I think this was a very informative book and it can help people not feel so alone in what they are going through and life situations and what truly can keep a person up at night. As much as I wanted to connect with it on an emotional level, I just couldn't. I appreciated the statistics presented and the work put in it but personally, it was not for me.

** Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital copy of this book in exchange for my review **

I'm glad this book exists, but as a millennial I didn't find much to relate to (to her credit, the author admits this straight off the bat). However, as the author also says, I did relate to some of it and even more importantly, I had a better understanding of the smallest generation, Gen X. My parents are firmly Boomers but I have a few friends who fall slightly in the Gen X camp and this book gave me a better understanding of the world they grew up in. I think the only disappointment for me was that there was nothing in the title that insinuated it was primarily for Gen X except that I suppose millennials haven't quite reached midlife yet (though we are barreling toward it). The author makes some salient points and the women she interviews are various and interesting. I recommend this book particularly for Gen X women, but even for the wider community of women and men if only to understand one of the groups of people that society has spent the least amount of time considering.

This book resonated with me, especially since I’m a member of Generation X who’s having trouble sleeping. It was fun and eye-opening to read about the culture we grew up in, our shared experiences, and the reasons we are the way we are today. I would love to share this in a book club setting, discussing it among friends my age. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and especially Ada Calhoun for sharing this well-written , well-researched book with us! I can’t wait to read her other books!

As a Generation X woman I can relate to this book. I haven't seen many books that target middle-aged woman recently so Why We Can't Sleep caught my interest.
A good read for women in their 40's.

For some reason as I have gotten older my sleeping has been so off. I was always a night owl but lately I have been barely sleeping throughout the night. I always wake up at different times and feel groggy the next day but push myself through. This was an excellent novel and gave me lots of information. I highly recommend if you are having trouble sleeping.

As a member of Generation X (I'm only a year younger than the author) I hoped to find this book insightful and relatable. Instead I found it depressing and anxiety producing. It is well written and the topic is 'interesting'. But I was hoping for a more personal read that would help me to examine my own life and its phases. What I got was an onslaught of mostly sad stories and information that made me feel like my worst years were in front of me. (Or maybe even happening now - and I don't realize it!)

I was so intrigued when I saw an email pop up in my mail about this book. Being a woman of 49, I was curious about whether or not I was the only one who felt lost, tired and underappreciated while moving into my next faze of life. Considering what I want to do for the next 15-20 years as a college educated woman that decided to stay home and raise 2 young men. This book was spot on. Here we go ladies! Gen X women unite!

I absolutely loved this book. As a Gen X woman, I felt seen and heard. A little depressed, but validated. I read it in a day and highly recommend it to all Gen X women. It was like a journey through the past that reminded me of things that I had forgotten about or never realized that they had an affect on my life now as a wife and mother.

Oh my gosh, such a depressing book. Detail after detail about how women are between rocks and hard places with too little air between the cracks.

This is a book written for women who were born between the baby boomers and the millennials, we are known as generation x or gen-x. I happen to fall into this category myself.

This book made me realize that there is an entire generation of women who have the same or similar thoughts, fears and concerns like I have. They feel like our lives and generation have been formed by the events that happened around us. We are constantly doing while society is telling us to take time for ourselves. How can we do that when we need to keep moving?

This book was definitely a surprise to me. I was originally pulled in by the title an I am glad that I was.

Sometimes the right book comes into your life just when you need it. This was the book I didn't know that I needed and now I want to get copies of it for all of my friends who are middle-aged Gen-Xers. Heck, I want to get copies for my Boomer and Millennial friends, too, because we should all be talking about it! I cannot wait until its January 2020 release and hope that I get to discuss it with my friends soon after it is published. I'm not typically a re-reader, but this is going to be one of those books that I plan to revisit. I didn't realize how much I needed a book like this, but it made me feel connected to other women my age in a way I wasn't expecting. It was almost like the author had interviewed me and translated things I've been thinking, feeling, and experiencing at this stage of my life onto the written page. The perspective it provided was just what I needed; it feels good to know that I'm not alone and I hope this book ends up being a conversation starter when it comes out.

