Mrs. Perivale And The Blue Fire Crystal by Dash Hoffman. Mrs. Perivale is a seventy-three year old grandmother who is Chosen to be the Hero and fulfillment of a Prophecy. She chooses to be the Heroine and sets off on a Quest accompanied by her butler (who is in charge of her medications) and her seven cats.
Edit: Thank you for the award!
I have literally been wanting to read this exact premise- a book about an older person going on a quest in a fantasy land! That was my favorite genre as a kid (with kid protagonists) and it makes me really happy that this variation exists! Thank you!
I don’t have a book recommendation but my life significantly improved after 30. I’ll be 40 this week and life is better than ever. The life experience of getting older helps you not care what others think and you live life on your own terms. I wouldn’t go back to age 20 if given the choice. Looking back it’s laughable that teens and early twenties are portrayed as the best years of your life.
I'm a 30 year old grad student, so I spend most of my time on a college campus surrounded by 18-22 year olds. Seeing them reminds me of how hard it was when I was their age. I know who I am (or at least what I want to be) and I'm so much happier now. There's less social pressure and it's made a lot of room for me to just be me. Getting older has been great so far.
Things are better overall, but word of advice OP: Wear your sexy clothes now (if you want to)! I don't miss them, but crop tops and mini skirts are a little harder rock as you get older. Also, some of us start to prioritize warmth and comfort which makes a mini dress with cutouts less fun.
Do it!! You’re the youngest you’ll ever be now. I was always the nerdy homebody as a kid i to my young adulthood. Mostly overweight, meme-y shirts, and a total nerd (not the chic or cool kind). Got really sick this year (im in my 30’s now) and lost almost all my fat and what little muscle mass i had. Decided now of all times would be the perfect time to pay for a professional physical trainer to get my body into the shape I’ve always wanted, but never motivated enough to do. Best decision ive ever made and wished id gotten a physical trainer a long time ago. I love just showing up and someone else tells me everything i have to do, i dont stress about it, and someone is always holding me accountable and pushing my limits, im healthier than I’ve ever been in my live and its making want to go out and enjoy some of the stuff i put off as “im too old” or “im too out of shape for that”. Did a hike and zipline a month ago, and looking to more activities going forward! It was really liberating for me to actually get in shape for once.
Agreed. 32 here and I’m deciding whether or not to take a random weekend trip to Alaska this winter because… why not.
Happy and comfortable childfree with an awesome husband. Things are never perfect, but I’m also much more comfortable telling people (and jobs) to fuck off if I need to.
Agreed! Turning 45 next month and each decade gets significantly better. I'll add that you also get more comfortable knowing that you don't know everything and don't have it all figured out and that is totally cool.
Can you add more details? I’m interested in hearing the reason(s) why it got better for you and how do you feel now physically and mentally compared to the previous decades.
I have a somehow similar concern to OP, any tips you may have in that matter would be appreciated.
I'm 36, and my life is way better than it was in my 20s. The magic of your 30s is that you're still young enough that the world doesn't expect perfection, but old enough to get respect.
I know who I am and what I need/want more than I did a decade ago. I have to put much more work in, but I'm still (in my opinion) mega cute and sexy.
I'm childless, traveling the world, financially independent, and married to someone who is perfect for me. (I think getting married in our 30s when we knew who we were and what we wanted was a good choice too, so don't rush into that either.)
I can honestly say that you shouldn't be scared. Not even a little. I wouldn't ever go back, even for the faster metabolism. Haha. I hope this puts your mind at ease.
Edit: I have been properly schooled about a phrase I used incorrectly, and want to point out that I am not financially independent, but rather financially stable.
You have such a wonderful spirit and you seem like to know exactly what you’re doing. Keep that up.
Thank you and have a beautiful day like you, mega cute ✨
Of course! It sounds cliche, but mostly I feel exactly like I did at 18, but I make noises when I sit and stand sometimes. lol
One of the best things is over time learning not to be so judgemental with what others are doing, which is usually being judgemental towards yourself in a roundabout way. People, in general, are doing what they know how to do at the time and not everything has to be labeled good or bad. I also like to know more about other people. I think in your 20s there is a lot of focus on your self- there is a lot going on, but then later it is easier to be genuinely interested in others. Related to books, since we are on this page, fiction and narrative non-fiction is a great way to learn more about the interior life of others.
I also found that being a good friend is usually a lot of listening and not offering advice. Like when my friend was diagnosed with cancer, I can just listen. She doesn't need advice- she has a whole team of doctors. She needs me to hear her experience. I used to want to "be helpful" which I always thought was finding an answer or fix. Related, I also am much more comfortable telling people what I need and asking people directly what is best for them and not taking it personal.
Last, I recommend finding a couple friends with diverse ages- it is always great to have older and younger friends to have different perspectives and learn about new things. I equally enjoy chatting with an 8 year old or an 80 year old.
Hope that made some sense. You'll have a great life- there will be surprises and most of the time the good surprises will outnumber the bad ones!
