PAMELA DRUCKERMAN
Bestselling author and New York Times contributor investigates the modern 40s —marriage, the midlife crisis, owning what you know, and cracking a personal fashion code—in her new book of essays, THERE ARE NO GROWN-UPS: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story
In the same frank and funny voice loved by readers of Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, bestselling author Pamela Druckerman explores friendships and relationships, careers, and the challenge of managing both young kids and old parents during this in-between decade. Along the way, she shows how the French do 40 better. Like in her runaway global bestsellerBébé, Druckerman’s charming blend of memoir and journalism captures behaviors and truths previously unnamed. With the intimate, self-deprecating tone of a best friend, she shares her fears and her victories, and makes readers smile in recognition of both their insecurities and their strengths.
Join Pamela Druckerman as she shares her collection of essays that delve into this period of life, some on more serious themes (the terrorist attacks in Paris, surviving cancer) and some lighter (throwing her own “aspirational” birthday party, persuading a boutique owner to offer style advice). She discusses how:
· Forty isn’t middle-aged anymore…it’s much younger than it used to be: lifespans in rich countries have been increasing by 2.3 years per decade.
· Almost nobody has a midlife crisis: we’re too busy to have a breakdown…we don’t even have time to go to the movies!
· We’re more fertile than previously thought: since 1990, the rate of babies born to American women ages 40-44 has nearly doubled.
· The downside to our 40’s: there are mental and physical declines – we’re more easily distracted and digest information more slowly than our younger counterparts
· The upside to our 40’s: according to psychological research, we’re less neurotic and more perceptive. And there really is wisdom: what we lack in processing power, we make up for in maturity, insight and experience.
· Still, we need to dress differently…trying to look younger is the fastest way to look old! The French approach is to try to be the best version of the age you are.
Druckerman leads us on a quest both for self-knowledge and the right pair of pants. Peppered throughout with “You Know You’re In Your Forties” lists that perfectly diagnose this age (i.e. You Know You’re in Your Forties… when you become impatient scrolling down to your year of birth), this is the book for anyone trying to find their place in the world.
About the Author
Pamela Druckerman is the author of four books including Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, which has been translated into 27 languages. She's also a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times.
