Books Worth Reading
Browse, follow your curiosity, and choose what speaks to you.
A thoughtfully curated collection of books for navigating, understanding, and reimagining midlife.
Here you’ll find perspectives on everything from the psychology and possibilities of midlife to perimenopause, relationships, habits, purpose, well-being, and what it means to create a meaningful next chapter. Some will offer insight. Others may challenge the way you think. And a few might simply arrive at exactly the right moment.
Read
✳︎
Learn
✳︎
Grow
✳︎
Read ✳︎ Learn ✳︎ Grow ✳︎
Midlife & Reinvention
Primetime: How to Thrive in Midlife by Margie Lachman
A research-backed exploration of midlife that challenges outdated narratives of crisis and decline. Lachman shows how this stage of life can offer greater agency, growth, resilience, and possibility.
The Upgrade: How the Female Brain Gets Stronger and Better in Midlife and Beyond by Louann Brizendine, MD
A fascinating look at how women’s brains change during and after menopause. Brizendine reframes midlife as an opportunity for greater confidence, clarity, and freedom to focus on what truly matters.
Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age by Chip Conley
An optimistic and thoughtful reframing of midlife that focuses on what we gain as we age—from wisdom and emotional intelligence to deeper relationships and a renewed sense of purpose.
Perimenopause & Menopause
The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi, PhD
A science-based guide to understanding what happens in the female brain during perimenopause and menopause. Mosconi explores changes in memory, mood, sleep, cognition, and more while offering a reassuring perspective on this natural life transition.
The New Perimenopause by Mary Claire Haver, MD
A practical, evidence-based guide to navigating perimenopause and understanding the physical and emotional changes that can accompany it. Dr. Haver helps women better understand their symptoms, treatment options, and how to advocate for their health.
Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I Knew About Menopause by Naomi Watts
A candid, funny, and refreshingly relatable take on menopause and aging, blending Watts’ own experiences with stories from other women and guidance from health experts. It feels less like a clinical guide and more like an honest conversation with a friend about the changes, questions, and unexpected realities that come with this stage of life.
Habits, Change & Growth
Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg, PhD
A practical approach to creating meaningful change through small, achievable actions rather than relying on willpower or dramatic overhauls. A wonderful reminder that lasting change often begins with the smallest steps.
Good Habits, Bad Habits by Wendy Wood, PhD
Drawing on three decades of research, psychologist Wendy Wood explores why so much of what we do happens automatically and why willpower alone is rarely enough to create lasting change. She shows how our environments, routines, and everyday cues can help us build habits that better support the lives we want to create.
Meaning, Purpose & Well-Being
The Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger, MD & Marc Schulz, PhD
Drawing from decades of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, this book explores what truly contributes to a fulfilling life. Its central message is beautifully simple: strong, meaningful relationships are among the most important foundations of lifelong well-being.
The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur C. Brooks
An insightful exploration of what gives our lives meaning and why purpose can sometimes feel difficult to find. Drawing on science, philosophy, and timeless wisdom, Brooks offers practical guidance for cultivating deeper connection, purpose, and a life that feels genuinely meaningful.