Learning to Love Midlife
12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age
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4.5 • 8 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
New York Times bestselling author and co-founder/CEO of The Modern Elder Academy inspires readers to embrace midlife as a time of joy in this “clear blueprint for creating the lives we want” (Gretchen Rubin)
Named A WSJ Best Book on Aging and Retirement in 2024
The midlife crisis is the butt of so many jokes, but this long-derided life stage has an upside. What if we could reframe our thinking about the natural transition of midlife not as a crisis, but as a chrysalis—a time when something profound awakens in us, as we shed our skin, spread our wings, and pollinate our wisdom to the world?
In Learning to Love Midlife, Chip Conley offers an alternative narrative to the way we commonly think of our 40s, 50s and 60s. Drawing on the latest social science research, inspiring stories, and timeless wisdom, he reveals 12 reasons why life gets better with age. They include:
The relief of “my body doesn’t define me:” We finally grow comfortable in our own skin Stepping off the treadmill: We redefine what a successful life looks like The “Great Midlife Edit:” We let go of our emotional baggage, mindsets, and obligations that no longer serve us Growing whole: We begin to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves
No matter where you are in your midlife journey, this perspective‑shifting guide will inspire you to find joy, purpose and success in the years that lie ahead—and how those years can be your best ones yet.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Conley (Wisdom at Work), cofounder of the Modern Elder Academy, a "midlife wisdom school," celebrates in this sage outing the joys of midlife, a period with a "colossal branding problem." According to the author, the life stage between ages 35 and 75 is similar to a chrysalis—"a bit dark, gooey, and solitary" but potentially transformative as one looks inward, takes stock of the "mindsets, identities... and choices" they've accumulated, sheds what no longer fits, and prepares "to butterfly" into a truer version of themselves. Conley explains that while healthy aging "requires us to move our bodies," it's also a chance to abandon the "short-term vanity" that often locks people into an obsessive pursuit of physical perfection in their earlier years. Elsewhere, he details how developing "a discernment for what matters" can help former people pleasers separate what they value from what they don't. (He urges readers to ask themselves, "Over the course of my life, how important is this?") While Conley sometimes hits his message a bit too hard ("For many of us, life begins at 50. Before that, life is just a dress rehearsal"), his astute and well-informed insights are sure to uplift. It's a welcome corrective to ageism.
