The psychology of midlife

The midlife-crisis phenomenon has taken on almost mythic proportions in the American psyche over the past century. The term was first coined by the Canadian psychoanalyst Elliott Jaques, who noticed a pattern in the lives of “great men” in history: Many of them lost productivity—and even died—in their mid-to-late-30s, which was midlife in past cent

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Cultivate a sense of mystery. I think, as women grow older, that we miss mystery and we miss magic. But deep down, part of us knows that mystery still exists, and that it’s not out of reach. The part of us that can’t sleep properly when the moon is full, that stands on the seashore at sunrise, singing to seals. The part of us that yearns to set off... See more