Gen X women were overwhelmed and stretched like never before by the COVID-19 pandemic. They were hit hard in all of their many roles--as workers, as caregivers, and more. In this essay collection, 31 midlife women describe their experiences confronting the daily challenges of pandemic life. They are writers, teachers, artists, mothers, daughters, caregivers, activists, friends, and neighbors. Their stories highlight change, flexibility, isolation, connection, loss, and ingenuity, but at the core of each piece is resilience. The Pandemic Midlife Crisis: Gen X Women on the Brink takes readers behind the news headlines of job losses, virtual schooling, and quarantines and into the lives of real midlife women who have found themselves on the brink of so many things during this pandemic: crisis and reinvention, breakdowns and breakthroughs. Within the stories of this collection--the 5th HerStories Project anthology--it is our hope that you'll find the comfort and connection of knowing you are not alone right now.

The acclaimed author explores the hidden crises of Gen X women in this “engaging hybrid of first-person confession, reportage [and] pop culture analysis” (The New Republic). Ada Calhoun was married with children and a good career—and yet she was miserable. She thought she had no right to complain until she realized how many other Generation X women felt the same way. What could be behind this troubling trend? To find out, Calhoun delved into housing costs, HR trends, credit card debt averages, and divorce data. At every turn, she saw that Gen X women were facing new problems as they entered middle age—problems that were being largely overlooked. Calhoun spoke with women across America who were part of the generation raised to “have it all.” She found that most were exhausted, terrified about money, under-employed, and overwhelmed. And instead of being heard, they were being told to lean in, take “me-time,” or make a chore chart to get their lives and homes in order. In Why We Can’t Sleep, Calhoun opens up the cultural and political contexts of Gen X’s predicament. She offers practical advice on how to ourselves out of the abyss—and keep the next generation of women from falling in. The result is reassuring, empowering, and essential reading for all middle-aged women, and anyone who hopes to understand them.

In this useful and lovely guidebook to midlife for women, life and health coach Lisa Levine provides easy, actionable tools to help readers let go of what's holding them back and become the best version of themselves. Packed with humor, inspirational quotes, and practical advice, Midlife, No Crisis encourages readers to practice self-care, cultivate positive habits, and overcome fear so that they can start living an awesome life.

I want to live God’s calling, but where do I begin? Be it in the midst of a spiritual lull, a midlife crisis, or an unforeseen pandemic, at some point all Christians feel the need to readdress and reorient to move toward God’s calling for their lives. What Now? is for anyone who wants to emerge from stagnation and envision what could be best for their next season of life. You’ll learn how to: Be still and discern God’s will for your life Re-envision the possibilities of your calling Turn away from isolation and turn to healthy community Boldly step out into the unknown with faith Don’t let confusion or fear of the unknown keep you from moving toward the fullness of God’s plan for your life. Instead, learn to listen to the spiritual whisper directing you to the next stage in your divine calling. As you long to live differently and find your heart awakening to new possibilities, What Now? will help you step forward bravely.

If you've ever dreamed of casting off your worldly possessions and traveling to your heart's content, this story about two intrepid seniors will inspire you no matter your age. Michael and Debbie Campbell felt they had one more adventure in them before considering retirement in the traditional sense, so they filled two rolling duffel bags with life's essentials (including their own pillows) and hit the road. Three years later, having sold their home in Seattle, their "Senior Nomad" lifestyle has no end in sight. Ride along as they share tales of living full-time in Airbnbs in over 50 countries and pay tribute to the many hosts who not only helped them live daily life, but also offered unique opportunities to experience their cities. From the barber's chair in Dublin and the dentist's chair in Split, to a wild motorcycle ride in Athens, a peek behind the Soviet Curtain in Transnistria, and the demise of a chicken for dinner in Marrakech, hosts made the Campbell's dream of adventure come true. Discover how Debbie and Michael find their next Airbnb, how they get there, and the many ways they enjoy their new city just as the locals do. Learn their tips and tricks for using Airbnb and how they get the most out of each stay, all while spending little more than they would have spent settled into their rocking chairs in Seattle.

Steve Noon's award-winning A Street Through Time has been revised and updated for a new generation. In a series of fourteen unique illustrations, A Street Through Time tells the story of human history by exploring a street as it evolves from 10,000 BCE to the present day. Readers will see how the landscape and the daily lives of people changed as a small settlement grows into a city, is struck by war and plague, and gains trade and industry.

Increased longevity has created 30 extra years of life. These years are not tacked on to the end of life, but have created an expanded midlife that I call Middlescence. Learn about the importance of understanding and embracing this life stage.

Midlife is definitely a journey. The road has massive potholes.And the crisis... it's the gift that keeps on giving. Being forty is supposed to be freaking fabulous not fatal. Taking on a daunting new job minus the description isn't the smartest move I've ever made, even if it was to save a friend. Hopefully, it doesn't turn out to be the stupidest... or deadliest. Why can't things stay the way they were? I love my old job. Supergluing ghosts back together and solving their issues is its own reward. Not to mention, I'm seriously good at it. Although, I must say, I'm ridiculously excited for the new Death Counselor's arrival in nine months... Adding to my problems, there are four new angels in town who are riding my butt and judging every move I make. Literally. Who knew destroying one Immortal could cause me so much trouble? If I'm found guilty, I'll be pushing up daisies. Luckily, my nutty friends have my back and the Grim Reaper has my heart. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing is impossible. I am living proof. Let's just hope I live to prove it.

Simultaneously funny and frightful, Srikanth Reddy's Underworld Lit is a multiverse quest through various cultures' realms of the dead. Couched in a literature professor's daily mishaps with family life and his sudden reckoning with mortality, this adventurous serial prose poem moves from the college classroom to the oncologist's office to the mythic underworlds of Mayan civilization, the ancient Egyptian place of judgment and rebirth, the infernal court of Qing dynasty China, and beyond—testing readers along with the way with diabolically demanding quizzes. It unsettles our sense of home as it ferries us back and forth across cultures, languages, epochs, and the shifting border between the living and the dead.

UNLIMITED HAPPINESS AND ETERNAL LIFE One is a fool’s errand and the other a distinct possibility. In this data-driven survival guide, Dr. Bob Nguyen takes you on a whirlwind campaign that covers these endeavors and much more. From building awareness and managing expectations, to life repurposing and fostering relationships, to adopting the latest anti-ageing and longevity biohacks, this book delivers a practical, actionable and wide-ranging response to the common calamity that is midlife crisis. In these pages, Nguyen first describes turmoil typical of each decade of life, detailing how COVID took the crisis out of midlife and made it a transgenerational pandemic. Suddenly, adults of all ages had the time and space to ponder their options and realize their need to adapt and evolve by discovering new routes to purpose and fulfillment. Following crisis, Nguyen then explores the mindsets and plots out the circuitous paths that can lead to emotional well-being and social connectivity. In the last section, he takes a science-based, literal approach to survival itself. He explores the process of ageing, shedding light on this DNA-centered phenomenon and unveiling the workarounds to its relentless progression. In this era of discovery, the quest for eternal life and the science to make it feasible seem on the cusp of converging. Weaving together fields as disparate as physics and philosophy, economics and religion, Nguyen writes an evidence-based manual that spins quite the socio-scientific yarn, mapping out a course for personal discovery and life-changing transformations. Catalyzed by crisis, this is a journey to find your best, longest life, regardless of your age. And with radically expanded human lifespan in scientists’ crosshairs, you better buckle up, lock in and get ready to adapt, evolve and survive!