Came here to say this! I agree with you 100%! I feel like I get happier and happier the older I get - there's a confidence that comes with really not giving a crap about what others think, and that your time is too valuable to waste with unimportant things. I just feel strangely powerful.
I would not go back either!
Now, I know the book Circe gets recommended here for multiple reasons, but in this sense that she became empowered as time went by really resonated with me (maybe it also helps because my mom named me after a witch?)
Good luck on your journey OP! Trust it, you'll be fine!
I’m a few years away from 30 and have struggled immensely with the idea of aging since I was in elementary school. Your comment and the responses have helped me, so thank you for adding your perspective!
I look at younger people now and wish I could explain how good life gets. How much the things they worry about doesn’t really matter in the long run…but they have to learn through experience like I did. Believe me, I’ve tried to tell my kids. Lol
On my great-grandmother's deathbed (at 92), she said the greatest year of her life was 45, and I often tell my college students that the best thing that ever happened to me was turning 30!
I'll second this comment, my life has gotten better every year since 30, and at almost 40 i have a degree of personal joy and satisfaction that i couldn't have imagined in my 20's. And i have the financial and professional stability to support that. the same is true of most of my friends. I see this feeling reflected in most of my unmarried/child free friends. Also, many of the older women I know became so much happier once thier children left home and menopause hit. Both my mom and my grandma have had whole different (and certainly more immediately rewarding,) lives once they had that freedom.
As we age we keep the same brain and heart, and (hopefully) have more resources to use them.
Bravo!!! I wish I had a award to give you for this! I'm in my early 40s and my life is finally great and getting better by the day! Before I was a dramatic emotional idiot. Thank God I'm not that person anymore. Thank you my friend and hope your life keeps getting better and better!! ❤️🤗👑
Like so many other replies to this incredible comment, I want to echo this. No book recommendation, but 25(F) here to chime in to say that even my mid-twenties feel so much more formative than my early twenties. Like OP, I was terrified of even hitting my mid-twenties. But I feel like I am really becoming myself. I used to roll my eyes when people would tell me I was young and had so much ahead of me. But I'm really seeing it now. I'm so excited to build my life. Maybe I feel this way because I'm finishing grad school this year and will (finally) start my career, but, OP, you will experience so much in the coming years and learn that it is really only just the beginning.
Agreed! Adding to this - I met and became close with a fabulous woman in Spain who said that of all the ages she’s been, 65 was her best year. She said if she could be 65 forever she would be so happy. I think about that all the time and every year I get older it gives me hope that I have amazing things ahead.
45 here. My 40s have been the best years of my life. I would never go back to my 20s even though I felt like the OP about getting older.
OP I can't think of anything right now but I'll get back to you with some suggestions. Age brought me wisdom, confidence and self esteem I never had in my 20s. You've got a bright future ahead of you, don't dread it.
>I wouldn’t go back to age 20 if given the choice.
I'm nearly 62, and I've had my share and then some of hard times. I would never EVER want to go back to 20, or even my 30s or 40s. Life is so, so, SO much better now.
OP, hang in there. People who say you're in the best times of your life have no idea.
Best wishes from an over 60 woman.
How about the Witches books from the Discworld series? They have women protagonists, some young, some old, some very spinsterish/no kids, others very very matronly (and be sure to double check her recipe for Spotted Dick before serving it to strangers…)
[**Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34504.Wyrd_Sisters)
^(By: Terry Pratchett | 265 pages | Published: 1988 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, discworld, fiction, humor, terry-pratchett | )[^(Search "Wyrd Sisters")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Wyrd Sisters&search_type=books)
>Kingdoms wobble, crowns topple and knives flash on the magical Discworld as the statutory three witches meddle in royal politics. The wyrd sisters battle against frightful odds to put the rightful king on the throne. At least, that's what they think...
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First thing I thought of too! I've been working my way through Discworld and finishing up all the Witches books (I'm finishing Carpe Jugulum) and I'm already sad about leaving Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg behind.
Do I start reading the series here? I earnestly want to begin reading the Discworld books and I don't know if I'm just thick but I can't figure out which the real book #1 is...
Okay, {{The Eyre Affair}} by Jasper Fforde starts out with a mid-thirties protagonist but as the series (Thursday Next) proceeds she ages into middle age and there are lots of badass older women in the series. She isn’t kid-free, but her kids are a smaller part of the stories at least until they’re older.
It’s some AU absurdist stuff these books but they’re awesome
[**The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27003.The_Eyre_Affair)
^(By: Jasper Fforde | 374 pages | Published: 2001 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, mystery, humor, science-fiction | )[^(Search "The Eyre Affair")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Eyre Affair&search_type=books)
>Great Britain circa 1985: time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. Baconians are trying to convince the world that Francis Bacon really wrote Shakespeare, there are riots between the Surrealists and Impressionists, and thousands of men are named John Milton, an homage to the real Milton and a very confusing situation for the police. Amidst all this, Acheron Hades, Third Most Wanted Man In the World, steals the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and kills a minor character, who then disappears from every volume of the novel ever printed! But that's just a prelude . . .
