By Makeda White
Actress, Award-winning Producer and Writer Maryam Myika Day celebrated the launch and the first live recording of her podcast, “North of 40” in an intimate sip and listen, held at Dapper Dan’s Harlem Atelier, which left the audience raving about the “soul-shifting” experience.
As the doors opened, people began to arrive one by one, seeking shelter from the chilly New York night. For an hour, the room was enchanted with polite conversations. Waiters floated between the guests, serving hors d’oeuvres catered by The Fork Goes on the Left, dessert/cupcakes by MDV Custom Cakes and replenishing drinks.
As the clock approached 7 pm, the small group was ushered into another room for the live taping. As if on cue, “North of 40” podcast host Maryam Myika Day entered the room graciously, thanking everyone for coming.
North of 40 is a podcast that details the journey to recovery after life-altering experiences, such as death, pregnancy, loss, career changes, etc. Its conversation is targeted towards women 35 years and up, dedicated to discussing the delicate events that are happening within their lives.
Through her personal experiences and self-reflection, Day shares tips and advice on coping tools, and how to get back up after life knocks you down. For Day, 40 was a life-changing year; it was the year she gave birth to her daughter and the year she lost her husband.
“At 40 I lost my husband, just 8 months prior to that I had a little girl,” Day says. “In that year, I had two major things happen to me which made me kind of shift in terms of the way I thought about doing my life or going about my life.” This challenging shift that occurred in Day’s life was the inspiration behind her podcast.
“North of 40” is birthed out of that life transition that I had, and feeling the need to share my experiences with others so they can have a parameter to base their own lives on.”
Day uses the high and low points within her journey to help aid others through their own trials in life. In this episode, Day and her guest co-host for the evening, Danique Day-Loving, COO of Dapper Dan Enterprises discussed life-altering moments and career changes. Day-Loving also dropped some gems of advice that she gave to Day years prior. Her advice resonated throughout the crowd.
After the live recording, there was a Q&A segment, which allowed guests to comment and further discuss standout moments the hosts touched on within the podcast. The room was filled with a strong sense of empowerment and inspiration.
“I love the quote Danique shared about how the light at the end of the tunnel is not always an oncoming train,” says guest Aixa Kendrick. For Kendrick, this meant to “Trust that it’s something positive, therefore move towards it. You might not have an answer or clarity over the shape or form of how this magic is about to happen but know that this light is for you, so just keep going.”
There were many “gems” and “jewels” to receive from the podcast, but for Kendrick the overall message she took away was self-worth. “I love that they both shared that you’re here for a reason,” she says. “Therefore, the dreams or the muses that come to you are not for amusement, but actually, for you do something to plant those seeds.”
Another guest, Devasha Lloyd described the event as a “Win for us.” She explains, “As a woman who happens to also be North of 40, as a black woman, we are all trying to figure it out. We have challenges, we have things that are constantly being thrown at us as professional, educated women. I think that, just in this room, being here with all of this energy, all of this good black girl magic is so inspiring. I just can’t wait to kind of govern my life by it; I feel like I’m going to be hearing some stories and some little gems and jewels, that I can apply to my daily.”
As the night began to unwind, each guest was gifted a swag bag with items sponsored by K-Tronics (podcast audio), K2 Nails (nail polish), and House of Gia (bath bomb), and Harlem Hops (custom craft beer glass & gift card), along with an embedded new sense of purpose.
