I am the perfect target audience for this book, being a woman in the throes of my 40's. I really enjoyed the wide variety of essays in this compilation. Topics are much more broad than Botox and sagging necks. Many of the essayists I was familiar with but some I was not, however all of the pieces were either relatable or thought-provoking.

There needs to be more books like On Being 40Ish published, and I am grateful to have had the experience of reading this book of essays of forty-something female authors.

It serves as a retrospective and future guide: what does it mean to be in the middle of this female life?

Between each essay are the writers’ reflections on various simple topics, such as the biggest surprise of life after forty, the single most important lesson they’ve learned so far, and the thing they’ve given themselves permission to do now that they are forty.

I especially enjoyed reading perspectives on physical aging and how it molds our mid-life female identities. It was helpful to read more positive perspectives on what our culture punishes.

This book served as a comforting visit with the often hushed demographic of female mid-life, giving voice to its gifts.

**Thank you NetGalley, the author, and Simon Schuster for the chance to give my honest opinions on this ARC.**I didn't really like this book as much as I thought I would have. It had some very easy to relate to stories and then others that were almost depressing. I just turned 40 this past summer and thought that this collection of stories would be more like what my friends and I have gone through thus far in our lives but the weirdest thing happened. I still feel the same way I did at 25. 30, and 35. Actually, that's not entirely true. I have noticed that my level of patience for tolerating idiots has seriously taken a nose dive. I am still rating this book 4 stars because it did have some tales that made me feel like I am not alone in looking at the world the way I do and who doesn't want a little proof that they aren't quite as crazy as they thought?

When they proposed me to read On Being 40 (ish) Edited by Lindsey Mead by Simon and Schuster I didn't hesitate for a second. This book will see the light next month and you can't lose the opportunity of buying it.

You can't avoid to read another masterpiece by this publishing house regarding a different section of our existential life as women. It would be a real sin. I read this book in a few hours yesterday night and it is simply amazing.

I particularly love this book because written with sincerity, open heart. These ones are candid and real confessions mainly written by established reporters or writers. They will give us the idea of an age where it's possible to start to define what it was done, what must yet to be done, what we love and what we hate, where we want to go, what we want to throw away, who we want to keep, who we are.
40ish is an age of balance although all decades, let me add, are.

In general at this age, children are in their teenage age; a lady experienced a divorce and the beauty of it ,was the fact that she re-discovered herself and her priorities.
The ability of saying no, a different respect for herself.

Another one was too busy for answer an e-mail because in life priorities change.

A lady close to the anniversary of her wedding, long and happy, fell sick and followed months and months of rehabilitation before to return to the normality. Facebook, she told, helped her because spreading the news, she received a lot of psychological support.

Someone else told that some of her main and most important problems started before the 40s with important illness she was affected by and that have been defeated; another one (I agree) thinks that the arrival of the 40s is just a number like another one.

Some of these ladies lived a tumultuous existence, going in the West Coast and back to the East one; other ones remember their existence and they think that being 40s means an opportunity, a point of arrival and new starts and maybe the age where mortality is more close to us. Some of our friends disappeared, maybe also a parent, or they start to fall sick; there is a more palpable and visible sensation of our own mortality; we won't live forever as we thought in the past. The 20s in this sense are powerful. We thought we had the life and world in our hands, but it was just an impression isn't it true? Volatile.


This book contains also poems, quotes cartoons that you will see are hilarious or differently, will let you think.


Some contributors? Veronica Chambers, Meghan Daum, Kate Bolick, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Sloane Crosley, KJ Dell’Antonia, Julie Klam, Jessica Lahey, Catherine Newman, Sujean Rim, Jena Schwartz, Sophfronia Scott, Allison Winn Scotch, Lee Woodruff, Jill Kargman for a total of 15 authors who opened their heart telling to readers what it means to them to being in the 40ish.


This one is a book you will treasure. It is a perfect gift, if you want to share your 40ish experience with some friends contemporaries of you, for laughing, smiling, remembering the so-called "old times" what it was done, what it must yet to be done and what it will be.

I thank NetGalley and Simon&Schuster for this ebook.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review - thank you NetGalley! I will be 38 this year so the title of this book sounded interesting to me. I absolutely loved this book!!! I could relate to at least something in ever single story. This book is full of stories from incredible real women who are "40-ish" and I felt like I was friend with all of them by the time I finished each one. Some of the stories made me laugh out loud and some of them made me (literally) tell my best friend who now lives in a different state that we have to get together soon. I have had my best girlfriend for almost 33 years so the stories about lifetime friendships really gave me the feels. I am going to buy this for some of my girlfriends when this comes out - highly recommend!!!