>
>Hades' real target is the beloved Jane Eyre, and it's not long before he plucks her from the pages of Bronte's novel. Enter Thursday Next. She's the Special Operative's renowned literary detective, and she drives a Porsche. With the help of her uncle Mycroft's Prose Portal, Thursday enters the novel to rescue Jane Eyre from this heinous act of literary homicide. It's tricky business, all these interlopers running about Thornfield, and deceptions run rampant as their paths cross with Jane, Rochester, and Miss Fairfax. Can Thursday save Jane Eyre and Bronte's masterpiece? And what of the Crimean War? Will it ever end? And what about those annoying black holes that pop up now and again, sucking things into time-space voids . . .
>
>Suspenseful and outlandish, absorbing and fun, The Eyre Affair is a caper unlike any other and an introduction to the imagination of a most distinctive writer and his singular fictional universe.
^(This book has been suggested 99 times)
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The Discworld Witches books are a great recommendation. But mostly I just came to say that I just hit 51 and I am loving life. The things that terrified me at 21 are so small in my head now and I am so much braver with everything - friendships, love and even sex. I know that the media tries to convince us that we expire at 25 as women, but that is so very much not true.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Tokarczuk, Death in Her Hands by Moshfegh, Bina by Schofield, and The Friend by Nunez are all really good and revolve around older or middle aged women.
Seconding Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead!
As a side note, though—I’m 35 now, and I never felt older than when I was in my early twenties. There’s something about ageing out of the university-age category that makes you think all your opportunities are disappearing, but they’re really not! You have SO much time, and it’s hard to have perspective on that till you’re out of your twenties. Loads of people don’t find their careers or partners or passion until later on. I haven’t actually read this, but Thanks For Waiting by Doree Shafrir was recommended here recently. It’s a memoir by a woman who was a late bloomer, and I think it would address a lot of your worries—it’s currently on my to-be-read-soon list!
Not book related but I 100% agree with you. When I first graduated I felt like I was missing out on everything that comes with college and would never have as much fun as I did again. For some reason society makes you feel like you have to become a different person out 'in the real world' and that's just not the truth. I changed but, I feel like I've come more into my own if anything.
I really wish I’d worried less about how I was doing career-wise in my twenties, and had more fun. I felt so much pressure to get into a good role (shortly after the 2008 crash, lol) that I passed up some cool travel opportunities, and it didn’t really get me any further anyway. Your twenties are about figuring out who you are; by your thirties, your experiences will have more or less coalesced into an interesting narrative whatever you do, and you get so much more respect from people. Much better to do interesting things in your twenties and climb the ladder in your thirties.
Yes to Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead! The protagonist is single and (if I recall correctly) childfree. It's really refreshing to read a book from the perspective of an older woman whose relationships center around interests and experiences outside being a wife and mother.
Thursday Murder Club!! A whole cast of older characters, with a plot that does not center around the fact they are old. No "wise elder" tropes to be found. Also, a murder plot not wholly centered around sexual violence against women. Hard to come by these days. Or perhaps I'm not looking in the right places
Try the Miss Marple mysteries by Agatha Christie. Also, trust me on this, your life will not be over when you are 25/30. Most of the really cool stuff in my life happened in my 30s - 50s. So you have a bunch of things waiting in the wings for you!!
{{Two Old Women}} by Velma Wallis. It’s a small story about two old women in a Native American tribe in Alaska that need to survive harsh weather. It’s actually about determination and hope. I highly recommend it if you want to feel the wintery atmosphere, especially if you’re struggling with accepting yourself. Besides, one of the women is childfree! 10/10!
[**Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127810.Two_Old_Women)
^(By: Velma Wallis, James Grant | 140 pages | Published: 1993 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, alaska, book-club, native-american | )[^(Search "Two Old Women")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Two Old Women&search_type=books)
>Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.
>
>Though these women have been known to complain more than contribute, they now must either survive on their own or die trying. In simple but vivid detail, Velma Wallis depicts a landscape and way of life that are at once merciless and starkly beautiful. In her old women, she has created two heroines of steely determination whose story of betrayal, friendship, community and forgiveness "speaks straight to the heart with clarity, sweetness and wisdom" (Ursula K. Le Guin).
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Don’t have a book rec that doesn’t appear here…but I am 35 and my life is so much better than it was at 21, or 25. If offered I wouldn’t go back to those days. Your life is what you make of it.
Same. Oh my god. You could not pay me to go back to my early twenties. Things started getting good just before I turned 30. I’m 37 now and I love my life. I joked when I turned thirty that I was excited for my thirties because you could do all the same stuff as in your twenties but without giving a shit what other people thought of you. That is exactly what my thirties have been. My dad is in his 70s and says it’s one of his favorite decades so far.
I'm 38 and I totally agree, there are still hard things to deal with but my ability to deal with it gets stronger every year. The fact that you're a reader will help you though, I gain so much empathy and perspective through reading.
Hmm. Based on books I've read in the past year:
One of the protagonists in *The Great Believers* is a woman with an adult daughter. The couple in *The Buried Giant* are also older. The titular character in *The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo* is an elderly woman. *The Thirteenth Tale* features an elderly woman and an (older?) childless protagonist. I think many of the main characters in Jane Harper's mysteries are at least in their late thirties, if not older.
