I've been reading books about living off the grid or in the wilderness. Currently I'm reading The Last Season, a biography of a park ranger who disappeared in Sequoia national park.
My next book will be Drop City, a novel about hippies living in a commune, which was a finalist for the National Book award.

Nightwork by Irwin Shaw. A commercial pilot’s eyes go bad; what’s next?

PP here… auto correct fail, it’s Pema* Chodron. Apologies, Pema!

I love this thread! OP, great recs here. I went through my version of this a few years back (though I hope it isn’t actually my mid life!), and I loved these:

“The Untethered Soul” - really made me think about our purpose and why we are here. I think there is something in it for everyone.

Buddhism - anything by Pemex Chodron (“things fall apart”) and I also enjoyed the very fluffy but easy to read “tea and cake with demons” - based on the Buddhist idea of befriending the parts of you that are struggling or hard.

“Judgement Detox” - gabby Bernstein. She is incredibly problematic and ignores her privilege repeatedly BUT I am so much happier now and I attribute some of the thinking in this book to that shift. General premise is that mean thoughts and judgment come from harboring those same thoughts about yourself. It’s like the book version of Roald Dahl’s quote about happiness shining out of your face, lol

You might like “wish you were here” by Jodi Picoult. One of the characters is a doctor during the pandemic though so avoid if you have pandemic triggers. I was really moved by this portrayal of the growth many of us went through during the pandemic. I thought about it for days after.

Anything by Anne Lamott. I love her. Listen to a podcast with her first to get a feel, she has many. She’s a writer, a poet, a spiritual person, an alcoholic, a mom. She’s an incredibly gifted storyteller.

Poetry - I find John O Donohue’s poetry to be particularly moving at inflection points. His podcast episode on Krista Tippet’s “On Being” is so amazing I have listened to it many times.

I hope you come back to us with an update!

The Sportswriter by Richard Ford has a midlife crisis narrator.

Tales of a Female Nomad
The Nest
Wangs vs the World

Thanks for those who recommended "The Change"--I read it last week and can't stop thinking about it! Was there already a discussion thread about it that I may have missed?

The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante.

And I second the suggestion of Less and The Change.

You need to listen to Everything is Fine podcast.

I just ordered one that fits the bill “Broken Light” by Joanne Harris (she also wrote “Chocolat”)
From Amazon:
A bold and ambitious thriller exploring how women can feel invisible as they grow older—and what happens when they decide to take back control.

Bernie Moon's ambitions and dreams have been forgotten by everyone, even Bernie herself. At nineteen she was full of promise, but now, facing fifty and going through the menopause, she's a fading light.

Until the murder of a woman in a local park unlocks a series of childhood memories, and with them, a talent that she has hidden all her adult life.

What happens when the frustrations and power of an older woman are finally given their chance to be revealed?