The woman's guide to second adulthood - Suzanne Braun Levine

Second Adulthood is a new stage of life for women over fifty. The first generation of socially emancipated women have reached an important frontier; they have fulfilled all their roles - daughter, wife, mother, career woman. Yet with longer life expectancy and better health they have no intention of retiring from the world. At the same time these women are experiencing an often bewildering array of physical readjustments: their brains experience a growth very similar to that in adolescence, they enter menopause, their sexual and emotional rhythms change. Such momentous challenges raise three crucial questions that each woman must answer for herself: What matters? What works? What's next? Drawing on interviews, science, trend analysis and her own struggles, Levine explores all the issues and offers countless stories of how others have answered those three questions. This is the inspiring handbook and companion for every woman entering these uncharted waters.

Suzanne Braun Levine is a journalist and a recognised authority on women, media matters, and family issues. She was editor of Ms. Magazine from its founding in 1972 until 1989 and is currently a contributing editor of

'Nothing could be more overdue, needed and filled with hope than a vision for this last and most productive third of life'
Gloria Steinem

'A you-go-girl manual for the menopause crowd, Levine's book will be welcomed by women who want to make the most of their lives from age fifty on … Levine's perspective is welcome and her anecdotes inspiring'
People

'Her view of Second Adulthood is positive and reassuring. Levine has a knack for speaking directly to her readers … Easy-to-take, down-to-earth, yet uplifting'
Kirkus Reviews

'She does not shy away from the hard truth … Levine's prose leaps to life when she writes from heartfelt experience'
The Times