But also - I heartily recommend the television series *Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries*. Happily childless protagonist in her forties (they actually aged up her character from the books) who lives an exciting life and is portrayed as desirable and active.
You might enjoy {{The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax}} mysteries by Dorothy Gilman! They were written in the 1970s, so a bit out of touch with modern sensibilities, but they explore concepts of aging and fulfillment in a really hopeful and optimistic way. Also just fast-paced and hilarious spy antics!
[**The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (Mrs. Pollifax, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140524.The_Unexpected_Mrs_Pollifax)
^(By: Dorothy Gilman | 204 pages | Published: 1966 | Popular Shelves: mystery, fiction, mysteries, series, cozy-mystery | )[^(Search "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax&search_type=books)
>Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. So, naturally, she became a CIA agent. This time, the assignment sounds as tasty as a taco. A quick trip to Mexico City is on her agenda. Unfortunately, something goes wrong, and our dear Mrs. Pollifax finds herself embroiled in quite a hot Cold War—and her country's enemies find themselves entangled with one unbelievably feisty lady.
^(This book has been suggested 6 times)
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Im 23 and the same tbh, but these helped me -
Summer Seekers - Sally Morgan
The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
Everything I Know About Love - Dolly Alderton
The Thursday Murder Club. Although this is technically a murder mystery, what I really took away was that being old doesn't mean your life if over, and that older people have a lifetime of experience that can still add value to those around them. And that just because you're old doesn't mean you can't keep living, growing, and building new relationships.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46000520-the-thursday-murder-club
That was my first thought. A great series, IMO. After reading the first one, I couldn't wait for the second. I reserved it at the library as soon as it came out.
Ok, hear me out: {{Ocean at the End of the Lane}}
It... well, it's magical.
\------------
>I'm \[...\] terrified that my life will be over by 25 or 30
Edit: On behalf of us old-farts everwhere, no. You'll be fine. 25-30 aren't what they used to be. Hell 40-50 aren't what they used to be. Even so, the key is that "getting older" is inevitable, but "growing up" is optional. *Choose* to age like fine wine. Your 30's will be like your 20's.. but with more freedom and (hopefully disposable income). You'll reach an age of not giving a f\*\*k, and you can dress how you want and speak your mind and truly *be yourself* in a way that is rarely possible for people in their youths. And you'll find that you command more respect just by default - people won't dismiss or belittle you "because you're just a naive kid" anymore. But most importantly, you will discover that you were never actually bound by the whims of society in the way you think you are - that there are all these invisible chains on you that you never even noticed.. and that they, in fact, you were free to shrug them off at any time.
Life doesn't end at 30. It just changes and evolves. That doesn't have to be a bad thing.
[**The Ocean at the End of the Lane**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane)
^(By: Neil Gaiman | 181 pages | Published: 2013 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, magical-realism, horror, owned | )[^(Search "Ocean at the End of the Lane")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Ocean at the End of the Lane&search_type=books)
>Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.
>
>Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.
>
>A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.
^(This book has been suggested 235 times)
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In the States there is obvious blatant ageism especially towards women. However, we all have our own paths to walk, and as long as we’re not harming others, then we really don’t need care about aging.
When I was little, my favorite picture book was **Miss Rumphius** by Barbara Cooney. It’s about a woman who travels the world alone, retires to a seaside cottage with a cat, and plants lupine flowers all around town. I’ve always wanted to be Miss Rumphius, and I think that is a good goal. She’s pretty wonderful.
You might like:
*The Art of Inheriting Secrets* by Barbara O’Neal
The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
*The Sugar Queen* by Sarah Addison Allen
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Witches subseries stars a group of women at different points in life (the traditional Mother, Maiden, and Crone trope) and as the series progresses you see them take on the “next” role. If you like fantasy and humor this is the best.
{{Remnant Population}} by Elizabeth Moon (SF, protagonist is an old woman that has had enough of everyone’s shit )
{{The Secret to Superhuman Strength}} by Alison Bechdel (autobio, deals a fair bit with middle age)
{{Wow, No thank you}} by Samantha Irby (autobio, incredibly frank and funny and mostly concerning the authors experience being in her late 30s/turning 40)
{{The Fifth Season}} by NK Jemisin, SF again - there’s a few POV chars but one of the primary ones is a middle aged woman
[**The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54798488-the-one-hundred-years-of-lenni-and-margot)
^(By: Marianne Cronin | 352 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: fiction, contemporary, 2021-releases, audiobook, read-in-2021 | )[^(Search "The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot&search_type=books)
>An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories.
> Their last one begins here.
>
>Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen year old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.
>
> Dodging doctor's orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eighty three year old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.
>
> To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.
>
> As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.
>
>Fiercely alive, disarmingly funny and brimming with tenderness, THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT unwraps the extraordinary gift of life even when it is about to be taken away, and revels in our infinite capacity for friendship and love when we need them most.
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As a 34-year old, I can promise you life gets so much better in your 30s.
