Why We Can'T Sleep: Women'S New Midlife Crisis

Why We Can'T Sleep: Women'S New Midlife Crisis

A generation-defining exploration of the new midlife crisis facing Gen X women and the unique circumstances that have brought them to this point, Why We Can?t Sleep is a lively successor to Passages by Gail Sheehy and The Defining Decade by Meg JayWhen Ada Calhoun found herself in the throes of a midlife crisis, she thought that she had no right to complain. She was married with children and a good career. So why did she feel miserable? And why did it seem that other Generation X women were miserable, too?Calhoun decided to find some answers. She looked into housing costs, HR trends, credit card debt averages, and divorce data. At every turn, she saw a pattern: sandwiched between the Boomers and the Millennials, Gen X women were facing new problems as they entered middle age, problems that were being largely overlooked.Speaking with women across America about their experiences as the generation raised to ?have it all,? Calhoun found that most were exhausted, terrified about money, under-employed, and overwhelmed. Instead of being heard, they were told instead to lean in, take ?me-time,? or make a chore chart to get their lives and homes in order.In Why We Can?t Sleep, Calhoun opens up the cultural and political contexts of Gen X?s predicament and offers solutions for how to pull oneself out of the abyss?and keep the next generation of women from falling in. The result is reassuring, empowering, and essential reading for all middle-aged women, and anyone who hopes to understand them.ReviewPraise for Why We Can?t SleepNew York Times Editors' ChoiceFeatured on The Today Show, The Tamron Hall Show, Live with Kelly and Ryan, NPR, and on the Cover of O, Oprah MagazineThe Indie Next Pick of January 2020One of Vogue's Best Books to Read this WinterOne of 10 Most Anticipated Books of 2020 by ForbesNamed One of Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2020 ?[C]andid and engaging. [Calhoun] is a funny, smart, compassionate narrator?. I admired her insistence on taking women?s concerns seriously.??Curtis Sittenfeld, New York Times Book Review ?Women are taught to not feel anything for ourselves and to not feel for one another. And our generation is the smallest generation...[Why We Can?t Sleep] is a book that makes you feel less crazy. Like oh, it is not my imagination.??Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly and Ryan ?Calhoun speaks directly to her own generation, peppering the book with so many specific cultural touchstones? that I found readingWhy We Can?t Sleep to be a singular experience - driving home her point that Gen X is so often overlooked.?Minneapolis Star Tribune ?Timely, humane, raw, honest, and sincere.??Forbes, 10 Most Anticipated Books Of 2020, According to Independent Bookstores ?[A]n engaging hybrid of first-person confession, reportage, pop culture analysis, and statistics? it aspires to something larger than memoir.??Rumaan Alam, New Republic ?A superb mix of personal stories and deep research about a generation of women who are facing unprecedented pressure as they enter middle age. It?s at once realistic, but positive, asking women to face up to reality, let go of expectations, find a support system and accept this stage isn?t forever.? ?Huffington Post ?Marriage implosions, rising debt, and a constant sense of failure pop up throughout this brief but potent and sometimes funny book...Why We Can?t Sleep might do much to let readers like the women Calhoun writes about that they are not alone.??Literary Hub ?[A] Bracing, empowering study? Women of every generation will find much to relate to in this humorous yet pragmatic account.??Publishers Weekly ?Calhoun?s latest will be useful for those interested in feminist theory, especially insofar as it intersects with age and class, as well as a useful resource for people struggling to find balance in their personal and professional lives.? ?Library Journal (Starred Review)?Ada Calhoun provides a thoughtful, i