The meaning of life is a common concern, but what is the meaning of midlife? With the help of illustrious writers such as Dante, Montaigne, Beauvoir, Goethe, and Beckett, The Midlife Mind sets out to answer this question. Erudite but engaging, it takes a personal approach to that most impersonal of processes, aging. From the ancients to the moderns, from poets to playwrights, writers have long meditated on how we can remain creative as we move through our middle years. There are no better guides, then, to how we have regarded middle age in the past, how we understand it in the present, and how we might make it as rewarding as possible in the future.

Philosophical wisdom and practical advice for overcoming the problems of middle age How can you reconcile yourself with the lives you will never lead, with possibilities foreclosed, and with nostalgia for lost youth? How can you accept the failings of the past, the sense of futility in the tasks that consume the present, and the prospect of death that blights the future? In this self-help book with a difference, Kieran Setiya confronts the inevitable challenges of adulthood and middle age, showing how philosophy can help you thrive. You will learn why missing out might be a good thing, how options are overrated, and when you should be glad you made a mistake. You will be introduced to philosophical consolations for mortality. And you will learn what it would mean to live in the present, how it could solve your midlife crisis, and why meditation helps. Ranging from Aristotle, Schopenhauer, and John Stuart Mill to Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir, as well as drawing on Setiya’s own experience, Midlife combines imaginative ideas, surprising insights, and practical advice. Writing with wisdom and wit, Setiya makes a wry but passionate case for philosophy as a guide to life.

A dynamic and inspiring exploration of the new science that is redrawing the future for people in their forties, fifties, and sixties for the better—and for good. There’s no such thing as an inevitable midlife crisis, Barbara Bradley Hagerty writes in this provocative, hopeful book. It’s a myth, an illusion. New scientific research explodes the fable that midlife is a time when things start to go downhill for everybody. In fact, midlife can be a great new adventure, when you can embrace fresh possibilities, purposes, and pleasures. In Life Reimagined, Hagerty explains that midlife is about renewal: It’s the time to renegotiate your purpose, refocus your relationships, and transform the way you think about the world and yourself. Drawing from emerging information in neurology, psychology, biology, genetics, and sociology—as well as her own story of midlife transformation—Hagerty redraws the map for people in midlife and plots a new course forward in understanding our health, our relationships, even our futures.

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.

Welcome to the better half of your life. The New York Times bestselling author of The Female Brain explains how a woman’s brain gets “upgraded” in midlife, inspiring and guiding women to unlock their full potential. “This is an important book. I want all women to read it. I wish I had read it years ago!”—Jane Fonda Dr. Louann Brizendine was among the first to explain why women think, communicate, and feel differently than men. Now, inspired by her own experiences and those of the thousands of women at her clinic, she has a message that is nothing short of revolutionary: in the time of life typically known as menopause, women’s brains are reshaped, for the better, in a way that creates new power, a bracing clarity, and a laser-like sense of purpose if you know how to seize it. With guidance for navigating the perimenopausal and menopausal storm while it lasts, and actionable, science-backed steps for preserving brain health for the rest of your life, The Upgrade is a stunning roadmap, told through intimate stories, to a new brain state and its incredible possibilities. Dr. Brizendine explains the best science-backed strategies for: • Hormones: If timed and handled properly, hormone management can save your life. Brizendine cuts through the controversy to give you the latest guidance for HRT. • Exercise: Leg strength correlates directly with healthy brain function at age 80. Here are the strategies for maintaining your strength. • Sleep: It’s critical for maximizing the Upgrade, and Brizendine shares how to achieve healthy rest during challenging transitions. • Mindset: Brizendine shows how to seize the opportunities of your midlife brain changes by shifting your mindset and vision with intention. • Brain Health: The Upgraded brain requires special care when it comes to sugar, alcohol, inflammatory foods, and the microbiome. Here’s advice for fueling and maintaining cognitive function for decades. The Upgrade amounts to a celebration of how women step into their power and an entirely new—and radically positive—understanding of aging.

'I am blown away by the level of detail Phil Cavell brings to his work.' – Elinor Barker MBE, multiple world champion and Olympic gold medallist 'The Midlife Cyclist is a triumph' – Cycling Plus 'An amazing accomplishment... a simple-to-understand précis of your midlife as a cyclist – you won't want to put it down.' – Phil Liggett, TV cycling commentator 'Phil is eminently qualified to write The Midlife Cyclist. Well, he is certainly old enough.' – Fabian Cancellara, Tour de France rider and two-time Olympic champion Renowned cycling biomechanics pioneer, Phil Cavell, explores the growing trend of middle-aged and older cyclists seeking to achieve high-level performance. Using contributions from leading coaches, ex-professionals and pro-team doctors, he produces the ultimate manifesto for mature riders who want to stay healthy, avoid injury – and maximise their achievement levels. Time's arrow traditionally plots an incremental path into declining strength and speed for all of us. But we are different to every other generation of cyclists in human history. An ever-growing number of us are determined to scale the highest peaks of elite physical fitness into middle-age and beyond. Can the emerging medical and scientific research help us achieve the holy triumvirate of speed and health with age? The Midlife Cyclist offers a gold standard road-map for the mature cyclist who aims to train, perform and even race at the highest possible level.

