How I Swapped Burnout for Boot Fairs
Confessions of a Midlife Reseller - Lesson 2
Ten years ago today, to the exact day, I was lying in a hospital bed in critical care, terrified and exhausted, wondering how I’d let my life become so busy that my body simply gave out.
After a gazillion tests and an anxious 8 hour wait, the words rang like a bell in my ears:
“We’re sorry Mrs Smith, your test results show us you’ve had a heart attack”…
I can still remember the three doctors stood at the end of my bed delivering the news. One was a young girl, maybe a student, and the sorrow and empathy in her eyes has never left me.
Burnt out and broken, I was stunned, silenced, alone at this point - and the tears slowly leaked out until they viciously rolled uncontrollably, expressing the fear and mayhem of my mind.
I was 43, a deputy headteacher, and like so many midlife, peri-menopausal women, I thought that continually running on empty, ignoring the exhaustion and trying to manage all of the things, was normal.
Turns out it wasn’t.
Recovery was slow. Physically, I healed over many months of cardiac rehabilitation and monitoring, but mentally, I fell apart. I lost my sense of purpose, my confidence, and for a long time, my direction.
Ultimately, I used my coaching qualifications to set up as a self employed coach and build a successful business, but when the industry began to shift into something that no longer felt aligned, I knew I was ready for something different again. To take what I believe to have been my bravest step yet. Not because I don’t think I can do it, but because, at 53, everything just feels that tiny bit more terrifying.
I had started selling vintage home decor back in 2024. It began as a side project, a distraction, a way to clear space and find joy in the small things, and moreover, in very practical terms, as a way to pay the extortionate York city centre rent for my daughter away at university… but it soon grew into a business, True North Vintage, and then a full-blown second act.
From burnout to boot fairs. And I bloody love it.
Pic: 24th October 2025 - Thrifted Frank Usher Heart Sweater - perfect top to celebrate life, one decade on from the heart attack 💜
And now, one year on, Mark has retired and joined me. We sell together, laugh together, argue about stock storage together and dream about what’s next. It’s chaotic and imperfect, but it’s ours.
Reselling isn’t glamorous. It’s messy and real and full of lessons. But for us, it’s also freedom. Freedom to create, to work on our own terms and to build something meaningful in midlife. We don’t want to sit and read the paper, tinker in the garden or look after a big house. We a little cottage, to travel on sourcing trips, sell our finds and enjoy a warm life of purpose beyond the expected norm.
Tired of the “w*nkernomics” (yes, we’ve just seen this tour - you MUST go if you get the chance) - and all the corporate bullsh*t, we have no desire for careers, designer clothes, fancy titles, the trappings of meetings, Teams or emails in which colleague Johnny hopes to find us well.
This new chapter: our “midlife freedom business” is about sharing what we’re learning as we grow together… how to balance love and logistics, how to build confidence after the career, and how to make an income that feels aligned rather than exhausting.
If you’ve ever thought “I’d love to do something like that,” stay tuned. In this Substack, we’ll be taking you behind the scenes and showing you the truths and the realities. We’ll take you on our travels, on our thrifting adventures, to our vintage booth, share thrifted finds of the day, our best buys, biggest mistakes and everything in between.
Because if there’s one thing my heart attack taught me, it’s this:
Life doesn’t end when things fall apart.
Sometimes, that’s when it finally begins.
Gill & Mark x
👉 Subscribe for FREE to follow the Confessions of a Midlife Reseller series for more behind-the-scenes stories, business lessons, and honest chats about building a midlife freedom business from scratch.