Midlife Bites was just what I needed! The realness that Jen Mann writes about this stage of life made me laugh out loud and want to give her a big hug for understanding. Since I have turned forty, many of these feelings about my body, life choices and relationships have left me feeling isolated, and wondering 'what the heck is happening to me?' This book was helpful and supportive to me and I think it will be for many others. I'll be buying this for many of friends who will be with me as we join the journey of Midlife.

I don’t know if all of midlife bites, but it certainly has a bite for everyone in some way or another. For others, it takes several bites. I don’t think you make it to this point in life without having experienced a real challenge (health issues, kid issues, marriage issues, burying parents/friends, career loss … just to name a few..)
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Midlife Bites is an open book of Jen’s life and an invitation to allow anyone who can relate, to do just that — relate. The book is written for women and covers a wide range of topics, with a sense of humor. Because let’s face it, incontinence, marital issues, stray hairs growing - just are not funny otherwise! Jen seems like someone who’d be in my tribe. Enjoyed this book - a quick read, too.

‘Midlife bites, but only if you let it!’

Such a great memoir. As someone who is in their early thirties there were a lot of things in the book I could relate to. I really loved her honesty and her humor!

I’d love to read more work by Jen Mann if the others are anything like this one. Would absolutely recommend.

I decided to read this book because I like memoirs and I am in the general age range of the author. The premise of the book: that midlife can be a difficult time for women , is a valid one. I did not like this book, however, and could not finish it. The author comes off as very snarky and uses expletives on every page. While it may seem trendy to do this, I don't like it at all, and I suspect many readers might not either. So do not get this book i
I received a complementary copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read most of Jen Mann's People I Want to Punch in the Throat books and always find them humorous. This book seemed like a bit of a departure as it had a more serious tone. Jen is in her midlife and writes about the changes to her body and life and shows how none of us are alone in this journey even though we may not talk about things going on. I feel like I am just before being able to truly relate to the things she says on a personal level. I'm not facing being an empty nester and as of now menopause is still a little bit away. But there are topics she addresses that are pertinent to anyone over the age of 40. Like not being as concerned about what others think about you and not putting up with the bs. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I felt so much of this book. I laughed and cried on the same page, I found a new podcast and Facebook group all while reading it. I love how open and honest the author is about midlife and family relationships during that time. I felt like I was having a conversation with an old friend.

I was so thankful to have been granted this wish, as it was truly everything I could've wanted from a book. I have to be honest I am a bit younger than the intended audience, but that did not by any means hinder my ability to enjoy this book. I truly felt like an older sister was talking to me in a refreshingly real and funny manner. This fully gave me workin' mom's on Netflix vibes and I am so here for it. I loved this idea that we don't age with grace or whatever bs is being sold to us in tabloids, but instead we get angrier, our body becomes less reliable, and we are just better at hiding these things than men are. I think Jen Mann is hilarious and she is someone who just seems real. Its not often I find myself laughing out loud while reading, but this book is truly the exception. Everyone should read it.

I'm about 15 years younger than Jen Mann, so I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to relate to this book. However, I think anyone 30+ can benefit from the wisdom that she shares. The past two years (and really more than that) have been such a tricky time in our society, especially to be a woman, and it is just validating to read a text, even if I'm not quite "midlife" that mirrors my feelings.

Jen Mann covers the topics of aging, womanhood, and midlife crises with tact and humor, as well as no BS. I will be able to take so much of her advice as I move towards my midlife - and I'll be happier knowing that I'm not alone.

Mann's refreshing honesty paired with her humor and lack of filter make this a really fun read for women of all ages and in all stages of life.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Do you ever feel like you’re the only one who is truly going crazy, approaching menopause and feeling like life continues to throw curveballs at you day after day? This book takes a satirical yet honest approach at this and I super enjoyed it. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If you see the title of this book and it resonates, then this book is for you.
A real, humorous, and timely book for women in "midlife" in the 2020's.
Gen X, this is our book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I laughed and wanted to high five the screen! If you are a woman of a certain age this book will really resonate with you. I felt like she was in my head in some parts. It made me realize it wasn’t just me! I also like that even though her “gems” were reminders, we’ve all heard before-the personal stories she told beforehand gave them credibility. I love her courage and appreciate her transparency.

I'm not much one for self help books and this book reminded me why: No matter who writes them or what their intended audience is, self help books always end up being super preachy, which really puts me off. The author tried to be funny and some parts were, but it just felt super preachy and like I was failing because I have a hard time with the issues outlined in the book.

I turn 40 this year, so this book came out at a great time. Filled with humor and stories from her own life, this is a must read for anyone who has the midlife woes.