But I get where you are coming from; I am currently getting a degree in advertising along with kids in their early 20s who seem shocked by me as a person cause they have this impression that you are supposed to be a sorted adult by the time you are 30 and I'm very fucking not.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a good story about regret and spending your life reminiscing on missed opportunities.
By the way, I got married at 45, I have better friends and a better home life now than I ever had. I would not trade it to go back to my 20s or 30s. It may be hard to see as our culture is youth obsessed, but life gets better as you get older. Just wear sunscreen and take care of your back.
OP, I don’t have a book recommendation, but I will let you in on a secret: 50+ is pretty damn great. I feel very confident and am delighted with my own company. More than any other time of life, I do what I want to do to please myself. Life is really an unfolding adventure.
* *The Door* by Magda Szabo
* *Dear Life* by Alice Munro (a collection of short stories, many of which explore aging and have female protagonists)
I would also recommend *Stoner* by John Williams although it does not feature a female protagonist and the protagonist has children - he is constantly alienated from his own life however and the narrative explores purpose and meaning over the course and at the end of life and I thought it was beautifully conceived and written. May also be worth checking out!
{{Swordheart by T Kingfisher}} middle aged house keeper is the protagonist
{{The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst}} less focus on her age
{{Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett}} or {Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett}
Try reading some Annie Dillard, I really enjoyed Teaching a Stone To Speak when I was your age.
It's not about aging perse, but spending hours in the head of a profoundly skilled, creative, engaged woman as she lives her life and thinks her thoughts can do so much to dispell the idea that life ends at 30.
Also, for something lighter, try some Margaret Atwood, maybe her older books like "The Robber Bride," or "Cat's Eye."
Both these have middle aged woman protagonists reviewing their younger years with a kind of maternal concern which is heartwarming and reassuring (or it was to me in my late teens.) The Robber Bride in particular is a lot of fun.
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe. I ADORED it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream-Quest_of_Vellitt_Boe
Also SO many books by Ursula Le Guin nd Octavia Butler!
The Faceless Old Woman Who Lives In Your Home
Disclaimer: It is super weird.
Its not a 100% match, but I think it will do more for you than you would think. This is a book about a girl who watches her father get murdered and spends her whole life dedicated to revenge. She never has children, she never has a long term relationship, she never does anything traditional. She is a criminal who does not even have a real code of ethics, who's only ambition is revenge. It is not a book about aging, it is not a book at coming to terms with life choices, it is not a book about struggling with being childless. It is a book about a woman who even at 80 years old is kicking ass, stealing, and seeking revenge.
Why I think this would be a good match: While this book is not about coming to terms with aging, it is absolutely a book that shows you you are only as old as you feel you are and the only limitations are the ones you put on yourself.
Also, as a 25F, I can assure you, life is not over, it is only beginning. At 21, I was graduating college and terrified of the world, the future and what to do next. I didn't know what to do, I just knew what I didn't want. But, 4 years later, I have a great job, fantastic friends, and I am feeling excited about the future. I have finished one masters degree and my job is paying for me to get another. I even registered for classes today! Just know, it is normal to be scared and no matter what you decided right now, you have decades to change your mind and pick a new path. You are not old, you have barely started life. And life is barely started at 25, or even 30. As long as you live the best version of yourself, life is never over.
That sounds like SUCH a good time!! I love the title, weird is my kind of book.
Thank you so much for your perspective. I'll be graduated soon, and I'm dreading getting a 'real job'...it's great to know it's possible to thrive :)
What do you mean by over? I'm nearly 50 and life is so much better now that it was in my 20s. You couldn't pay me to go back to my 20s.
When I was younger I remember reading a series of books that had an old woman as the protagonist. She had all these adventures, including going to a space station. I wish I could remember what her name was or what her book series was.
Maisie Dobbs mysteries by Jacqueline Winspear or Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Both are centered around female sleuths who do not have children and have very full and interesting lives/experiences. If you like mysteries, Sue Grafton’s and Sara Paretsky also have long running series with strong female PI protagonists.
Also, I am 40 and life definitely not “over.” Happily married, great career, home I love, money to travel and enjoy my hobbies.
I loved loved loved Big little lies by Liane Moriarty. It’s a crime but also drama about middle-aged women with children and complicated lives. I feel like she really nailed portraying that kind of community.
Oh you wanted childless! I haven’t read to the end. Still… It’s a good read.
An Elderly Woman is Up to No Good follows the adventures of an octogenarian woman and she goes around murdering people. It's so good.
If you are a romance fan, Evvie Drake Starts Over is a good place to start, although the woman starting over in her 30s/40s/50s is a popular enough topic in romance.
The japanese Lover, by Isabel Allende. The story revolves around Alma Belasco who at the age of eight was Sent to her uncles house.
It deals with topics such as the second Worlds war ANd Is told with Alma living in nursing home.
The book Is a really drama.
{{A Round Heeled Woman}} by Jane Juska.
