Jeanne Phares spent more than 30 years working as an accountant. Today, at 62, she is building an entirely different career centered on helping women become stronger, healthier and more intentional about the way they age.
It is work she might never have imagined doing before receiving a life-threatening diagnosis in 2019.
Jeanne discovered she had acute myeloid leukemia with three gene mutations. Her survival odds were about 30%. The diagnosis came as a shock to someone who had spent decades exercising, strength training and paying attention to her health.
“I am literally the healthiest person I know,” Jeanne recalled telling her doctor.
Yet, the healthy lifestyle she had followed for years ultimately became an important part of her recovery. Her doctor explained that her physical condition and lack of other health problems gave her a better opportunity to withstand aggressive treatments.
Today, Jeanne is using that experience to encourage women over 50 to take better care of themselves, build strength and create lives that keep them physically, mentally and socially active.
“It doesn’t feel like work,” she explained. “It is encouraging to help women see all the benefits.”
A career built around numbers
Jeanne’s original career path was driven largely by necessity. She was a young mother when a divorce prompted her to think seriously about how she would support her children.
Looking through newspaper want ads, she noticed plenty of openings in accounting, nursing and sales. Nursing did not appeal to her and neither did sales, so she pursued accounting.
Jeanne earned an accounting degree from the University of Southern California and later received a master’s degree in business from UCLA. She worked for Deloitte & Touche before moving into private accounting.
She eventually worked in a family office for a wealthy individual who owned about 20,000 apartment units and had approximately 700 investors. Jeanne was responsible for helping modernize systems and manage investor relationships.
Then cancer changed everything.
Her treatment included months in the hospital and eventually a stem cell transplant. Her older brother, with whom she had not spoken in four years, turned out to be a match.
When Jeanne called to ask whether he would be tested, his answer was immediate.
“Of course I would,” he told her. “You didn’t even have to ask.”
Her younger brother, a pharmacist, also helped by working with Jeanne’s oncologist to secure insurance approval for off-label use of a medication targeting one of her gene mutations.
Her employer demonstrated extraordinary generosity as well. He continued paying Jeanne her full salary throughout her hospitalization and recovery. That provided financial security during an exceptionally difficult period.
Those experiences changed the way Jeanne thinks about gratitude.
Rather than simply encouraging people to be grateful for what others do, she focuses on becoming the person who is generous enough to change someone else’s life.
Rebuilding her strength
Strength training had been part of Jeanne’s life for decades. In fact, she and her husband went to the gym on their first date.
Before cancer, Jeanne ran marathons with her daughters and participated in Ragnar Relay races. However, after months of treatment, she could barely walk half a block.
Rebuilding her body gave Jeanne a new appreciation for strength.
She experienced firsthand the advantage of entering a health crisis physically fit. Then, she discovered what it meant to gradually regain strength after losing so much of it.
That experience helped shape her new mission.
While most women will never face leukemia, Jeanne believes midlife itself can present physical and emotional challenges. Women may still be working while caring for children, aging parents and households. Their own needs often wind up at the bottom of the list.
Jeanne wants to change that.
“No matter where you are, it’s time to put yourself first,” she said.
For Jeanne, putting yourself first is not selfish. It allows women to continue showing up for the people and activities that matter most.
That means finding time to exercise, eat well and schedule time for mental health resets through activities such as stretching, yoga or meditation.
Filling a gap for women over 50
Jeanne transformed that philosophy into books, coaching and courses.
When she searched for books about strength training, she noticed most featured young women on the covers. She saw an opportunity to serve women who did not recognize themselves in those resources.
A writing coach cautioned that women in midlife were not a proven niche, but Jeanne disagreed.
“It’s a hole in the niche,” she explained. “There is nothing serving this very large group of women who are looking for answers.”
She responded by writing “The Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training for Women Over 50.” The book walks readers through assessing their strength and flexibility, starting safely and eventually progressing to more challenging exercises.
She later wrote “Strength Training for Senior Women.” She created it for women who may have exercised previously, but need help adjusting their routines as they age.
