Between a Rock and a Hot Place: Why Fifty Is Not the New Thirty [Hardcover]

Tracey Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 15, 2011

A funny, fearless, no-holds-barred look at aging—hormone replacement therapy, online dating, eye lifts, and all

As she approached her fiftieth birthday, Tracey Jackson found herself bombarded—at the gym, at parties, in conversations with friends—by a catchphrase on everyone's lips. "Fifty is the new thirty" and the endless magazine articles, photos, and T-shirts proclaiming the new aphorism had apparently bloomed out of a collective sense of denial, masking the true fears of a generation unwilling to relinquish their youth.

With a comedy writer's training and a screenwriter's eye for detail, Jackson skewers the myth in Between a Rock and a Hot Place, a hilarious, bare-knuckled, and ultimately practical appraisal of what middle age really means today. Willing not only to face the elephant in the room, but to put him under a (large) microscope, Jackson confronts the truth about death, work, and sex in what the French call the "third age," using poignant, laugh-out-loud stories from her life. Jackson examines the changing roles of motherhood and wifehood; the necessity of planning a "career after your career"; the unvarnished reality of our aging bodies; and the generational shift in our perception of age ("Tight abs was not a phrase my grandmother had ever heard. And even if she had, her response would likely have been, Who needs that when you have a girdle?").

Turning fifty is a wake-up call—but one that can be greeted with a plan. Recounting the changes she went through, the things she learned (and things she didn't) en route to fifty, Between a Rock and a Hot Place navigates, with unsparing honesty and unerring wit, the confusion and uncertainty of the most significant uncharted transition in our lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The pop-culture mantra has it wrong: 50 isn�t the new 30, 50 is 50. And while today�s 50 may not look the same as one�s grandmother�s, one shouldn�t necessarily use a teenager as a role model either. Veteran screenwriter Jackson adopts a take-no-prisoners approach, with an Accept-o-Meter reading that tilts toward the kicking-and-screaming side. Forget your fountain of youth: today�s mature woman is more likely to need a battalion of specialists and a bucket of supplements just to keep up. Along with losses (career, libido) come undesirable gains (crow�s-feet, creaky knees), and�thanks to hormone-replacement therapy and Botox injections, spinning classes and Spanx bodywear, mammograms and colonoscopies�the rituals and rigors associated with aging manage to seem simultaneously counterintuitive and counterproductive. Glib, gossipy, and genuinely gutsy, Jackson�s take on this middle-aged milestone will have any woman who is 50, approaching 50, or waving bye-bye in the rear-view mirror wondering, Who is this woman and how did she get inside my head? --Carol Haggas

Review

“Jackson covers it all . . . with humor and a firm hand. . . . The book is nothing less than what my own grandmother used to call a ‘godsend.’” (Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times )

“Laugh-out-loud funny.” (O, The Oprah Magazine )

“Finally, there is a voice of reality to counter the claims of a youth-oriented culture and put forward the idea that successful aging isn’t about denying reality…. Jackson writes with the humor of Nora Ephron, the honesty of a fiftysomething, and the reality of medical science.” (Library Journal )

“A fiercely funny book about a most unfunny subject-aging.” (Erica Jong )

“Glib, gossipy, and genuinely gutsy, Jackson’s take on this middle-aged milestone will have any woman who is 50, approaching 50, or waving bye-bye in the rear-view mirror wondering, ‘Who is this woman and how did she get inside my head?’” (Booklist )

“The cure for fear is laughter, and this book offers a powerful antidote to all the scary aspects of aging. Jackson’s stunning candor and sparkling high spirits will have women of all ages laughing as they confront everything from menopause to wrinkles, thanks to this funny, practical and engaging book.” (Susan Cheever )

“Tracey Jackson confronts the speed bumps of life with wit, brilliant insights, and the kind of common sense that leaves you wondering, ‘Now, why didn’t I think of that?’ Between a Rock and a Hot Place is more than a good read, it’s good company.” (John Berendt )

“Between a Rock and a Hot Place is sexy, witty, energizing, smart, and full of terrific advice…. Run, do not walk, to get the book, and then call your nutritionist, your GYN, your health club, your nearest Whole Foods, your mothers and daughters, and tell them all about it.” (Judy Collins )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First edition (February 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006166927X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061669279
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #776,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tracey Jackson Biography


