There’s a kind of loneliness that shows up in midlife that few people talk about. When we’re younger, many of us imagine this chapter of life differently. We assume that by now things will feel settled. Career established. Family life sorted. Finances steadier. A clearer sense of who we are and where we’re headed. We imagine freedom beginning to open up — travel plans, fewer responsibilities, more life on our own terms. And sometimes parts of that are true. But often, midlife