There Are No Grown-ups: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

She's not sure how they knew, but after she turned 40, waiters started calling Druckerman (Bringing Up Bébé, 2012) madame. No longer able to pass as mademoiselle kicks off a midlife rumination on the generation gap between her and her parents, the nature of wisdom and whether she has any, the 11-shaped wrinkle between her eyebrows, and the way French women age more chic than American women. Along the way, she explores current scholarship on the cultural construct of the midlife crisis and interviews women from many fields before diving into her own genealogy. This is no journalistic tome, though. Druckerman's voice self-deprecating but also keenly observant will remind readers of the late Nora Ephron. Her family members, especially her husband, Simon, appear, but this is largely her story of reconciling what she thought she knew about aging with what she is actually experiencing, from the unique perspective of an American expat living in Paris. Peppered with You know you're in your 40s when lists, this is a delightfully funny, thoughtful, coming-of-middle-age story.--Maguire, Susan Copyright 2018 Booklist

Druckerman (Bringing Up BéBé) tackles the subject of entering her 40s in this amusing essay collection, with all 25 chapters cleverly entitled "How to" (e.g., "How to Be Jung," "How to Have a Midlife Crisis"). Druckerman, who has lived in Paris for 12 years with her British journalist husband (and their three kids), opens by painting a colorful picture of her Miami childhood, where she was raised by positive-thinking, "incompatible" Jewish parents. She then shifts to life in France, including the chapter "How to Plan a Ménàge a Trois" (originally in Marie Claire) about the threesome she gave her husband when he turned 40. Druckerman claims 40 is when Parisians began calling her madame instead of mademoiselle, and when she realized she could no longer sport a youthful wardrobe (blazers and navy blue are now de rigueur, say French fashion rules). Though Druckerman is diagnosed with and treated for cancer in the course of her story, her tone remains predominantly light ("You know you're in your forties when... you watch The Graduate, [and] you identify with the parents"). Druckerman's vision of aging is far from sugarcoated, and by the witty book's end she's matured into her role as a grown-up, making the 40s seem not so awful after all. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Essayist and author (Bringing Up Bébé) Druckerman continues to examine her life as an American expat living in Paris with her three children and British husband. This time out, she takes on middle age. French waiters no longer refer to her as "mademoiselle"; now it's "madame." She doesn't get interested looks from strangers anymore. She discusses this with friends male and female, French and otherwise, interspersing the observations with somewhat humorous musings on a comfortable life in Paris, some family history, stories of negotiating social situations in a foreign country, and knowledgeable tips. Chapters cover "How To Be an Expert," "How To Have a Midlife Crisis," "How To Make Friends," and "How To Plan a Ménage à Trois," among other topics. Each section opens with a bullet-list of tips for 40s living. Style suggestions are generic; other midlife hacks are not very helpful for the average fortysomething, but some are funny. Her husband's comments are hilarious, and her thoroughly French children are amusants. The author's bout with a serious illness is awkwardly dropped in, then abandoned. VERDICT Amusing in parts, rambling in others, this loose-knit guide is for fans of the author and those who want to experience the expat life vicariously. [See Prepub Alert, 11/27/17.]-Liz French, Library Journal © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A bestselling American author and journalist living in Paris investigates the "undeniably transitional" decade of the 40s.As she neared the end of her 30s, Druckerman (Bb Day by Day: 100 Keys to French Parenting, 2013, etc.) suddenly noticed how peopleand especially Parisian waitersaddressed her using the matronly "madame" rather than the more youthful "mademoiselle." To understand the "new rules" of maturity, the author began to assess every aspect of her life. The marriage and more stable life Druckerman acquired by her mid-30s brought with them a need to remove the dysfunctional friendships that she collected with ease in her youth. The French-born children she had with her British husband made her feel like the "ruler of a tiny country" always subject to judgment by her opinionated "subjects." Middle age also gave new impetus to last-fling experimentse.g., the mnage--trois she planned for her husband's 40th birthdayand the author offers extended ruminations on wrinkles, arm cellulite, and the fashion faux pas of older women. When a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (for which Druckerman was successfully treated) put her face to face with her mortality, she was unexpectedly overcome with new gratitude for being alive. Research into middle age revealed that the so-called midlife crisis was actually "a cultural construct," but one that nevertheless continued to offer those seeking answerslike the authora narrative for how "life [was] supposed to go." In the end, French culture offered her the most satisfying answer: that aging was a matter of learning how to feel comfortable in one's skin and "live out the best version of [one's] age." Half memoir and half ironic how-to guide, Druckerman's book is not only a humorous meditation on the gains and pains of a time in life "when you become who you are"; it is also a thought-provoking meditation on "what it means to be a grown-up."A trenchant and witty book on maturity and "middle-age shock." Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

