Meh...too glib and too personal. I was looking for more intelligent reasons why I'm actually in middle age (or the new 30, as it were)...not a recollection of Jackson's life and humorous stories about her experience with online dating and botox.

Comedy is not the new non fiction. ( )

Indespensable for the menopause warning alone. Im early 30's I wanted to see what I had to look forward to. I learned something. ( )

Many parts of this book resonated with me, though some made me snort scornfully. The author, who was a screenwriter in Hollywood for most of her career, places far more value on looking youthful than do I. Reading about all the "work" she has had done of her face was certainly interesting, though. There's a lot of good stuff in this book- Jackson's contention that fifty is fifty and it's never going to be thirty rings true. Some of the chapters seemed relentlessly downbeat, though- when her eldest child left home it really was a personal tragedy for Jackson. Some of the chapters were hilarious, like the one about sex toys for the over-fifty set. I'd call it a well-balanced look at what fifty means for many women at this point in time. Recommended for crones like me. ( )

Much is written on young women, young mothers, and it is wonderful because it didn't used to be that way. Women muddled through it all on their own, afraid to speak of their struggles.

Then it was about turning forty, and "The Change". It was almost a shame or a curse, and again, women carried it on their own.

Now there is a book about and for women 50 and over. Tracey Jackson takes on aging with candid humour. She is both brave and honest in facing the realities of aging.

Tracey shows no fear in discussing health and sex as a woman enters her fifties. She talks about age in the workplace, and the effects of how that is perceived.

The proverbial empty nest, and the pros and cons of that stage of life are discussed with humour, candor and insight.

Tracey recalls how we got here, to age fifty, but also what to do now that we are here. She lays out fearless plans for a productive, full life going forward.

Both realistic and funny, Tracey gives thought to what it means to be fifty and the perceptions of aging.

Reading this book is like chatting with a girlfriend who totally gets what you are going through, at fifty and beyond. ( )

In this book, Tracey gives a humerous look at what it is like to be fifty years old today. She explains the pitfalls of menopause and the benefits of hormone replacement therapy, and it's effect on everything from your body, to moods, to sex life. She talks about face lifts and botox and her experiences with those. She discusses the problem that fifty-somethings now have in the job market, discusses what dating is like at fifty - including her experiment with an online dating service a bit remincient of AJ Jacobs' and the fact that when you are fifty, lots more people your age die than when you are thirty.
I like her viewpoint that if you are fifty and your husband leaves you for another woman it is not your fault because he is obviously looking for something that you cannot provide and he is most likely a jerk.
This is a fun read and I highly recommend it. ( )