I really appreciate that this book exists. Truly, there aren't enough narratives about the experiences of women in midlife that aren't some uber-privileged rumspringa like Eat Pray Love. That said, Jen Mann's book makes assumptions about her readers - that they're white, married, suburban, middle-class, white-collar - that leaves too many of us out. She makes a few admissions of limitations, but then falls right back into familiar tropes. This could have been so much better by simply quoting other women going through a midlife crisis who come from other backgrounds.

Also, trigger warning for a brief description of domestic abuse in the form of financial control that's entirely glossed over and not recognized as abuse.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
5 STARS!!!
Hilariously funny and relatable! This was such a fun and fast read that was so true and can definately relate.

What a witty and funny book, about coming into your own, after 40, and all are true. I found Mann's opinion on getting older, right on and I love the wise word of advice at the end of each chapter. I loved that she found out that you need to stand in your own truth and that those who don't get you, should drift away. I love her comments about how your body changes, how freeing it is to be older and no one cares about what's going on in your life. I could go on but then you won't read the book and you would lose out on all the fun it contains and some good advice.
This is the first book I have ever read from Jen Mann and I planning on giving at least 3 people a copy of this book. And I definitely following her in the future.

I want to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. By the way this was a wish book from Random and I loved it.

I am just slightly younger than this book is intended for, but as I am close I figured I could relate and maybe prepare for everything ahead of me. When I saw this title, Midlife Bites, I wished to read it immediately. With a title like that I knew it had to be something special. I was unfamiliar with Jen Mann and her blog/previous books when picking this up but around one third of the way in to the book I was subscribing to her newsletter and putting all her previous books on hold and in my cart on amazon!

Jen Mann has taken a topic that really isn't talked about at all and given women a great guide through some of the things that come along with being midlife. Everything from did I waste my life, to sex with your partner, to admitting that heck yes, we are angry and we have every right to be. Even though I am a little younger even I am with Mann on her "no fucks given" approach to my life and the situations women deal with.

Midlife Bites is an amazingly refreshing, hilarious, and one of a kind gem that women everywhere will be grateful for as we laugh out loud and "mmhmm" our way through the various topics touched upon throughout this book. It is a wonderful start to a discussion we all need to have at some point, and this book gives us a place to turn to not just for the time it takes to read the book, but we'll know what we need to do next in order to survive this crazy time in our lives.

Jen Mann is brilliant and I cannot recommend this book enough. As soon as I can I am buying a copy for myself, and for every woman in my life that needs this as badly as I did.

Thank you Netgalley, Jen Mann, and publishers for providing an advance e-copy in exchange for my honest, unguided opinions. Every thought expressed in the above review is honest and mine.

Loved this book from the first page! Blogger turned author Jen Mann tells it like it is with a sassy wit and eye-opening honesty that any midlife woman can relate to. Putting into words what we are all feeling is somehow comforting and motivating at the same time. Love her take on life's crazy turns as we age--I almost feel normal again!

Sometimes being a woman bites. Hard.

"And I'm gonna be 40!"
"When?"
"Someday."
"In eight years."
"But it's there...it's just sitting there like this big dead end. And it's not the same for men."


Everybody knows this scene from When Harry Met Sally. It's iconic. Sally is in the throes of an emotional breakdown - a pre-midlife crisis, if you will - and I think it's safe to say that we all laugh as she spirals cynically. Some of us may even relate. I'm 32 myself now and although I'm not currently Sally Albright-ing my way through life by slobbering my panic, my dread, on some poor Harry's shoulder because I can sense midlife encroaching nearer and nearer (only eight years away now! wheee!), I also wouldn't mind being more informed about the things "women of a certain age" face... you know, before I become one.

What can I say? Being curious and prepared are two things I know how to do, and to do well. That's why as soon as I read the summary for this book I knew I needed to settle in and take a bite out of Mann's womanly wisdom.

(As it turns out, her no fucks left to give style and commentary gave said wisdom much more flavor than I was anticipating. Cheers to that, I say!)

With searing honesty and humor, Midlife Bites acts like a self-reflective guide to help women better navigate the tumultuousness of midlife. Mann isn't afraid to be candid. She discusses everything from health/hormonal changes to friendship, enduring relationships, and sex to doctors who won't listen (dump 'em, ladies) to identity crises to why women tend to "suffer in silence" more than men.

This book is humorous, blunt, and irreverent in a way that makes you feel as if you're swapping stories about errant chin hair or leaky bladders with one of your girlfriends over a bottle of wine. Advice is offered in a frank, vulnerable conversational manner but still manages to be informative and instructive all the same. It's the perfect "you are not alone in this" diatribe for women who either already are, or one day will be, middle-aged.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House, and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

While I am still some years away from midlife, I enjoyed this book! I found a lot of the stories she was sharing extremely relatable. I think anyone could benefit from reading it. If you are 20-40, you can take her advice to learn and grow before midlife. If you are middle-aged, you can relate to many stories and find comfort in the similarities and experiences.

*I read ad advanced copy of this book in exchange for a promotion.