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A review by kimlovesstuff
Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun
3.0
I wanted to like this book much more than I did.
It started well and as a Gen X woman initially I really felt seen, but over the course of the book, it started to wear on me. This might not happen for you, but things that irked me were - so much of the book/the anecdotes/the interviews feature motherhood or children. There are a few people she interviews who are single and childfree but it's weighted heavily towards mothers. If you're not one there are whole chunks that you can skip.
It's also incredibly American, the focus here is almost specifically on American Gen X women. While I partook in much of the pop culture that the book mentions it's probably not going to resonate as much if you were born outside of the US.
Mostly what I found troublesome about the book was that it's just a bummer. Where Jeff Gordiner's 'X Saves The World' took all the same bad stuff into account I left that read feeling positive and active. This book felt like a list of complaints and no real recommendations or solutions. I know that it isn't a self-help book but I finished this feeling less positive than I started it.
Probably not exactly what you need in 2020.
Finally, as an entirely personal issue I found the lack of exploration of any possible themes outside society and upbringing (and anything vaguely akin to spiritual) left this book feeling very surface level to me.
Not a bad book, but not for me!
It started well and as a Gen X woman initially I really felt seen, but over the course of the book, it started to wear on me. This might not happen for you, but things that irked me were - so much of the book/the anecdotes/the interviews feature motherhood or children. There are a few people she interviews who are single and childfree but it's weighted heavily towards mothers. If you're not one there are whole chunks that you can skip.
It's also incredibly American, the focus here is almost specifically on American Gen X women. While I partook in much of the pop culture that the book mentions it's probably not going to resonate as much if you were born outside of the US.
Mostly what I found troublesome about the book was that it's just a bummer. Where Jeff Gordiner's 'X Saves The World' took all the same bad stuff into account I left that read feeling positive and active. This book felt like a list of complaints and no real recommendations or solutions. I know that it isn't a self-help book but I finished this feeling less positive than I started it.
Probably not exactly what you need in 2020.
Finally, as an entirely personal issue I found the lack of exploration of any possible themes outside society and upbringing (and anything vaguely akin to spiritual) left this book feeling very surface level to me.
Not a bad book, but not for me!