Book Review- Jen Mann's Midlife Bites: Anyone Else Falling Apart, of is it Just Me?

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a copy of Jen Mann’s Midlife Bites: Anyone Else Falling Apart, of is it Just Me?.

Bestselling humorist Jen Mann tackles the unique challenges that middle-aged women face, including relationship issues, body changes, and personal fulfillment. She considers the differences in which women face middle-age, as compared with men, and if women have their own form of a mid-life crisis.

I’ve been a long-time fan of Mann’s writing. She has a wicked sense of humor and a style of writing that makes me feel like I’m hearing stories over coffee with my best friend. She’s relatable and likable. I would read anything she writes, but I appreciate that she tackled an issue that I am beginning to face: middle-age. I turn forty-five in a few weeks, and although I have not faced some of the challenges that Mann mentions, I didn’t even realize some of the potential issues ( weird body hair???), I read Midlife Bites as a guide for what may come in the future.

In particular, I liked Mann’s thoughts on why middle-aged women should start, and many do, to care less about what other people think. That there is a freedom when you realize that people are too consumed by their own issues to care about yours, and if they do spend time focused on you in a negative way, that has nothing to do with you and is only their loss. Middle-aged women, often “sandwiched” between caring for children and elderly parents, have so much on their plates that letting go of worrying what others think is a huge weight lifted. I appreciated Mann’s candor with regard to parenting and her marriage. There is plenty of humor in Midlife Bites, but overall, this book is far more serious and deep in context than her other works.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the title, a riff on the 90’s film, Reality Bites, and as Mann mentions, purposefully chosen to attract her Gen-X cohorts. Mann also has a Facebook group based on ideas in her book, a place where other middle-aged women can ask questions, share thoughts, and ideas. I love the sisterhood vibe that Mann has created through Midlife Bites.