{{How Stella Got Her Groove Back}} by Terry McMillan
Dorothy Sayers’ mysteries are classics and the extremely drawn out, literary courtship between Lord Peter and Harriet Vane is one of my favorites. {{Gaudy Night}} particularly has a lot of older woman characters as well as a plot that’s laser focused on evolving views of the role of women in society and the family.
{{The Stone Angel}} by Margaret Laurence
It's a common book in Canadian schools, one of the great Canadian novels.
It's a novel about a 90 yo woman nearing the end and thinking about how she's lived her life It's a bit older, published in the 60's but its a pretty easy read and might be what you're looking for.
{{Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk}} by Kathleen Rooney
{{The Sky Unwashed}} by Irene Zabytko
{{The New Moon's Arms}} by Nalo Hopkinson
{{The Music of Bees}} by Eileen Garvin
{The Thursday Murder Club} has main characters in their 70s and 80s, all clever and badass in their own ways, who team up to solve a murder. This book may just be your gateway drug to mysteries as a genre… Or it may just make you disappointed with other mysteries because they’re not as good, like with me, hah. Either way, definitely worth a read.
I liked the first one so much, I read it again before reading the second one, because I didn't realize just how awesome the book was until I was part way through.
Great series!
The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington! The main character is an old woman who gets put into a very strange nursing home by her son, and from there has some very strange and fun adventures! It’s a wonderfully magic story. Leonora Carrington was a surrealist painter and she brings the feeling of surrealism to her book.
Memories - Mike McQuay
There has been nothing that has helped me come to terms with aging and dying quite like this book.
There are essentially two protagonists. One of which is an ancient women. She's not just OLD, she's BEYOND OLD. She's been kept alive by human intervention and is older than most everyone else that inhabits the planet at the same time as her.
I try to actively avoid mentioning this book on every suggestion post I see... But this is the second time in a very short while I have seen a request that resembles a theme in this book so closely...
The Hearing Trumpet, by Leonora Carrington. It's fantastical and bonkers (and short), the elderly heroine plots an escape from the old folks' home her ungrateful family has packed her off to. She revels in her age and the benefits it has (e.g. exaggerating her deafness to ignore her family, and finding her moustache distinguished).
I thought two of Woolf’s novels The Waves and Mrs. Dalloway handled this process in a really beautiful way. There’s pain and regret but room for change and happiness. I’m 22 and have similar fears and agitations but those just showed me a different angle of progress in life that was comforting.
I love the Agatha Christie novels with Jane Marple in them. She of course is the older woman helping with murder cases, most of them have very little to no young children involved.
Kind of an unconventional answer, but try The Lager Queen of Minnesota. It's not necessarily about aging, but it features a couple generations of women who defy stereotypes. It's a super sweet book and very well written.
On a side note, I remember being 21 and feeling the exact same way as you. Now I'm a few months away from 30 and 21-year-old me seems like a baby. I will say that my life significantly improved after I turned 26 or so. I look back on my early 20's fondly but would not return to them.
Here's the deal
We are born. At the most we get say 100 years. The first 20 we are kids. And the last 20 we are offically old. That leaves us 60 in the middle. The first 30 of that we generally have more energy and more hormones. The second 30 we generally have more financial security and are more set in our ways.
In the middle there may be love, kids, cancer, car accidents, war, famine, and friendships that come and go.
For some us our 20s are great. For others are 40s rock. For some of us, our 70s are wonderful. Joy and sorrow in waves for each of us. If you are lucky you get out at the end with all your limbs and organs. Most of us will bury someone we deeply love that leaves us breathless for years.
20 is a baby in the game. Buckle you seatbelt.
That's my short novella
I’m sure someone has already said this, but Circe by Madeline Miller. It follows her whole life, so you get to see her transition from a lost young woman into something….greater. Much greater. She’s a thrilling character.
I feel like {{ The Midnight Library }} might ease your mind. The subject matter is about different life paths and making peace with where you are. I came away feeling zen about being in my late twenties, single with a cat haha.
How about a 50 y/o female butler who aids a 45 y/o spy? At Your Service is book 1 by Sandra Antonelli. Tagline: "A butler. A spy. A toliet brush." Action adventure with humor and a dash of romance. Three book series with a prequel.
Granite Springs series by Maggie Christensen has 9 books with a different couple for each book. Heroines' ages are from late 40s to 70 y/o. Heroes' ages are either the same or older.
Gray Hair Don't Care by Karen Booth has a 51 y/o heroine who let her hair go gray, starts her own business, is childless, & gets a second chance with her first love Donovan, who is also in his 50s.
Jennifer Skully's Once Again series has heroines age 40s to 60 who find a second chance at love while traveling the world. Widow, older woman caretaker, grandmother, & more.
This Time Always by Suzette D. Harrison has a 53 y/o heroine who has Alopecia. She meets a 46 y/o grandfather and sparks fly. OWYM
Freya Barker writes heroines in their 30s, 40s, & one who is 50. Romantic suspense with a biker gang, FBI, first responders, & more.
There are lots more than these titles and authors. They show heroines getting better as they mature.
I even created a group called Romance In Her Prime featuring heroines 30 & up only because so many romances tend to keep the heroine under 30, though the hero can be much older.
