You’re not done.
And neither am I. At 73, I published my first novel, Whispers of Echo Canyon, the first in the Women of the Canyon series.
Women in their sixties and seventies standing at life’s crossroads, who refuse to let their best years be behind them.
If you’ve ever felt a chapter closing and something else stirring, you’re in the right place.
Here’s where to begin. ⤵️
1️⃣ If you haven’t already, I want you to read something. It’s a short story. Four minutes. It’s where everything in Echo Canyon begins. The women are waiting.
2️⃣ Read this story/reflection from my Life’s Threads section. I don’t just build spaces for people to sit. I build spaces where people stay longer, because they belong in the making of them.
3️⃣ Doin’ It My Way - A sample post
My behind the scenes section that shows what it’s like to build this at 73.
Fiction for women who know a chapter is ending, and the realization you’re not done yet.
About This Space
This is Knowing Yourself Through Fiction, a Substack centered on story, emotionally resonant fiction for women in later life who are refusing invisibility. Through the serialized stories of Echo Canyon, I offer readers a place to see themselves fully reflected.
These stories matter because Baby Boomer women are not often given center stage. We’re fun, adventurous, and still becoming.
I’ve planned a five-book series called Women of the Canyon, one book for each woman you’ll meet. The first, Whispers of Echo Canyon, was published in February 2026.
When you subscribe, you’ll receive a taste of the neighborhood with introductory chapters, character reflections, and weekly doses of fiction that mirror your own life.
I hope you will fall in love with these women and see yourself inside their stories
But to do so, you need to meet and come to know them. AND…
As a free subscriber, you’ll get your fill of their stories. You will start to see yourself as the protagonist in your own life.
Story Insiders stay longer
Story Insiders come inside and have uninterrupted immersion in these women’s private journals and the stories of how each of them came to be. They are making decisions under real constraints: time, energy, and responsibility.
The stories don’t tell you what to do. They help you recognize what you already know.
And, as a Story Insider, you’ll have a permanent seat on the veranda.
I’m writing the stories I always wished existed for women our age. Come inside if you want to read what these women never say out loud, by becoming a paid subscriber.
How this space works
The stories here arrive in pieces. Sometimes it’s an excerpt from a chapter of a novel in progress, a short scene or a moment that stands on its own. At other times, it’s a brief reflection that grew out of the story, something the characters stirred up rather than resolved.
The full novels are being written alongside what you read here. This space is where the stories first find their footing, before they become books you can hold in your hands.
You don’t need to read everything in order or feel you have to keep up.
Some readers tell me they read one of my stories and think they’re done with it, only to notice later how it shows up again. In a decision, a memory, a question they hadn’t quite named before.
That’s intentional.
This isn’t a feed to scroll or a system to master. It’s a body of work unfolding, one story at a time, at a pace that leaves room for your own life to be part of it.
Meet the Women
The stories here center on five women in their sixties and seventies who have reached a point where they want total control over their lives.
Riley has done well by most measures. She’s capable, respected, and outwardly settled. What she’s wrestling with is quieter and harder to name. The sense that the life she built no longer fits, and that ignoring that feeling is starting to cost her.
Quinn is competent and used to being in control. She’s spent years managing risk, anticipating problems, and holding things together. When that structure begins to fail, she’s forced to confront what happens when the systems you trust no longer protect you.
Raven lives close to the land and carries responsibility that didn’t come with a choice and knowledge that doesn’t fit neatly inside dominant systems. Her stories ask what it means to hold authority without domination, and what it costs to keep translating yourself to be understood.
Skylar has built a life around history, evidence, and what can be preserved. She’s reached a point where she wonders whether documenting the past is enough, or whether she’s being asked to risk something in the present instead.
Val has spent much of her life tending to others. She’s generous, steady, and deeply competent. What she’s beginning to realize is that being needed is not the same thing as being fulfilled, and that care can become a quiet way of disappearing.
Over time, a friendship develops among these five and something wakes up when they’re together. Conversations stretch. Ideas surface. Choices that once felt unthinkable begin to feel possible.
What It’s Like to Open Yourself to Fiction
As the free stories arrive - chapters and scenes - something subtle but unmistakable happens. The women don’t just feel familiar. They begin to pull you forward.
You start to recognize patterns. In the characters. In yourself. Questions surface that had been sitting quietly for years. Not as problems to solve, but as invitations to look again.
Readers often tell me they didn’t come here looking for change. They came for the stories. What surprised them was realizing how much life still felt open, especially in their later years. New ways of seeing what’s possible from here.
That’s what opening yourself to fiction can do. It doesn’t rush you. It doesn’t ask you to reinvent yourself. It simply keeps the door open long enough for something new to step through.
I’ve Been Where You Are
I know the ache when a friendship disappears without explanation.
I know what it’s like when the purpose that once fueled you is gone, and you’re left wondering what’s next.
When we moved to Hawai‘i, I left a career that had defined me. I felt unmoored.
So I started writing. And I landed in fiction.
These characters became women like us, navigating this later chapter with honesty and courage. Readers began telling me the stories were helping them look at their own lives differently.
That’s why I do this.
Stories let you feel seen without needing to explain yourself.
They don’t rush you to fix anything. They show you what’s still possible.
I’m Marylee
I’ve always been a builder. Of businesses, gardens, and now stories. After decades in the nonprofit world and years running an award-winning gardening business, I turned toward fiction rooted in real emotion.
I live in Tucson with my partner of over 30 years.
When I’m not writing, you’ll find me traveling, golfing, swimming, puzzling, or reading good stories with a strong cup of coffee nearby.
You’re not alone.
And you’re not done.
Be part of something meaningful.
Fiction that touches your heart.
And a place to meet others who speak to your life.
