The author confronts the realities of being forty, examining how the modern forties are less associated with midlife than in the past and discussing the disconnects of social media, the French perspectives about libido, and the challenges of raising kids while caring for aging parents.
How does it feel to have your sexual currency depreciate that abruptly — and what stock, if any, can replace it? There has been remarkably little good writing about this thorny topic but here, with excellent timing, comes Pamela Druckerman’s pitch-perfect and brutally frank There Are No Grown-Ups ... quick switches in tone work to memorable effect ... Druckerman is the heir to her impish, unembarrassable spirit and adorable storytelling. There Are No Grown-Ups loses its way at times, but there is so much to enjoy, especially for those who need a little help feeling 'bien dans son age,' or wearing their age comfortably. Let’s hope it marks a bold new chapter for older women in society — the forgotten and the madam’ed.
Her latest book, There Are No Grown-Ups: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story, is part memoir and part witty how-to guide about being in your 40s ... Druckerman’s writing is humorous, conversational and revealing, so it’s surprising when she admits to finding it incredibly hard' to open up ... Druckerman decided to write a book, focusing on the physical and emotional changes she has experienced in her 40s and how they have impacted on her friendships, marriage, parenting, fashion choices and other aspects of her life. She weaves this together with data, academic research and anecdotes about her friends and acquaintances.
For some reason, I had the impression that Pamela Druckerman’s new book, There Are No Grown-Ups: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story, would be more like Bringing Up Bébé, her charming and funny book that mixed in plenty of good advice about what French parents are doing right, and American parents are doing wrong, in childrearing. That book was ambitious — Get a baby on a four-times-a-day feeding schedule? No bananas before dinner? — but overall, the self-effacing tone made it highly readable and thought-provoking ... Granted, Druckerman is an entertaining writer who can make cancer laugh-out-loud funny ... I wish every chapter were this funny and personal. There are too many boring chapters, fillers with subjects like wisdom, the history of the midlife crisis and why finding your fashion style is a good thing.
