like a boulder on my shoulders, being like, we are not doing this today. And sometimes I can force myself to go. And then other times I’m like, you know what? It’s okay. Just. Just stay home. There’s other, other things. But it is hard because sometimes it does make you antisocial where, like, well, I could just sit home and not get in Atlanta traffic and have to get dressed and. And then you start talking yourself out of it. And so definitely one of my goals for next year, I’m like, I just gotta start doing stuff, even if it is just a. There’s lots of great coffee shops here. I’m like, even just to go to a coffee shop by myself. People do that all the time. And, you know, and also not be hard on myself if I’m like, yeah, I’m feeling antisocial and just let myself be antisocial and know that that’s not going to be the way it is all the time.
Amy Stone [00:18:51]:
Yeah. Yeah. No, I think that’s very. I think that’s very good. So I love that you took the trip. I have not done a travel where I’m in a group. A solo person is a solo group. But one of the things that did happen past summer is that, you know, the kid, one of the kids called and was like, what are you doing? And I’m like, I’m happily doing all of the things today that you guys would make fun of me wanting to do if we were together. And I’m having the greatest time. Talk to you later. You know, I was like, I’m gonna. It was. I was like. Went to see. I went to see, like, the locks of a dam. And I was like, totally walking through the tour, being like, everyone in my family would be making fun of me right now. And I’m having the greatest time. So it’s like, very, very good. All right, so in a second, we’re going to do the final Questions. But I do want to let you tell people, tell us a little bit, if you want, about what you do, and then also describe, tell people about your show. And I’ll remind you about this if we get off topic, but what you do and about your show and your podcast.
Blythe Alpern [00:19:52]:
So I am a copywriter. And no, that does not mean that I do copyright law. They’re totally different things. Basically, I’m a writer in advertising, and so I’ve started my career. Obviously I did the traditional stuff. If you ever watch Mad Men, I like to say I was Peggy, except I didn’t sleep with my account person, but I was on the creative side. And I love coming up with ideas for brands, campaigns. I do websites and I do emails and blog posts. And then one of my favorite things is brainstorming or strategy sessions because I just love working the creative muscle. And I like being a writer. So I get to write for different kinds of brands. I’ve written for different kinds of brands, my career, some of them not so good. So Purdue Pharma, for example. But I’ve also worked on Lancome and like, smaller, you know, smaller brands as well. So it’s just fun to get to work with different people and also just to connect with other creatives as well. My favorite creative people are, of course, copywriters and art directors, because art directors are the partner to a copywriter. So I started my own business in 2021, I think, and it’s called Word Woman Creative. That’s what my dad used to call me when he needed writing help. He was an orthodontist, but he published. He’s patents, everything. So whenever he needs someone to edit his work or help him come up with something, a name for, he would be like, I need Word Woman. So I, I knew what, what kind of help he needed. And so in honor of him and my mom, I named my business after them. And then two. Yeah, it’s been almost two years. I started my own podcast. I’ve been a fan of podcasts for a very long time, like decades. And I always, like, wanted to have one. And then it took me a little while, and I was like, okay, I want to do one on Gen X because I feel like we get ignored partially because we want to be ignored.
Amy Stone [00:21:48]:
Exactly. We’re fine with it.
Blythe Alpern [00:21:50]:
Yes.
Amy Stone [00:21:50]:
We don’t. We learned early on the way to avoid getting in trouble is just not be seen. Yes, exactly.
Blythe Alpern [00:21:56]:
Children are to be seen and not heard. And, you know, even though we respected authority, we didn’t trust them. And you know, so we kind of stayed in our own lane, but I just kind of get tired of, like, you’ll see the news, talk about generations. And like, so 1965 to 1980 just didn’t happen. Like, we just skipped over. So I want to give us a place. It really. I started to give us a place to. To come and talk about different topics. So every month we cover a different topic. We’ve talked about dating. We talked about solo travel. We’ve talked about beauty. Over 40. Just all kinds of different things. And it’s for men and women. I want it to be like a. A community for. For everybody. Granted, there are more female topics because I am a woman, so. But it’s just kind of my passion project and a fun outlet to just chat. Like, you know, you. I had you on the show. It’s just so fun to chat with other Gen Xers and hear our similarities and our differences. Because again, as like most generations, we’re 15 years. So people born in the early, like, in the early part of a generation have a different experience than people born at the end of our generation. So it’s just kind of fun to meet different people and to do it from the comfort of my own home.
Amy Stone [00:23:03]:
Yes, absolutely. I love the story about the connection between your business being a nod to the nickname your dad had for you. I think that that’s great. So the name of your show is the Gen X Experience, right? Yes, Gen X Experience. And I love that there’s a lot of Gen X stuff that I see now. Who is your favorite? This is a bonus random question. Who would you say is your favorite or one of your favorite of the Gen X sort of comedy influencer people who are out on the socials these days?
Blythe Alpern [00:23:32]:
Well, I did have the dad. The dad bod. Veteran on the podcast and I love the little group. They’re doing a tour I can’t remember the name of it is. And it’s just. I like that they just comment on things. And he’s definitely a favorite. Then there’s. What is it? She calls herself Sherry. And then there’s a Sheri.