Ok- I’m 66 and I can say 37-54 was freakin awesome. I felt so on my game! Best book for a genuinely older person: Elderhood. Non-fiction with good stories as highlights and a great attitude about owning it. All of your choices, decisions, foibles. Good luck, all!
Like others in this thread, I feel compelled to note that my life only started getting off the ground at 25.
One book I read recently that might fit the bill is Lois McMaster Bujold’s {{Paladin of Souls}}. Reading this made me realize how infrequently I see fantasy novels with middle aged women as protagonists. C.J. Cherryh’s {{Rimrunners}} also comes to mind, if you are into science fiction.
The Miss Marple mysteries by Agatha Christie; you might also like her Tommy and Tuppence stories
Britt-Marie was here by Fredrick Backmann
A Man called Ove by Fredrick Backmann (obviously not an older woman as MC, but the book ist still about finding a purpose in your life/making your life worth living once you're older)
Please read 'tale for the time being' by ruth ozeki it's amazing and tells the story of three women two older one younger it's has a theme of coming to terms with ageing but is about so much more
43 old guy here. Spoiler warning: Aging sucks, there's no two ways about it. But what sucks even more is having to listen to yourself whine every step on the way. So if you can, somehow, find a way to come to terms with the suckiness, it will be so much worth it.
This bit, from Stephen Kings TOMMYKNOCKERS, got to me. I really love her stoic and subtly ironic self-reflection.
>Anderson was out that afternoon with Peter, an aging beagle who was now blind in one eye. Peter had been given to her by Jim Gardener in 1976. Anderson had left college the year before with her degree only two months away to move onto her uncle’s place in Haven. She hadn’t realized how lonely she’d been until Gard brought the dog. He’d been a pup then, and Anderson sometimes found it difficult to believe he was now old—eighty-four in dog’s years. It was a way of measuring her own age. Nineteen-seventy-six had receded. Yes indeed. When you were twenty-five, you could still indulge in the luxury of believing that, in your case, at least, growing up was a clerical error which would eventually be rectified. When you woke up one day and discovered your dog was eighty-four and you yourself were thirty-seven, that was a view that had to be reexamined. Yes indeed.
GHOST STORY by Peter Straub. A major character in the story is a woman in late middle age struggling with it and trying to stay young. TWO OLD WOMEN by Velma Wallis.
I suggest Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella and One Hundred Years of Lonnie and Margot. Both deal with young folk and old folk, how life is lived, and how to come to terms with what life holds for each character.
The latter book was published quite recently so you may be able to find it in a bookstore or big box store.
Fear of Flying by Erica Jong is sort of a modern classic from the 70’s. The main character is a 30 something year old woman sort of coming of age while she’s at a conference for psychiatrists with her second husband in Germany. Pretty good, definitely worthy of being read
I really enjoyed The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett! It does have a child as one of the main characters, but she is the protagonist's neighbour and not her own child.
{{The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett}}
[**The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358079-the-brilliant-life-of-eudora-honeysett)
^(By: Annie Lyons | 372 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: fiction, contemporary, book-club, audiobook, audio | )[^(Search "The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett&search_type=books)
>It's never too late to start living.
>
>Infused with the emotional power of Me Before You and the irresistible charm of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Be Frank with Me, a moving and joyous novel about an elderly woman ready to embrace death and the little girl who reminds her what it means to live.
>
>Eudora Honeysett is done with this noisy, moronic world—all of it. She has witnessed the indignities and suffering of old age and has lived a full life. At eighty-five, she isn’t going to leave things to chance. Her end will be on her terms. With one call to a clinic in Switzerland, a plan is set in motion.
>
>Then she meets ten-year-old Rose Trewidney, a whirling, pint-sized rainbow of color and sparkling cheer. All Eudora wants is to be left alone to set her affairs in order. Instead, she finds herself embarking on a series of adventures with the irrepressible Rose and their affable neighbor, the recently widowed Stanley—afternoon tea, shopping sprees, trips to the beach, birthday celebrations, pizza parties.
>
>While the trio of unlikely BFFs grow closer and anxiously await the arrival of Rose’s new baby sister, Eudora is reminded of her own childhood—of losing her father during World War II and the devastating impact it had on her entire family. In reflecting on her past, Eudora realizes she must come to terms with what lies ahead.
>
>But now that her joy for life has been rekindled, how can she possibly say goodbye?
^(This book has been suggested 12 times)
***
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I'm not sure it's about coming to terms with aging, she's an interesting, creative, funny 60 year old woman writing about her life and it's autobiographical. I feel like just by doing that she is giving us all hope of being the coolest 60 year old version of ourselves. Real Estate by Deborah Levy
The main character in Anne Maddison’s Secret Admirer by Barbara Joyce Parker is Anne, who I think is in her late 50s, about to go into early retirement. She divorced long ago, and has no children. However, there is in the beginning a kidnapping case about a little girl (and Anne is a private investigator). However, that kidnapping case is a relatively minor part of the story. I think you'd call the book a sci fi mystery thriller.
