Customer Reviews

My Middle-Aged Baby Book: A Record of Milestones, Millstones & Gallstones

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

A clever book, one that I often give to aging boomer friends, along with copies of "Dave Barry Turns 50" and "Getting Old Sucks" by Ed Strnad. They all enjoy it.

Why don't middle-aged people have fun? Perhaps because they don't yet have a Middle-Aged Baby Book to put them in the mood.

Almost every parent has filled out one of those baby books that includes birth time, weight, pictures from the hospital, first birthday party, favorite toys, and so on. Why shouldn't the middle aged have one, too? . . . Especially since their memories may be going, and this will be the only way to record their lives to remember what happened.

The satire is quite complete. Almost all of the baby book sections are put into a middle-aged context humorously for this version.

To begin setting the mood, the cover is padded like a baby book often is.

The author's acknowledgments include middle-aged amnesiacs who helped, the editor (Ruth . . . ?), gastroenterologist (Dr. Henry . . . ?), and husband ( . . . ?). If only she could remember their names!

You have a chance to make your own family tree (with humorous asides about the people on it), note your memorable firsts (colonoscopy, reading glasses), tell whether you are a girl or a boy ("Do you spend most of your time in front of the toilet, running water, or naked on the lawn, rolling in snow?"), describe your teething history (which ones are dead, bridges, implants, gold crowns, bonded, capped, and gone?), date important fashion firsts (when you gave up spandex, threw away your bikini, and started wearing shirts out of your pants), and put in samples of your hair (both colored and uncolored versions).

The book also has many humorous essays like the history of solid foods and weight (1993 -- Oprah loses 60 pounds. Pavarotti gains it.), I Forget, and Why? There are also middle-aged versions of many well-known nursery rhymes.

You can also add your favorite expressions (like, Where are my glasses?).

If you give this as a birthday gift, the birthday girl or boy can put in key facts of that day such as the price of a standard facelift in that year.

At the end, you'll find a living will. It gives your relatives authority to plant you when the time comes.

Even if you don't have the nerve to give this to anyone else, you should get a copy for yourself. It's the most humorous thing I've ever read about becoming middle-aged!

Get rid of your misconception stalls about middle age not being funny.

Donald Mitchell

Coauthor of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise (available in August 2000) and The 2,000 Percent Solution

(donmitch@fastforward400.com)

This is the funniest, smartest humor book I've read in ages. I give it to everyone, male or female, for any occasion whatsoever, although it makes a special hit at big 4-0, 5-0 and 6-0 birthday parties where it usually gets read out loud and is better than any entertainment you could hire. All the stuff in it -- middle-aged sex, middle-aged expressions, middle-aged concerns are right on the nose. I can't wait for the author to grow up at little more and see what she does with old age!

This book is a warm and wonderfully funny look at aging - not a bit cliched like so many "humorous" books on maturing in America. I have personally been responsible for the purchase of 20 copies of this book that I know of. It has been the gift of choice for all of my friends' birthdays this year. It is a very VERY funny book!

The title of this book sounded really funny and I/we were prepared to have a lot of laughs, but as soon as I thumbed through the book I had wanted to give to my son for his birthday, I realized the thoughts and jokes in it were totally inappropriate - not only for a gift for my son, but to share with any of the people I associate with - and we're fun-loving people who love to laugh. The content and the language in the book were not reflective of how I and my friends and family think or talk - so I returned the book and thank you for the credit on my billing.

This book is hysterically funny--expecially if you have already reached "middle-age". The content is extremely on-point and accurate. I mean, when (and where) does one note when she buys her first pair of elastic-jeans and when was the first time you coughed or sneezed and lost a tiny little bit of your bladder. These are significant points in reaching middle age. Quick perusal will bring you to tears! Recommended for all over 45 and definitely a wonderful gift for anyone turning 40 OR 50

I had a lot of fun with this book since their are 5 more siblings all in their 40's at the time I purchased this and gave them all one for Christmas. Everytime I would read it I always found something else in it I had not noticed before. Wonderful way to laugh at ourselves.

I recently bought this book for a female friend turning 40. Although some may find the irreverent language offensive, the fact is we all have particular bodily functions and we all eventually get gray hair--everywhere. No, I might not give this book to my prim Aunt Sophie, but for anyone who is playful and open to cheeky humor, it's a great gift.