She's not sure how they knew, but after she turned 40, waiters started calling Druckerman (Bringing Up Bébé, 2012) madame. No longer able to pass as mademoiselle kicks off a midlife rumination on the generation gap between her and her parents, the nature of wisdom and whether she has any, the 11-shaped wrinkle between her eyebrows, and the way French women age more chic than American women. Along the way, she explores current scholarship on the cultural construct of the midlife crisis and interviews women from many fields before diving into her own genealogy. This is no journalistic tome, though. Druckerman's voice—self-deprecating but also keenly observant—will remind readers of the late Nora Ephron. Her family members, especially her husband, Simon, appear, but this is largely her story of reconciling what she thought she knew about aging with what she is actually experiencing, from the unique perspective of an American expat living in Paris. Peppered with "You know you're in your 40s when" lists, this is a delightfully funny, thoughtful, coming-of-middle-age story. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

Essayist and author (Bringing Up Bébé) Druckerman continues to examine her life as an American expat living in Paris with her three children and British husband. This time out, she takes on middle age. French waiters no longer refer to her as "mademoiselle"; now it's "madame." She doesn't get interested looks from strangers anymore. She discusses this with friends male and female, French and otherwise, interspersing the observations with somewhat humorous musings on a comfortable life in Paris, some family history, stories of negotiating social situations in a foreign country, and knowledgeable tips. Chapters cover "How To Be an Expert," "How To Have a Midlife Crisis," "How To Make Friends," and "How To Plan a Ménage à Trois," among other topics. Each section opens with a bullet-list of tips for 40s living. Style suggestions are generic; other midlife hacks are not very helpful for the average fortysomething, but some are funny. Her husband's comments are hilarious, and her thoroughly French children are amusants. The author's bout with a serious illness is awkwardly dropped in, then abandoned. VERDICT Amusing in parts, rambling in others, this loose-knit guide is for fans of the author and those who want to experience the expat life vicariously. [See Prepub Alert, 11/27/17.]—Liz French, Library Journal

Druckerman (Bringing Up BéBé) tackles the subject of entering her 40s in this amusing essay collection, with all 25 chapters cleverly entitled "How to" (e.g., "How to Be Jung," "How to Have a Midlife Crisis"). Druckerman, who has lived in Paris for 12 years with her British journalist husband (and their three kids), opens by painting a colorful picture of her Miami childhood, where she was raised by positive-thinking, "incompatible" Jewish parents. She then shifts to life in France, including the chapter "How to Plan a Ménàge a Trois" (originally in Marie Claire) about the threesome she gave her husband when he turned 40. Druckerman claims 40 is when Parisians began calling her madame instead of mademoiselle, and when she realized she could no longer sport a youthful wardrobe (blazers and navy blue are now de rigueur, say French fashion rules). Though Druckerman is diagnosed with and treated for cancer in the course of her story, her tone remains predominantly light ("You know you're in your forties when... you watch The Graduate, you identify with the parents"). Druckerman's vision of aging is far from sugarcoated, and by the witty book's end she's matured into her role as a grown-up, making the 40s seem not so awful after all. (May)