First published 2017
Amy Dickinson builds on her earlier memoir The Mighty Queens of Freeville with this candid exploration of midlife's unexpected turns. The syndicated advice columnist pulls back the veil on her personal experiences that inform her professional wisdom. Through interconnected essays, Dickinson chronicles finding romance in her fifties, navigating the complexities of blended families as a stepparent, and wrestling with disordered eating patterns. She recounts her mother's final days and examines how loss reshapes perspective. The book traces her spiritual growth alongside practical challenges of self-care and parenting. Dickinson applies the same directness she brings to her advice column to her own story, mixing humor with vulnerability. Her experiences as both advice-giver and advice-seeker create a portrait of someone learning to practice what she preaches. The memoir offers readers permission to embrace second chances and find meaning in life's messier chapters.
Genres: family-life, memoir, biography-memoir, personal-development
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Audio CD · Grand Central Publishing
Content warnings: mental-illness