The book, a mix of manifesto and memoir, tells the story of a chance conversation with the late, great Joan Rivers, which led Cally to a drastic career change at the age of 50, and her experience of challenging the stereotypes of midlife womanhood.
‘It’s my experience of womanhood to date, and it’s a book about claiming or reclaiming your power – whether you’re a woman or not,’ she said.
‘It’s also about reinvention – in my case, radical reinvention – but about how we can keep reinventing as life goes on.’
Cally’s own story of radical reinvention dates back to her time working as a TV executive – a career that had defined most of her working life. She had, at that point, been on the board of multiple large TV networks, including ITV and Hollywood studio giant ViacomCBS.
‘I was on the boring business side of things, but I got to work with some pretty incredible names over those years – none more so than the late, great Joan Rivers,’ she said.
‘I introduced her on quite a few occasions at different industry events, and we hit it off as soon as we met. The very last time I saw her, by which time we’d got to know each other quite well, she said to me, “Cally, I think you should have a go at stand-up”.’
Though initially reluctant, then 45-year-old Cally soon took Joan’s advice, performing her first stand-up comedy routine a mere four weeks after their conversation. Unfortunately, Joan never got to see the product of her advice, as she died from surgical complications only two weeks after her final dinner with Cally.
Though she lost the wise female elder who motivated her to get into the business, Cally continued to pursue comedy, leaving her day job five years later in order to become a full-time comedian.
‘I have no regrets, but any reinvention is not for the faint-hearted,’ she said.
‘You have to back yourself, and I’ve always been the sole breadwinner, so I had to make it work – it wasn’t a hobby for me.’
And so, aged 50 and a single mother of two children, Cally decided to completely change the course of her life.
She continued to grow in her comedic career, performing award-winning shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, appearing on TV panel shows and Live At The Apollo, and hosting her hit celebrity interview podcast.
The podcast, also named Namaste Motherf*ckers, blends comedy with self-help and business, and has seen interviews with the likes of Miriam Margolyes, Paloma Faith and Sir Grayson Perry.
Cally’s decision to title her book after the podcast was made in part to be recognisable to those familiar with her pre-existing work, but also to represent the dichotomy of peace and chaos that had defined her life experience.
‘On the one hand, you’ve got the glossy, sorted “namaste” exterior, and everything’s fine. Life is smooth. But not far beneath the surface, particularly, I think, for women my age, there’s a lot of mess and upset and grief and rage,’ she said.
‘My story is not, “I’m a fearless, flawless person” – it’s about not waiting for the perfect moment to try something new. It’s glossy and ambitious, but it’s also messy, and that sort of sums up the ethos of the book.’
While the book discusses Cally’s midlife reinvention, it’s other primary focus is on her broader experience of being a 50-something woman.
The topic is one that has featured in some of Cally’s stand-up routines as well, becoming the focus of her 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe solo show, Invisible, inspired by a statement made by French writer Yann Moix that women over 50 years of age were invisible to him.
‘It’s definitely real that women, as they get older, become invisible. Personally, I can sort of drift through life like a ghost at 57 in a way that was not the case even five years ago,’ she said.
‘I don’t think men have the same problem. If we look at how we value men in society, they’re still the captains of industry in their 50s, 60s, sometimes 70s. They often date younger women, and they’re still seen and have traction in society. It’s a been a bit of a different story for women.’
In her book, Cally hopes to encourage women not to be afraid to reassert themselves in society, and not to drift silently into the background.
‘The book definitely pushes back against being invisible. It’s a bit of a rebellion against going gentle into that goodnight,’ she said.
‘We’re at the peak of our powers as midlife women. In the book, I talk a lot about stories from the natural world. There are many animals where the wise female elders are in charge, like bonobos and orcas, and I think we could learn a bit from those societies.’
After its release in the summer of 2025, Namaste Motherf*ckers immediately rose to make the Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller list, and Cally is currently on a UK tour named after her book.
For all her readers and listeners, though, Cally’s first priority is to help them eschew doubt and take back their lives for themselves.
‘You can absolutely try the things you want to try without waiting for the right moment. If we wait for the right moment, or the moment where there’s no risk of failing, that moment will never come,’ she said.
‘At my shows, I do quite a lot of crowd work where I get to hear people’s stories, and at my book signings I also hear many stories. I’ve come to realise that if you give any midlife woman a microphone or a piece of paper, they would have an amazing story to tell.’