Through Sage Lifestyle Press, Jeanne also publishes books designed to encourage women emotionally and mentally. Her titles include books about enjoying life in your 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.
The success of her book for women in their 70s particularly encouraged her.
Jeanne believes older women still view themselves as vibrant and capable people, yet relatively few businesses and authors speak directly to them.
Creating a meaningful retirement
Jeanne’s message extends beyond physical fitness.
Her book “The Happy Retirement Bucket List Guidebook” encourages people to think about retirement beyond their finances.
“What am I going to do to keep myself mentally, physically and socially active?” Jeanne asked. “What’s going to feed my soul?”
Those questions are important because Jeanne believes retirement should not mean withdrawing from life.
She encourages retirees to intentionally develop social connections. If she and her husband eventually move closer to their daughters, Jeanne knows that means leaving established friendships behind.
But, she already has a plan for making new ones.
She can join a pickleball group, find people who play mahjong, take French classes or join a yoga studio. Those activities create opportunities to meet people with shared interests.
“You don’t need 100 friends,” she said. “You need people to get together with weekly and do things so you have an active lifestyle.”
Jeanne believes social interaction can be especially important when people experience loneliness, sadness, illness or other challenges.
“Find some social interaction,” she advised. “It will change your life.”
Building a life rather than watching one
Jeanne practices what she teaches. She and her husband have started turning off the television and reading more. They also adopted a daily routine involving 15 minutes of meditation, 15 minutes of journaling and 30 minutes of physical activity.
Her husband recently retired, and Jeanne believes those practices can help him explore what will give his retirement purpose.
That philosophy also reflects how Jeanne approached her months in the hospital.
She refused to spend her days lying in bed watching television. She got up in the morning, sat near the window, crocheted, listened to music, read and colored. She walked the hospital ward while pulling her IV pole behind her.
“If I died from this disease, it was not going to be because I didn’t give myself the best chance,” she explained.
Helping women age on their terms
Jeanne is now developing an eight-week transformation program for women who have never exercised or who are trying to determine how their fitness routines should change as they age.
The program begins by assessing where each woman is physically and then developing individualized approaches to strength training, nutrition and other lifestyle changes.
But, Jeanne’s ultimate goal is not helping women to fit into smaller clothes, rather it is changing how they think about aging.
She wants women to move beyond saying, “I want to lose 10 pounds,” and instead declare, “I want to age healthy and on my own terms.”
“That’s a completely different mindset,” Jeanne noted.
Her motivation is also deeply personal.
Jeanne remembers how differently her mother aged. Women of her mother’s generation generally were not encouraged to exercise or lift weights. Her mother eventually fell and broke her hip. She died within nine months.
That experience reinforces Jeanne’s determination to help other women remain strong and independent.
After surviving leukemia and rebuilding her own strength, Jeanne knows how quickly life can change. Rather than simply returning to her accounting career and eventually settling into retirement, she created something new.
Today, meaning and purpose come from sharing what she has learned, encouraging women who may feel overlooked and helping them to take greater control over the next chapters of their lives.
For Jeanne, life after 50 is not about accepting decline.
It is about deliberately building the physical strength, relationships, habits and sense of purpose necessary to remain engaged with life for as long as possible.
For more information
People can connect with Jeanne and learn more about her books and other resources through the following platforms:
- Website = www.sage-lifestyle-press.com
- Email = jeanne@sagestrength.com
- Facebook = www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561068382871
- Instagram = www.instagram.com/jeanne.sage_lifestyle
- TikTok = www.tiktok.com/@jeanne.sage_lifestyle
- LinkedIn = www.linkedin.com/in/jeanne-phares-79584a3
Jeanne’s books, “The Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training for Women Over 50,” “Strength Training for Senior Women” and “The Happy Retirement Bucket List Guidebook” are available on Amazon and in other bookstores.
She also offers a free 45-minute conversation before someone joins the program to determine whether it is the right fit.
If you buy a book from a link above, Forward From 50 may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
