When a sea change collides with messy midlife

For journalist Kate Halfpenny, moving to a beachside town during Melbourne's lockdowns seemed like the perfect way to unwind and escape her huge mortgage. Then she had to contend with the triple whammy of perimenopause, her husband's alcoholism and distance from family and friends.

For the first time in her life, Kate had an empty house, no job commitments and no city life to distract her.

She was able to indulge daily in her love of boogie boarding and surf-side walks with her dog, Maggie.

One day at the beach, Kate saw her elderly father struggling in the surf.

Kate's husband Chris was in the water next to him, but was acting strangely and couldn’t manage to haul him out of the dangerous water.

That evening, Chris confessed his alcoholism to Kate and the couple faced the inevitable decisions they would have to navigate, together and apart.

Further information

Boogie Wonderland is published by Affirm Press.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan.

Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.

This episode of Conversations deals with good divorce, Melbourne covid lockdowns, seachange, addiction, alcoholism, supporting an alcoholic, women in media, perimenopause, midlife, being alone, boogie boarding and relationships.