Inventing the Rest of Our Lives : Women in Second Adulthood

From Publishers Weekly
Levine has a message for aging boomer women: if you're feeling out of sorts, confused, in a rut, there's nothing wrong with you: you're just entering your "Second Adulthood," a time, she says, when women can remake themselves. Levine, Ms. magazine's editor for 17 years and now a contributor to More magazine (and author of Father Courage: What Happens When Men Put Family First), draws on the latest research on hormonal and other physical changes women begin to go through in their 40s, and draws on 50 in-depth interviews she conducted with women in their middle years to show how they can improve their lives. Levine's subjects describe a time of confusion (the "fertile void") that led them to re-sort their lives, revise priorities and make new decisions about work and intimate relationships. Samantha, for example, left an alcoholic husband after decades of marriage. Joanie, a traditional wife and mother, renegotiated her marriage and bought herself an apartment in New York City, becoming a fund-raiser for a dance company. Although Levine did interview some women with fewer economic resources and she discusses the importance of financial planning, much of the self-discovery stories will resonate best with women who are financially comfortable. Her gung-ho go-rappelling-off-the-mountain tone may grate on some women while inspiring others.
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Review
Review
If you want to be inspired, just read this book. -- Marlo Thomas

Levine made me understand why I always envied older women....No grudges, no waiting, no bleeding, no apologies. -- Eve Ensler

Practical, unsentimental, and inspiring, this book illuminates the way forward. -- Carol Tarvis, Ph.D., author of The Mismeasure of Woman

Rich in vision, intelligence and heart, this valuable book...helps each reader forge her own unique path. -- Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., author of The Dance of Anger

[Levine] implores and empowers us to chart a satisfying and meaningful course for the second half of our lives. -- Susan L. Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.