Why We Can't Sleep - by Ada Calhoun

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Review Quotes

"[C]andid and engaging. [Calhoun] is a funny, smart, compassionate narrator.... I admired her insistence on taking women's concerns seriously." -Curtis Sittenfeld, New York Times Book Review

"Women are taught to not feel anything for ourselves and to not feel for one another. And our generation is the smallest generation...[Why We Can't Sleep] is a book that makes you feel less crazy. Like oh, it is not my imagination."-Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly and Ryan

"Calhoun speaks directly to her own generation, peppering the book with so many specific cultural touchstones... that I found reading Why We Can't Sleep to be a singular experience - driving home her point that Gen X is so often overlooked. -Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Timely, humane, raw, honest, and sincere."-Forbes, 10 Most Anticipated Books Of 2020, According to Independent Bookstores

"[A]n engaging hybrid of first-person confession, reportage, pop culture analysis, and statistics... it aspires to something larger than memoir." -Rumaan Alam, New Republic

"A superb mix of personal stories and deep research about a generation of women who are facing unprecedented pressure as they enter middle age. It's at once realistic, but positive, asking women to face up to reality, let go of expectations, find a support system and accept this stage isn't forever." -Huffington Post

"Marriage implosions, rising debt, and a constant sense of failure pop up throughout this brief but potent and sometimes funny book... Why We Can't Sleep might do much to let readers like the women Calhoun writes about that they are not alone."-Literary Hub

"[A] Bracing, empowering study... Women of every generation will find much to relate to in this humorous yet pragmatic account." -Publishers Weekly

"Calhoun's latest will be useful for those interested in feminist theory, especially insofar as it intersects with age and class, as well as a useful resource for people struggling to find balance in their personal and professional lives." -Library Journal (Starred Review)

"Ada Calhoun provides a thoughtful, incisive account of the myriad challenges facing Generation X women." -Shelf Awareness

"An assured, affable guide, Calhoun balances bleakness with humor and the hope inherent in sharing stories that will make other women feel less alone. She also gives good advice for finding support through midlife hardship. This is a conversation starter (as well as a no-brainer for book groups that count Gen X women among their members) that might get Boomer and Millennial readers curious, too." -Booklist

"Ada Calhoun's soulful investigation into the complex landscape women in midlife face today is downright stunning. Calhoun has captured the voices-some broken, some resilient, many barely staying afloat-of over 200 women from around the country and in doing so, shown us how much we share in divisive times. You will recognize yourself in these pages, breathe a sigh of relief, and think, I'm not alone."-Susannah Cahalan, author of the New York Times bestselling Brain on Fire

"This is the book of our generation. Ada Calhoun brilliantly encapsulates the struggle and confusion that is the Gen X woman's experie

About the Author