Tracey Jackson is a screenwriter who has written over fifteen feature films and fourteen television pilots, including The Other End of the Line, The Guru and Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Her recent documentary Lucky Ducks, nominated for Best Documentary at the MIAAC Film Festival in 2009, explores issues of parenting and adolescence, following Tracey and her teenage daughter from Park Avenue to Mumbai as they attempt to unravel the complex relationship boomer parents have with their over-indulged teens. Since the film's release, Jackson has been a featured guest on many parenting shows and websites, including MomLogic.com, Mary Talks Money with Mary Caraccioli, and ABC News with Annie Pleshette Murphy.
With the same candidness used to attack parenting in Lucky Ducks, Jackson now takes on aging with her first book, Between a Rock and a Hot Place. By telling themselves fifty is the new thirty, boomers have convinced each other they are getting younger--a myth which Jackson's new book seeks to debunk: "the truth is fifty ain't thirty no matter how you cook the books. It's fifty and it arrives with more baggage than Paris Hilton on a press tour."
While investigating her own life, Jackson, in Between a Rock and a Hot Place, takes us through the many twists and turns on the roller coaster of aging. She is not afraid to tackle the topics of sex, ageism in the workplace, death, health, empty nest, and everything else the years may bring. She makes us laugh hard and think hard as well, and offers ways to lighten the speed bumps along the way. "No one gives women a game plan for a hearty last thirty years," but with Between a Rock and a Hot Place, someone finally does.
Tracey is an avid blogger, whose blog Tracey Talks can be read on her website, TraceyJacksonOnline. She also contributes as a guest blogger to The Huffington Post, The Partnership for a Drug Free America's Decoder blog, and TinyBuddha.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Heavy Contemplations of a Fifty-Something Woman December 31, 2010

By Pamela V VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Between a Rock And a Hot Place, Why Fifty is not the New Thirty, is a memoir by comedy writer Tracey Jackson, a fifty-some year old Manhattan resident who was raised having most everything money could buy. Growing up in California, Ms. Jackson shares the bad diet & lifestyle of her elderly grandmother, who, in her fifties, sported a tightly-permed-&-gray hairdo, and wore baggy dresses to hide a frumpy figure created by years of eating sugary desserts.

Then Jackson describes her mother, who did just the opposite- jet-setting around the world in search of a fountain of youth and who, ultimately, signed up for an old-time face-lift.

(The author confesses she herself spent thousands of dollars on Botox injections and ultimately went under the knife to erase genetic imperfections and undo natural signs of aging.)

As someone of modest means and a budget, reading about the authors quest to find the perfect cosmetic surgeon started to grate on my nerves, because there are months I worry about paying the electric bill, and splurging the income I make being a nurse on temporary injections that could make my face less gaunt, is not going to happen anytime in my future.

But I continued to read the book. It held my interest. I read a chapter every night, and once, I even laughed out loud. (It was the chapter on Maddening Men.)

The book reads like a blog. It's the authors rants and feelings about everything from aged-dating to how it feels to be an empty-nester. I agree with most of what the author says, and in the end, admit that Tracey Jackson, while appearing to be pampered, spoiled and self-centered at times, also has a keen eye and tells a good story.

I would recommend it to anyone in the 45-60 age range, but only if they aren't shocked by harsh language that is used in the 3rd chapter. (In fact, I think the first several chapters took away from the book in general.) For those readers uncomfortable with in-your-face sex talk, just skip over the 3rd chapter and I think you'll be okay.

67 of 77 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I had difficulty relating to her life style, values and fears January 11, 2011

By Niki Collins-queen, Author VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Tracey Jackson's memoir "Between a Rock and a Hot Place: Why Fifty is NOT the New Thirty" is an appraisal of what middle age really means to her. Although I agree fifty is not thirty and appreciated her honesty, candor and humor I had difficulty relating to her life style, values and fears.
She admits to lousy money management and being a shopaholic. She says, "I don't have a nest egg and even a nest - more like some twigs scattered about, and even those usually end up turning into handbags." Being a big advocate of botox, eye lifts and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy she epitomizes the fears of a generation unwilling to relinquish its youth.
Jackson's statement that work adds years to your life and makes life more satisfying is true for some people but not all. My husband and I are in our 60s and love being retired. Jackson said she does not want to ever retire. She'll retire when she's dead.
I did enjoy Jackson's chapter on reinventing yourself by "arranging whatever pieces come your way."
She filmed a documentary titled "Lucky Duck" about her rebellious fifteen-year-old daughter spending three weeks at a slum school in Mumbai, India and Marin County Montana. Influenced by Madeline Levine's book "The Price of Privilege" that says privileged kids seemed to be the unhappiest Jackson hoped to show her daughter how lucky she was. She does not say if it helped her daughter but admits it showed her she could do other things and that a pay check and glossy sounding job did not define her.
Although much of her book is "do what I say not as I do" she does give some good advice - take care of yourself, keep active, learn new things, give back to others and remain realistic yet optimistic.
The women she admires have big careers and family, are deeply involved in their communities, politics and other causes, entertain and love the arts. Her values and life style leave little room for spirituality, contemplation, inner peace, joy, gratitude, forgiveness, living in the present, letting go of fears and resentments, learning to say no and set clear boundaries, connecting with nature, embracing the wealth of everyday life and knowing what is enough.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Menschopause January 1, 2011

By ~~Hummingbirder~~ TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Veering from bawdy to maudlin, raunchy to schmaltzy, Tracey Jackson's over-50 confessional is like menopause itself. Up one minute and down the next, she traces her route from youth to semi-maturity with raw, intimate style proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that fifty really is not the new thirty. No stones left unturned, she talks about how her mind, body and career have changed and what she's done to deal with those changes.

This is no manual for surviving fifty, yet it is thought-provoking. It's a midlife memoir that could be written only by someone with dead ovaries. Old broads like me will love it. I haven't read anything this funny in ages. Delicate flowers should steer clear, lest they be offended.