When I read the book's description, I thought it sounded interesting but wondered if it would be focused mainly on the issues of married, middle-aged Gen-X women with children. Since that's not my experience, I was hesitant but still curious enough to give it a try. I'm so glad that I did. While it does deal with those issues, it also talks about the challenges of child-free, single middle-aged Gen-X women, too. I felt like even the chapters that weren't specifically about my own experience were still incredibly illuminating and spoke to me in ways I wasn't expecting.

I liked the way the material was presented and the amount of research that went into this book; the material was easy to digest and covered a range of issues (including the myth of having it all and feeling guilty if "all" isn't had (and the fact this doesn't apply to men), work, deciding not to work outside the home, family, being single, being married, having kids or not, promotions, hormone fluctuations, perimenopause, and menopause). It didn't feel like a dry recitation of facts, but rather an objective portrayal of what middle-aged Gen-X women are feeling and why. This isn't just a retelling of the author's own experiences (or those of her friends) in navigating mid-life. When she included anecdotes about herself, I felt they were relevant to the points she was making and didn't feel preachy or judgy. The balance was just right.

Many thanks to Grove Press for allowing me to read an early copy of this book via NetGalley.

A book on life real life issues Gen-x women face .Well researched well written saw myself on so many pages a book my friends will be reading ,and sharing great for book club discussions.# netgalley #groveatlantic,

While I consider myself on the young end of generation X or a very old millennial, I really identified with this book. This book provides an eye-opening look at the societal factors that helped shape generation x, women specifically, in ways that we’re/they’re still grappling with today.

Like every generation before me, I’ve always felt like my life was shaped by the world events that occurred during my formative years: the Challenger explosion, Operation Desert Storm, the Clinton impeachment scandal, 9-11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, then the Great Recession 0f 2008. All of these events hit me and my friends in ways that greatly shaped the people we have become and our political and social beliefs. This book dives into these events and suggests that maybe the reason we’re all anxious and despondent about today’s issues could be related to these events.

I highly, highly recommend this book not just for Generation X women, but for anyone looking to understand how the events of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s affected today’s 30 and 40 somethings. I also learned a lot about how Generation X compares to the Boomers and millennials, both of which are groups I deal a lot with and sometimes, have trouble understanding.

*thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for this honest review!*

I really enjoyed this book, perfect for women in the middle years of life. This book was generously provided to me through NetGalley. Highly Recommended!

I devoured this book. As a middle-aged Gen X woman, this book hit every button and then some. The author describes many of the challenges that me and my peers deal with: how we see ourselves as mothers, women, partners, employees and how those roles have been shaped by our generation. Gen X women were brought up to think we can have it all, but missing from that warrior cry was how the heck we were supposed to do that without any social systems in place to help us out. As a result, many of us DO have the feeling that we should do it all, and many do just that; however we are burnt out and wondering what happened.

I"m the prime demographic for this book, born the same year as the author, so I'm solidly a Gen-Xer.
While this book doesn't offer a ton of solutions, it does make you feel like you're not alone. It covers topics ranging from family, society, workalike, health and mental well-being. Highly recommend it for all us stressed-out Gen X women!

I received a digital copy of "Why We Can't Sleep" for review & a thank you to NetGalley & Grove Atlantic!

Written for those of us who fall between the Baby Boomers & the Millennials. I don't feel that I need to re-write the book, as the synopsis does just fine I am putting this book on my "to be read again" list, as I feel it deserves a bit of time and to be read slowly. A very easy read, with facts along with personal stories. The beginning of the book can bring you down a bit, listing off the sad/emotional events that have happened to any of us who were born/grew up in the 70-80's (9/11 anyone?) There are funny reminders of how simple life was when we were growing up as well. The book has a subtle shift, and at the end, I found myself more hopeful/understanding to where the author was going with all of it. Well written and thank you to Ada Calhoun.