Amy Stone [00:23:50]:
Yep.
Blythe Alpern [00:23:51]:
And the professor. Like, there’s one other person. And I’ve been seeing them lately on aarps.
Amy Stone [00:23:57]:
Yes.
Blythe Alpern [00:23:58]:
It’s so funny. And they did like a little reenactment of the Breakfast Club. Like the scene where they’re running to get back to the classroom. And it’s just. It’s just nice. The snarkiness, the sarcasm, and just the reminiscing. It’s just fun. And like, yes, I, you know, you just watch and go, yes, I did that. Yes, I identify with that.
Amy Stone [00:24:16]:
And yeah, that’s the group that has Kelly Mano, I think.
Blythe Alpern [00:24:20]:
Yes, that’s it. That’s the other one.
Amy Stone [00:24:21]:
And she can still do the dances. I never learned any of those. I watch, like, I watch her do them and I remember them from when I was that age, but I was not actually on the dance floor doing any of those dances and never knew them. But have you seen the video of where she stabs the apple from the side?
Blythe Alpern [00:24:38]:
I don’t know if I have seen that one.
Amy Stone [00:24:40]:
She has like this secret talent that I do not think ever existed. She’s the only person, I think, on the planet that can do this. But she thought that everyone did it. She can toss up an apple and like with her fork, she just can catch it on the side. And like, then there’s all these other people trying to do it. And of course, when anybody else on the planet does it, the apple bounces away. Like, it’s like. And she. I don’t know how she. You would think it was like, like a fiction video, but it’s a real thing she does anyway. High quality entertainment on the interwebs. From this, you have a special offer for the audience related to your copywriting services. It’s a done for you website content creation service strategy session. That’s an armful. That’s a mouthful. Let me say it again. You can book a done for you website content creation service and receive a free strategy session. Okay, there we go. Usually that’s 450 and there’s a code and the code. Everybody can find all of that in the show notes or the description, wherever you’re watching or listening to this episode. And also the easiest way to get this information is in the newsletter that I send out to the subscribers. I always say that. I want to thank you for that very generous offer for the audience. And also I’ll put the information about your show and all of the places. Places I was a guest, as I mentioned before, we talked about beauty because I am an authority on beauty. And I’ll post that also. Are you ready, Blythe, for the final three rapid fire questions?
Blythe Alpern [00:26:05]:
I am. Yes.
Amy Stone [00:26:08]:
Do you have a favorite color and is it the same as when you were a kid?
Blythe Alpern [00:26:13]:
My favorite color is blue. It’s been my favorite color for a long time, but I feel like purple was probably, which is not too far from blue. I think purple was my favorite color as a kid.
Amy Stone [00:26:23]:
All right. I love it. I love it. All right. If you had to pick one store to buy all of your clothes for the rest of your life, you do not get to change. What store do you choose?
Blythe Alpern [00:26:34]:
I would go with Nordstrom because they have.
Amy Stone [00:26:37]:
That’s a good choice. Yeah, they have, they have. They have a lot of stuff there.
Blythe Alpern [00:26:41]:
And a good shoe section because I’m a shoe girl, so I need. I need a good selection of shoes.
Amy Stone [00:26:46]:
That is a very good. Yeah, it’s. Nordstrom is all about the shoes that. 100%. Okay, so can you share the last really good book that you read or listened to that you think everybody in the audience should give a shot?
Blythe Alpern [00:26:57]:
Yes. It’s called the Correspondent. I know it was on. It made Goodreads a couple of their lists. I don’t know why it didn’t win. And it’s. It’s a. Basically about a woman writing to different people during her life. And, you know, there’s a little bit of a mystery to it. And so you get to kind of find out about her life through her letters. And they’re just. It’s just really the. I did listen to the audiobook and it’s really well done because sometimes you listen to audiobooks and they ruin the book, and then sometimes they make it better. But I just really. I love letters. It’s such a lost art form. And it was just nice seeing hearing that. And, you know, even like her next door neighbor, she, like, they started like a little correspondence and it was just. Just really sweet. And. Yeah, I couldn’t recommend it more.
Amy Stone [00:27:41]:
That is a wonderful recommendation. Do you write letters still for yourself?
Blythe Alpern [00:27:46]:
I don’t. And I. I mean, occasionally I’ll send, you know, if I send someone a present, I’ll write in there if I’m feeling it. Sometimes I just write my name. I’m like, you know, it’s for me. But I. I kind of miss it. I. I miss, like, we had pen pals or you’d go away or you go on vacation and you’d always tell your friends, like, I’m gonna send you a postcard.
Amy Stone [00:28:06]:
Yeah.
Blythe Alpern [00:28:07]:
Yeah. We just. I feel like we just don’t do that anymore. And I kind of wish we did.
Amy Stone [00:28:11]:
Yeah, no, it has been replaced. That’s it. Blythe Alpine. Thank you so much for being a wonderful guest.
Blythe Alpern [00:28:17]:
Thank you so much for having me.