Ten top books about middle age

Marina Benjamin's latest book, The Middlepause (2016), is an open and open-hearted account of the years that sandwiched the author turning 50. One of her top ten books about middle age, as shared at the Guardian:

In Our Prime: The Invention of Middle Age by Patricia Cohen (2012)

An attempt to write the biography of an idea. Mostly it’s a social history, from the mid-19th century to the present, but augmented by fascinating detours through science and psychology. With baby-boomer upswing, Cohen contends that middle age is a “malleable cultural fiction”, currently being rewritten to account for discoveries showing that the middle-aged brain actually grows, or that happiness studies point to a rise in reported levels of satisfaction in midlife. The book is a tonic, a boon and a placebo.

Read about another entry on the list.

Writers Read: Patricia Cohen (February 2012).

--Marshal Zeringue