Why We Can't Sleep
{{short description|2020 book by Ada Calhoun}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis
| image = Why We Can't Sleep (Ada Calhoun).png
| border = yes
| alt =
| caption = First edition cover
| author = Ada Calhoun
| audio_read_by =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| subjects = {{hlist|Women's studies|self-help|gender studies}}
| publisher = Grove Press
| pub_date = January 7, 2020
| media_type = Print (Hardcover)
| pages = 288
| awards =
| isbn = 978-0-8021-4785-1
| dewey = 305.2440973
| congress = HQ1059.5.U5 C35 2020
}}
Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis is a 2020 non-fiction book by Ada Calhoun. It builds upon her essay for O, The Oprah Magazine, "The New Midlife Crisis for Women".{{cite web |url=http://www.oprah.com/sp/new-midlife-crisis.html |publisher=O, The Oprah Magazine |title=The New Midlife Crisis for Women: Why (and How) It's Hitting Gen X Women|accessdate=December 21, 2019}} Calhoun interviewed more than 200 women and studied social trends to identify new roadblocks for Generation X women.{{cite web |url=https://www.adacalhoun.com/assets/book-assets/WWCS-Info.pdf |publisher=Ada Calhoun |title=Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis (Press Release) |accessdate=December 21, 2019}} The book was published on January 7, 2020, by Grove Press.{{cite web |url=https://groveatlantic.com/book/why-we-cant-sleep/ |publisher=Grove Atlantic |title=Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis |accessdate=December 21, 2019}}
Overview
Why We Can't Sleep is a book by Calhoun about Generation X women and their struggles, sometimes leading to a midlife crisis, including divorce, debt, unstable housing, and career development.{{cite web |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/?reviewDetail=why-we-cant-sleep-womens-new-midlife-crisis |work=Library Journal |title=Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis |accessdate=December 19, 2019}} It builds upon her essay for O, The Oprah Magazine, "The New Midlife Crisis for Women". Calhoun interviewed more than 200 women across America about their experiences as the generation raised to "have it all." She found that many felt exhausted and overwhelmed from financial and housing stress, under or over-working in their careers, caregiving, and parenting. She learned how Generation X women responded and coped with these struggles physically and mentally, incorporating research from the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Harvard University's Equality of Opportunity Project.{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8021-4785-1 |work=Publishers Weekly |title=Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis |accessdate=December 19, 2019}}
After the book's release, she expanded on some foundational arguments of the book in online editorials, including caregiving{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/01/generation-x-women-are-facing-caregiving-crisis/604510/ |work=The Atlantic |title=Gen-X Women Are Caught in a Generational Tug-of-War |date=7 January 2020 |accessdate=January 21, 2020}} and menopause.{{cite web |url=https://www.damemagazine.com/2020/01/07/that-time-middle-aged-tv-stars-got-to-act-their-age/ |magazine=Dame Magazine |title=That Time Middle-Aged TV Stars Got to Act Their Age |date=7 January 2020 |accessdate=January 21, 2020}}
Reviews
Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis has received generally favorable pre-publication reviews. Library Journal said, "Her research offers women ways to look at but not devalue their own experiences; she addresses the fact that women often minimize their own struggles instead of recognizing how their lack of sleep, along with other physical and mental pressures, constitute legitimate crises in their own right..." Publishers Weekly said, "Calhoun persuasively reassures Gen X women that they can find a way out of their midlife crises by 'facing up to our lives as they really are'. Women of every generation will find much to relate to in this humorous yet pragmatic account..." Vogue,{{cite web |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/best-winter-books?verso=true |magazine=Vogue |title=The 22 Best Books to Read This Winter|date=23 October 2019 |accessdate=December 19, 2019}} Real Simple,{{cite web |url=https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/best-books-2020 |work=Real Simple |title=Real Simple's Most Anticipated Books of 2020|accessdate=December 19, 2019}} Parade,{{cite news |url=https://parade.com/966107/meganoneill/add-these-to-your-list-january-book-releases-youll-want-to-pre-order-now/ |work=Parade |title=Add These to Your List-January Book Releases You'll Want to Pre-Order Now |accessdate=December 19, 2019}} New York Times,{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/books/january-2020-books.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=10 Books to Watch For in January |date=23 December 2019 |accessdate=January 21, 2020}} and O, The Oprah Magazine{{cite web |url=https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/books/g30107265/best-books-2020/ |work=O, The Oprah Magazine |title=The 30 Most Anticipated Books of 2020 (so Far) |accessdate=January 21, 2020}} highlighted Why We Can't Sleep as one of the most anticipated books to read in 2020.
Post-publication reviews were mixed. The New York Times Book Review’s Curtis Sittenfeld called Calhoun "a funny, smart, compassionate narrator…taking women’s concerns seriously" but also "wished Calhoun had included fewer women’s stories but gone into those stories in greater detail."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/books/review/ada-calhoun-why-we-cant-sleep-womens-new-midlife-crisis.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Gen X Women: More Opportunities, Less Satisfaction? |date=7 January 2020 |accessdate=January 21, 2020}} The Wall Street Journal's Emily Bobrow gave the book mixed reviews, finding "many of its grumbles reassuringly familiar" but calling the book "a little whiny" and stating that Calhoun is "not above cherry-picking statistics."{{cite web |last=Bobrow |first=Emily |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-we-cant-sleep-review-uncertain-at-a-certain-age-11578354904 |title='Why We Can't Sleep' Review: Uncertain at a Certain Age |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=January 6, 2020}} The book had a 3.86/5 rating on Goodreads {{as of|March 2020}}.{{cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/46819016-why-we-can-t-sleep |title=Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun |publisher=Goodreads |access-date=March 1, 2020}}
References
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External links
- [https://groveatlantic.com/book/why-we-cant-sleep/Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis at Grove Atlantic (official book site)]
- [https://www.adacalhoun.com/why-we-cant-sleep Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis at Author's official website]
- [http://www.oprah.com/sp/new-midlife-crisis.html O, The Oprah Magazine original essay: "New Midlife Crisis: Why (and How) It's Hitting Gen X Women."]
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Category:2020 non-fiction books