Gentastic

Gen X’er’s are a unique lot. Known as the “Jan Brady of generations”, the perpetual generational middle child sandwiched between the bold Boomers and Millennials…aka the kids we babysat for. We stand with one foot firmly rooted in the pre-internet, pre-tech age and one in the present age of selfie-explosion and social-media-presence-as-a-resume-requirement. Our 360 degree view of the world creates a set of original challenges that we are apparently best suited for in terms of our doggedness and our impeccable work ethic which simply no longer exists in our present work smarter, not harder world. We’re already well aware there's no free lunch.
We lack a sense of entitlement. Perhaps we should have a little more of that. We are also the smallest, most financially strapped generation, virtually non-existent amongst Boomers who cannot or will not retire and Millennials who seem to win more jobs based on ageism in the workplace, those pesky and persistent biases that everyone likes to deny exists. Trust me, it does and it’s like a glass of ice-water thrown directly into the face, even when it occurs online which is where a fair amount of it plays out. Yet, pay close attention to the employer who oversees large swatches of farmland who loves hiring Gen X’ers and goes out of her way to pay them well and keep them because of their work ethic. We need more of her.
Calhoun approaches our demographic from a generational lens with an impressive amount of research backing up the bigger picture which is our magnificence in being the last generation to be raised in the old-school manner of manners, etiquette, work ethic, integrity, and the belief that our word matters.
The youngest Boomers and oldest Millennials will be able to relate too much of what Calhoun speaks of, an array of topics covering parenthood, caring for aging parents, ageism in all forms, living through multiple recessions and counting, and panic-inducing financial concerns. But make no mistake, this book is a tribute to those of us born between the years 1965 to 1980.
Much of what Calhoun writes could easily be construed as depressing but I invite you to consider that the overall tone is one of hopeful optimism. If you subscribe ala Louise Hay style that we choose the time unto which we are born, then Calhoun’s research backed assertions that Gen Xer’s are gritty and resilient in a way no other generation can claim, might feel inspiring and uplifting instead of depressing and demoralizing. Besides, according to some hard research we are the generation that does not quit. Pretty impressive for the “wrong time, wrong place generation.

BRB Rating: Read It.

I was amazed at the amount of research involved in Ada Calhoun's Why We Can't Sleep. Her thoughtful analysis of the unique problems facing Gen X women was eye opening. I found the entire book was completely relatable. I've recommended it to all my 40something friends.

Why We Can't Sleep by Ada Calhoun tackles the questions that keep us awake at night. She addresses the challenges and issues that many women face during middle age from an empathetic and scholarly perspective that is both enjoyable and educational for the casual reader. According to Calhoun, the burden of choice that women now face is both liberating and deeply troubling. We are not alone when we  look back on our lives and wonder: "Did I marry the right person?" "Did I choose the right career?" "Should I have had children?"  "Should I have went back to school?" 

I'm getting older (aren't we all?) and I fall into that strange generation that is "not quite" Gen X and "not quite" millennial. Unlike many millenials, I remember the sound of dial up internet and I didn't learn to use a smart phone until I was in grad school. However, unlike Generation X, I don't remember the Cold War and I was only a year old when the Berlin Wall fell. While this book technically focuses on Gen X women, I still found a great deal I could relate to as an "elder millenial." 

Sometimes, I feel like a stranger in a strange land. it seems so odd to me that there is an entire generation of people, some of them of voting age, who can't remember the attacks of September 11th. To those people, the tragic events of that day seem as distant as the  attacks on Pearl Harbor seem to me- something we have only heard about in stories, history books, and documentaries. 

I look around and wonder, "How did we get here?" According to Calhoun, such existential questions are common ones for women approaching middle age. While men have midlife crises that involve sports cars and large outward signs of struggle, women tend to quietly agonize over their life choices. I was glad to know that I was not alone with my thoughts and concerns. 

Calhoun's book is filled with statistics and interviews. Although I became a bit bogged down with all the numbers, I was comforted by the book's enduring message of the strength of women. As each year brings me closer to midlife, I am glad to know that I am not alone with my existential angst.

I recommend this book for any other woman (especially in the Gen X generation) who finds herself lying awake at night struggling with questions related to aging and self worth. Why We Can't Sleep is an affirmation to women of all ages- young, middle-aged, and advanced and years- that our struggles are real. But nevertheless, we are resilient. 

Note: I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and options are my own.