Aging Without Apology In Voiceover

The Folks Inside by Shel Silverstein

There’s a particular kind of magic in starting something new later in life—one that’s often overshadowed in a world fixated on youth. Recenty I have been reflecting on how to 'age without apology in voiceover.'

I came into voiceover after a few decades of other life chapters. Sometimes I catch myself dwelling on what I can’t do quite as easily anymore (putting on my left sock, whilst standing on one leg, being a repeat offender). But increasingly, I’m choosing to see those moments for what they are: signs that life is shifting, not stopping.

And honestly, what I’ve gained—emotional depth, perspective, and a real joy in learning—far outweighs what I’ve left behind.

This month is National Age Without Apology Month, and it feels important to mark it out loud. Aging comes with aches and sometimes grief. But it also comes with lightness. A softening. A sense that maybe, just maybe, you’re becoming more of yourself.

Recently, I re-read The Folks Inside by Shel Silverstein. It’s a poem that flips the script on age in the most delightful way—suggesting that growing older is when the characters we’ve carried around inside us for years finally come out to play.

I’m sharing a reading of it alongside this post, because it captures something I deeply believe that our imaginations don’t expire. They ripen. They deepen. They multiply.

Voiceover has become a space for me to give voice to all my “folks inside”—and age, far from hindering that, has helped bring them to life with more truth and colour.

So, here’s to celebrating the second act. To not apologising for the years that shaped us. And to everyone still discovering, still starting, still playing.