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Inventing the Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood (Paperback)

by Suzanne Braun Levine (Author) "My first step into Second Adulthood was backward off a ninety-foot cliff..." (more)
Key Phrases: Fuck You Fifties, Recalibrate Your Life, Facing Your Fear (more...)

4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Levine has a message for aging boomer women: if you're feeling out of sorts, confused, in a rut, there's nothing wrong with you: you're just entering your "Second Adulthood," a time, she says, when women can remake themselves. Levine, Ms. magazine's editor for 17 years and now a contributor to More magazine (and author of Father Courage: What Happens When Men Put Family First), draws on the latest research on hormonal and other physical changes women begin to go through in their 40s, and draws on 50 in-depth interviews she conducted with women in their middle years to show how they can improve their lives. Levine's subjects describe a time of confusion (the "fertile void") that led them to re-sort their lives, revise priorities and make new decisions about work and intimate relationships. Samantha, for example, left an alcoholic husband after decades of marriage. Joanie, a traditional wife and mother, renegotiated her marriage and bought herself an apartment in New York City, becoming a fund-raiser for a dance company. Although Levine did interview some women with fewer economic resources and she discusses the importance of financial planning, much of the self-discovery stories will resonate best with women who are financially comfortable. Her gung-ho go-rappelling-off-the-mountain tone may grate on some women while inspiring others.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
If you want to be inspired, just read this book. -- Marlo Thomas

Levine made me understand why I always envied older women....No grudges, no waiting, no bleeding, no apologies. -- Eve Ensler

Practical, unsentimental, and inspiring, this book illuminates the way forward. -- Carol Tarvis, Ph.D., author of The Mismeasure of Woman

Rich in vision, intelligence and heart, this valuable book...helps each reader forge her own unique path. -- Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., author of The Dance of Anger

[Levine] implores and empowers us to chart a satisfying and meaningful course for the second half of our lives. -- Susan L. Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Plume (December 27, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0452287219
ISBN-13: 978-0452287211
Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,125 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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First Sentence:
My first step into Second Adulthood was backward off a ninety-foot cliff. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Fuck You Fifties, Recalibrate Your Life, Facing Your Fear, United States, Outward Bound, Redefining Intimacy, Rediscovering Your Passion, Gloria Steinem, Carole Hyatt, Ellen Gilchrist

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 40 books:

Composing a Life (Plume) by Mary Catherine Bateson on page 129, page 159, and Back Matter
The Birth of Pleasure by Carol Gilligan in Front Matter, page 35, and Back Matter
Getting over Getting Older by Letty Cottin Pogrebin on page 183, and Back Matter
The Support Economy: Why Corporations Are Failing Individuals and the Next Episode of Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff on page 228, and Back Matter
Gift from the Sea: 50th Anniversary Edition by Anne Morrow Lindbergh on page 241, and Back Matter

See all 40 books this book cites

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	69% buy the item featured on this page: Inventing the Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood 4.1 out of 5 stars (14) $10.20
	11% buy The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Midlife and Beyond 4.5 out of 5 stars (16) $13.57
	10% buy Fifty Is the New Fifty: Ten Life Lessons for Women in Second Adulthood 4.8 out of 5 stars (5) $15.10
	7% buy Awakening at Midlife 4.7 out of 5 stars (14) $10.88

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

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4.1 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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76 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the Same Old Spin on Middle Age - Thankfully!, January 13, 2005

By	Jane Adams "Jane Adams, Ph.D." (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Inventing the Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood (Hardcover)

If you charted your 20's, 30's and 40's with Gail Sheehy's "Passages" and found nothing to help you through the next part of your life except books on menopause and others telling you that gray hair and an expanding waistline are better than youth and beauty, you'll love this realistic, empathetic and, yes, inspiring book! Like the journalist she is, Levine has interviewed hundreds of women, and many scientists and other experts, to understand what really happens to us, psychologically as well as medically, as we navigate these years. She makes a good case for her thesis, which is that not only our bodies are changing - our brains, needs and priorities are, too. The "fertile void" is a brilliant and spot-on description of the chaos and confusion of second adulthood that plunges every woman who's defined herself up to now by her obligations to others or the demands of her career (and often both) into a sometimes painful reexamination of her life - what's in it that we treasure, what's missing that we need or want, what possibilities still exist for making a difference in the world as well as in our own lives, and where the energy will come from for for realizing them. My book club just started reading it, and we've been burning up the phone wires to discuss it even before our next meeting. A must-read for every woman who reaches a landmark birthday still wondering, "What am I going to be when I grow up?"

