A bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Anna Quindlen shares her thoughts on aging, family, marriage, and other slice-of-life topics in this reflective memoir. Although there's nothing startling or groundbreaking here, her wit and thoughtful insights on these universal issues will have listeners recognizing themselves and nodding their heads in agreement. As a narrator, Quindlen's performance is familiar and intimate: her voice brims over with warmth, wisdom, and self-deprecating humor, and she sound much like a friend who has stopped by for a visit and a cup of coffee. Fans of Quindlen and listeners in general will be more than glad to invite her in (via audiobook) to sit for a spell. A Random House hardcover. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Continuing in the tradition of the New York Times column that won her a Pulitzer Prize, Quindlen offers her baby boomer feminist's perspective on domestic life, motherhood, women's relationships, religious faith, the challenges of aging gracefully in our culture, and more. Quindlen is an insightful, engaging writer, and this is sure to please her many fans. VERDICT The author's narration serves the highly personal subject matter well, giving the illusion of eavesdropping on a wise friend's observations on life. ["Before she published six best-selling novels and wrote her million-copy best seller, A Short Guide to the Happy Life, Quindlen attracted eager readers with her Times column 'Life in the 30s.' Now she's in her fifties and ready to talk about women's lives as a whole," read the review of the Random hc, LJ 5/15/12.-Ed.]-Julie Judkins, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Suddenly sixty, Quindlen, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and best-selling novelist (Every Last One, 2010), finds herself looking back on her life. She's not so much wondering how she got where she is but, rather, considering how the choices she made and the chances she took along the way have prepared her for the road ahead. What even to call this next stage in a woman's life? Not elderly, certainly, yet definitely no longer young, this middle-aged morass can be hard to navigate. Friendships fade, fashions flummox, the body wimps out, and the mind has a mind of its own. One can either fight it or face it. In her own unmistakably reasonable way, Quindlen manages to do both, with grace and agility, wisdom and wit, sending out comforting affirmations while ardently confronting preconceived stereotypes and societal demands. Having endeared herself to generations of women, beginning with her eminently distinctive and intuitively perceptive Life in the 30s column, Quindlen now brings her considered and accepted voice of reflection and evaluation to the challenges and opportunities that await. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: After writing a string of immensely popular novels, trusted, high-profile Quindlen will delight her steadfast readers with this pithy, get-real memoir slated for an energetic, all-fronts promotion campaign.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist