Why We Can't Sleep
Women's New Midlife Crisis
Ada Calhoun
- 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.
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