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62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart Women Think Ahead, January 13, 2005

By	Alva Benn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inventing the Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood (Hardcover)

This is one of the most inspiring books I've read in a long time. For those of us in our 50s and 60s, there's more ahead than retirement and taking care of aging parents, aging men, and growing grandchildren. Levine gives us stories of regular women who have tackled brand new careers, learned skills they always wanted to learn but never had time for, renegotiated their marriages and renewed their love-lives. And she also gives us scientific research that shows women's brains have a growth spurt in the 50s that renews our strength and our intellectual curiosity. Keep this book by your bedside and read it every night and your morning will be brighter.

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57 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed., August 30, 2005

By	Cara in France (France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inventing the Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood (Hardcover)

I was very much looking forward to reading this. I'm approaching my 40th birthday, and wanted to hear how others had dealt with this transition. In all fairness, Ms. Braun does interview many women on their transitions. However, the language is superificial, sometimes to the point of being annoyingly "cutesy". For example her term "Fertile Void" which is defined once, is used as a critical thread throughout the work, as though it's a sociological phenomena. If the book had been written about that term specifically, maybe things could have been interesting.
OK, there is a period of time where one doesn't know which path to take, but I hate labels, especially cute ones, especially when applied to grown-up women facing serious challenges. I need to lead myself into new terrain, and find my own voice, and I don't need cheerleading and labels. I found the "rah-rah" attitude really lame.
Worse still, the term "F-You Fifties"...I'm sorry, but I got over that language a long, long time ago. I don't think it's amusing.
One of the "success stories" was from a woman who, when she lights up her joints (marijuana) today, has much more pleasant trips. Frankly I felt offended and patronized, and I am no prude...I grew up on Ms. magazine, I went to a Seven Sister school, and I'm from NYC.
I was truly expecting More, as in that wonderful magazine for which Ms. Braun works...

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Inventing The Rest of our Lives
Excellent information about our Second Adulthood! Clarifies what many are thinking and experiencing as we enter into this exciting time.

Published 21 days ago by Nancy J. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast shipping!!
I bought this product for my grandmother for Mother's day. I was pleased with the product and received it fast!

Published 1 month ago by Andrea Hollowell

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book!
I'm not a person who reads self-help books, but a friend loaned me her copy and urged me to read it. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Florida girl

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, solid information
Not sure I agree with the author on everything in this book, and would choose a few different terms myself in some cases (as mentioned in other reviews), but I'm finding this to... Read more

Published 20 months ago by E. M. Griffith

4.0 out of 5 stars USED FOR RESEARCH
I found the author's interviews helpful in giving me a perspective on my own later life, and I used the book as one of 150 books I read as research for my own book. Read more

Published on March 18, 2007 by Pamela D. Blair

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful & informative!
Very good read! Helpful information & thought provoking examples for women who are 50+. I bought several copies to give away to my friends.

Published on November 14, 2006 by Pat F. Southerland

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing ...
I was attracted to this book because I was turning 50 and finding it unexpectedly disturbing. The book was interesting enough but not very useful. Read more

Published on May 24, 2006 by Calilmalith

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative Thoughts for a Successful Transition
This book is at the top of my list as a must-read for all of my coaching clients trying to negotiate the slippery slope of mid-life transition. Read more

Published on January 4, 2006 by Susan R. Meyer

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for Women turning 50
I bought this book as I was anticipating my 50th b-day=It definitely resonated on many different levels-the book truly reflected my optimism about the future and I found it... Read more

Published on August 12, 2005 by Marla Hoffman

4.0 out of 5 stars Excerpt
There's a great excerpt from this book in the January '05 issue of More Magazine.

Published on January 19, 2005 by steffercat

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