"At Forty and Confused" by Ida Calhoun Publisher: Shanghai Culture Publishing House

Introduction · · · · · ·
When Ida Calhoun found herself in the midst of a midlife crisis, she didn't think she had the right to complain. She was married, had a family, and a successful career. Why was she still feeling sad? And why did other women in Generation X seem to be suffering the same way?

Calhoun decided to find out. After talking to more than 200 women from all over the United States, from a variety of professional backgrounds and family situations, she learned about their experiences and found that most were exhausted and worried about money and the future.

In this book, Calhoun combines rich case studies with social changes, cultural analysis, and economic statistics to comprehensively discuss the crises faced by middle-aged women in health, money, career, and family, revealing the cultural and social factors behind women's midlife crisis and seeking solutions.

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【Editor's recommendation】

★Facing the midlife crisis shared by a generation of women, Ida Calhoun, gold medal winner of the American History Independent Publishing Award, interviewed more than 200 American middle-class women born between 1965 and 1980, and discussed frankly the common problems they faced in marriage, work, childrearing, elderly care, health, etc.

★The perfect combination of personal stories and social research reveals the cultural and political background behind the crisis. This book presents a rich sample of middle-aged women. Regardless of their marital status or whether they are successful in their careers, they all have similar anger and powerlessness after entering middle age. Through their self-narration, combined with the comments and statistics of sociologists and psychologists, it reveals the cultural and social changes after the midlife crisis of women.

★The New York Times Editor's Choice, Amazon's Best Nonfiction Book of 2020. In a humorous and pragmatic narrative, it presents the material and spiritual dilemmas of middle-aged women, which arouses widespread resonance and relieves anxiety.

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【Awards】

New York Times Editor's Choice

Amazon's best nonfiction books of 2020

·2020 GOODREADS Choice Award for Best Nonfiction Book

One of Forbes' 10 most anticipated books of 2020

The Indie Next Pick January 2020

One of the most anticipated books of 2020 by Lit Hub

One of Vogue magazine's best books to read in winter 2020

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【Celebrity Recommendation】

What an honest and accurate narrative this is, hitting home on every Gen X woman going through a midlife crisis. It is also so wise, humorous and compassionate, making middle-aged women in trouble feel like they are no longer alone.

—— Zeng Yanbing, writer, founder of Zhiai Life Aesthetics Communication Agency, author of "Life, Simple and Radiant"

Ida Calhoun's deeply personal investigation into the complexities of being a midlife woman today is stunning. Calhoun captures the voices of more than 200 women from across the country—some broken, some resilient, some barely hanging on—and in the process shows how much of our experience is shared in these divisive times. You'll recognize yourself in this book, breathe a sigh of relief, and think, I'm not alone.

—Suzanne Cahalan, New York Times bestselling author of Brainfire

This is our generation's book. Ida Calhoun brilliantly encapsulates the struggles and confusions of midlife for Generation X women. By placing this situation in the context of generations before and after, she makes sense of why we are so surprised that we don't have it all. Heavily researched, expertly paced, and seamlessly woven together, Forty and More offers us an "aha" moment that instantly validates our experiences and builds a sense of community and hope.

— Janet Crown Kennedy, PhD, clinical psychologist and author of The Good Sleeper

Many women experience tremendous anxiety and fear that can be difficult to battle alone, but Ida Calhoun’s artistic skills as a writer make her the perfect guide through the difficult years of midlife.

—Kathleen Hannah, lead singer of Bikini Kill

"Having it all" was the rallying cry of the baby boomers as, aided by new family planning tools, we escaped the pink ghettos of secretarial offices and endless childcare to seek fulfillment in workaholic careers. Two generations later, desperate Gen X women are finding that the glass mountain of fulfillment remains unclimbable. With deep insight, wisdom, and sophisticated analysis, Ida Calhoun tells us why, tracing the internal and external forces that separate women from the peace they have spent their lives seeking.

—Harriet A. Washington, writer and medical ethicist, author of Medical Apartheid

She writes about our very specific talents and resilience with clarity of vision, compassion, and hope.

—Carin Bauer, author of Not That Kind of Girl

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About the Author
Ada Calhoun

American non-fiction writer and critic.

In 2016, he won the Gold Prize of the Independent Publishing Award (American History).

He is the author of "The Wedding Toast I'll Never Say" and "The Death of St. Marks", and has won numerous book recommendations from Kirkus Reviews, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and Forbes. He has also been writing book reviews for The New York Times for a long time.