Being the Guardian isn't all it's cracked up to be. My new life is weird and hard. Think magic comes easy to those who wield it? Think again! I'm more likely to blow something up than shield it. As dark Fae make their way through the portal and my best friend's children are kidnapped, it's time for me to learn how to cast a location spell. Problem is, before I can start I'm pulled through the portal and left stranded in the Fae realm. I have no choice but to pull up my granny panties and figure this out. Everyone I love needs me. Now I'm desperate for help. Lost in the Fae realm, I'm forced to seek it in a place where my enemies rule with an iron fist. My new trainer is powerful, patient, and very unexpected. The exact opposite of Sebastian. And even if they're both extremely good looking, I don't have time for an alpha male showdown over the rights to my affections. An evil entity is stalking supernaturals in Cottlehill Wilds, and I need to get back through the portal to help Violet find her kids. Turns out, learning my magic is the least of my problems.

A leading science writer examines how the brain's capacity reaches its peak in middle age For many years, scientists thought that the human brain simply decayed over time and its dying cells led to memory slips, fuzzy logic, negative thinking, and even depression. But new research from neuroscien­tists and psychologists suggests that, in fact, the brain reorganizes, improves in important functions, and even helps us adopt a more optimistic outlook in middle age. Growth of white matter and brain connectors allow us to recognize patterns faster, make better judgments, and find unique solutions to problems. Scientists call these traits cognitive expertise and they reach their highest levels in middle age. In her impeccably researched book, science writer Barbara Strauch explores the latest findings that demonstrate, through the use of technology such as brain scans, that the middle-aged brain is more flexible and more capable than previously thought. For the first time, long-term studies show that our view of middle age has been misleading and incomplete. By detailing exactly the normal, healthy brain functions over time, Strauch also explains how its optimal processes can be maintained. Part scientific survey, part how-to guide, The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain is a fascinating glimpse at our surprisingly talented middle-aged minds.

This is not a book about parenting. There are 1.3 billion of those already, and the main thrust is, ‘if possible, try not to be a shit parent.’ Instead, this is a book about us. You and me. The knackered parents, flailing about in the supposedly ‘easier’ Middle Years, when our babies have sprouted body hair and attitudes, we’re supposed to be ‘getting our life back’ at last . . . but everything feels as if it’s gone a bit tits down. From puberty to parents’ evenings, anxiety to A-Levels, divorce to depression, sex to social media, hormones to . . . Jesus, is that chin hair?! This comprehensive, honest, hilarious and at times heart-breaking rummage through the Rotting Salad Drawer of MidlifeTM that we all go through but nobody tells us about until we’re already drowning in it, holds your weary hand and offers a giant, life-saving snog of, 'IT’S OK. IT’S NOT JUST YOU'. Praise for The Middle Years: 'Everyone in the middle years of parenting needs to read this frank, funny and courageous book!' - Beverley Turner ‘A TRIUMPH! Liz nails the reality of the Middle Years with humour, empathy and fearlessness. I laughed out loud, teared up and cringed.' - Natasha Pearlman, Executive Editor of Glamour US ‘This is a brilliantly insightful, wonderfully written, bloody funny book!’ - Ben Shephard, Good Morning Britain ‘I am reading this and crying with laughter.’ - Tanya Byron

Have you found yourself wilting in midlife, and wondering what you might do to flourish in your remaining years? Have you lost your way in the midlife maze due to a significant loss? Did you lose your job or desired career advancement? Did you separate or divorce? Did your last child leave home? Did your family experience a virtual storm of bankruptcy or lose your life savings in a financial meltdown? Did you or someone in your family experience the loss of good health? Or did you weather the death of a family member, partner, or friend? Your loss story is personal. Your path through winding passages during midlife is unique. Perhaps the most important encouragement for your grieving process is to know this simple fact: grieving is a natural healing response to loss rather than a pathological experience. Midlife can be a time of reflection, rebellion, or reconnecting to old or new interests and activities. It can also be a time when losses start to happen or begin to pile up – divorce, death of a loved one, loss of a job or home, the moving out and on of grown children—and learning how to move forward can be a challenge. Here, a seasoned psychologist looks at the geography of loss in midlife, the way it can affect us, and what we can do to get back on track or redirect ourselves when necessary. Through first hand stories and practical exercises, the author leads readers through the midlife maze to a place of recovery, purpose, and peace.