For those of us that are around this age (ahem), you will enjoy reading the 15 different essays by female writers. The essays actually cover ages late 30s into the 50s, and I found most of the essays very relatable. By this age, all of us have experiences that connect us together as women, whether they are stories told about love, friendship, aging parents, and fashion trends. I see it as a celebration of the knowledge that we have acquired throughout our lives.

An interesting collection of musings by different women authors on their experience of staring down the barrel of the big 4-0. As with all compendiums, it is inevitably a mixed bag of tales, and on average the good outweighs the bad. Maybe I was able to dismiss their musings a little too much, as I'm currently staring down the barrel of the big 5-0, and therefore found some of their concerns about the aging process a little trivial. Or maybe the aging process has actually helped with my self doubt and constant worry with what other people think.
I did have a few knowing moments, remembering how I once felt the way the writers do. I guess I'm no longer the target audience. Here's hoping they do a follow-up On Being 50(ish) and quickly, as I'm running out of time! Definitely worth a read, as there are some really great pieces in this collection.

This essay collection, edited by Lindsey Mead, features the 40(ish) experiences of 15 women writers. These essays cover a range of age related topics: friendship; adulthood; no longer being the youthful ideal of beauty; age and illness; and coming into competence in work and life. This collection leans toward an American middle class bent. The writers range in age and experience from late 30's to early 50's, which makes this less of a meditation on turning the big 4-0, and more collective wisdom about mid-life, which I think makes it's appeal much broader than the title implies. Catherine Newman's recounting of her relationship with her best friend over the years -- told through the clothes they wore -- stands out as a must read.

Like other essay collections, On Being 40(ish) contains some essays better than others. This collection of essays had me crying at times, out loud laughing at times, and nodding my head in solidarity at times. As I near the big 4-0 (gasp) this collection of essays solidified what I already know- I’m happier at almost 40 than ever, my don’t give an f has been triggered, my body reminds me constantly that I’m no spring chicken, and that my 40’s are going to rock. This book is like sitting around with your best girlfriends while demolishing bottles of wine and talking life. It’s real, honest, raw, and relatable. Thank you @simonandschuster for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

This collection is written by a series of authors who share different reflections on their experiences of being somewhere in their forties. I easily identified with many of the selections since I am in that age range. Although, I was only familiar with two of the authors, I enjoyed their sentiment,, sage comments, and their recollections on how their lives have changed since their twenties. It's a great series of articles that will strike a chord with any woman who's found her stride in her forties.

This book is everything I didn’t know I needed. It feels like a girl’s night with close friends while sipping wine and sharing personal highs and lows. You genuinely feel the struggles, the revelations, and even share in a few laughs (and many tears!) It is a reminder that nothing is guaranteed, to cherish each moment, and to appreciate loved ones. It is the confidence to be who you really are and not care what others think.

The stories feel so relatable that it was comforting to know that I’m not alone in my mid-life insecurities. These women bring wise perspectives with added confidence boosts that were good for the soul.


This book is one I’ll be telling my sister and all my friends about. I’ll also be picking up a hard copy to flip through and reread at opportune times. I highly recommend On Being 40(ish)!

Admittedly, I am not the age that the subject of the title of this book. I am not even 30 years old. But I devoured these fifteen vividly candid essays about women who have hit this milestone of life and their perspectives about their unique experiences that molded them into the women they've become and who they are becoming. Reading this book was equivalent to talking to a mentor who doesn't have it all figured out, but has learned enough to know what's on the horizon. This book is a delightful reminder that life doesn't end at 40, in a way, it is just a new phase of life.

A rich and moving exploration into time, edited and opened beautifully by Lindsey Mead, whose writing about time has captivated me for years. These essays range from thoughts on aging and what it means to be 40(ish) to memories of significant events throughout the ages leading up to 40ish. A generous collection that will appeal to readers of all ages.

I was so excited to read this, as I have just turned 40. I did enjoy some stories, but others, not so much! Some of them I think were a little far fetched for me. But it was an enjoyable read, none the less!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Some essays were terrific; some were not so much. I liked it enough that I finished it, but not so much that I will be suggesting it to others very often. As someone who is a year shy of 40, I didn’t find the bulk of the essays terribly relatable, as so many were actually by authors in their late 40s and early 50s.