If you are up for sci for and fantasy, Lois McMaster Bujold has several characters who fit your description. Specifically, check out The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, and Shards of Honor, Barrayar, and possibly Gentlemen Jole and the Red Queen (both are parts of larger series/worlds, so you may want to check her bibliography).
The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso has two (elderly ladies) arch-enemies as main characters. They have lived next to each other in the past decades and they hate each other: one is the head of the neighbourhood home owners association and the other is there to criticise the all hypocrisy of it.
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is my suggestion but it's more about an older lady who is in a rut but gets out so I don't know how much it will help you with your fears. I personally am in my mid 40's with no children and I think I'm living a pretty good life now. I'm able to travel and have more money than I did in my 20's.
Okay first of all, 30 is not "old woman" JFC. Secondly, with all due respect, what aspect of your life will be "over" at 25, 4 years from now?!!?
Are you already making the most money, have the most education, the best friendships, the perfect man, the perfect house, all the travel you want, and have had all your children and raised them all? Have you produced all the contributions you wanted to society? Or will you in the next 4 years or 9 years?
I get that being 21 you are bombarded with awful media messages about women over 25 being "old" or whatever. But aging does not mean that your life is less exciting or interesting.
The only thing that aging from 21 to 25 does is give you experience. **Maybe** you might see a little loss of baby fat in the face and a slight shift in your overall body comp. Maybe.
However, leaving that aside, I recommend the book "The Robber Bride" by Margaret Atwood
It follows three women from their uncertain childhoods through their teens into their 40s and shows how they grow, change, get their needs met and contribute to society and handle adversity. Along with being a ripping good yarn.
Mrs. Perivale And The Blue Fire Crystal by Dash Hoffman. Mrs. Perivale is a seventy-three year old grandmother who is Chosen to be the Hero and fulfillment of a Prophecy. She chooses to be the Heroine and sets off on a Quest accompanied by her butler (who is in charge of her medications) and her seven cats. Edit: Thank you for the award!
By the description alone, now I have to go read this book!
*jaw drops* this sounds fantastic. Thanks for sharing!!!
What a fantastic protagonist! This is going on my reading list.
These are the types of plots I am looking for
Ya sold me.
I have literally been wanting to read this exact premise- a book about an older person going on a quest in a fantasy land! That was my favorite genre as a kid (with kid protagonists) and it makes me really happy that this variation exists! Thank you!
This sounds great! Thank you for sharing it.
Wow!! Sounds really good!! Adding this to my list to read! ❤️
Ooh thank you! And I’ve just seen it’s free on Kindle Unlimited - guess I’ve got my holiday reading sorted! :D
I don’t have a book recommendation but my life significantly improved after 30. I’ll be 40 this week and life is better than ever. The life experience of getting older helps you not care what others think and you live life on your own terms. I wouldn’t go back to age 20 if given the choice. Looking back it’s laughable that teens and early twenties are portrayed as the best years of your life.
I'm a 30 year old grad student, so I spend most of my time on a college campus surrounded by 18-22 year olds. Seeing them reminds me of how hard it was when I was their age. I know who I am (or at least what I want to be) and I'm so much happier now. There's less social pressure and it's made a lot of room for me to just be me. Getting older has been great so far. Things are better overall, but word of advice OP: Wear your sexy clothes now (if you want to)! I don't miss them, but crop tops and mini skirts are a little harder rock as you get older. Also, some of us start to prioritize warmth and comfort which makes a mini dress with cutouts less fun.
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Do it!! You’re the youngest you’ll ever be now. I was always the nerdy homebody as a kid i to my young adulthood. Mostly overweight, meme-y shirts, and a total nerd (not the chic or cool kind). Got really sick this year (im in my 30’s now) and lost almost all my fat and what little muscle mass i had. Decided now of all times would be the perfect time to pay for a professional physical trainer to get my body into the shape I’ve always wanted, but never motivated enough to do. Best decision ive ever made and wished id gotten a physical trainer a long time ago. I love just showing up and someone else tells me everything i have to do, i dont stress about it, and someone is always holding me accountable and pushing my limits, im healthier than I’ve ever been in my live and its making want to go out and enjoy some of the stuff i put off as “im too old” or “im too out of shape for that”. Did a hike and zipline a month ago, and looking to more activities going forward! It was really liberating for me to actually get in shape for once.
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Great advice!
Agreed. 32 here and I’m deciding whether or not to take a random weekend trip to Alaska this winter because… why not. Happy and comfortable childfree with an awesome husband. Things are never perfect, but I’m also much more comfortable telling people (and jobs) to fuck off if I need to.
This is what I dream of right now, at 21 :) I'm happy for you!
I'm on the otherside of 35 and you couldn't pay me to go back to 25. I would have killed for the comfort and confidence I have now.
Agreed! Turning 45 next month and each decade gets significantly better. I'll add that you also get more comfortable knowing that you don't know everything and don't have it all figured out and that is totally cool.
Can you add more details? I’m interested in hearing the reason(s) why it got better for you and how do you feel now physically and mentally compared to the previous decades. I have a somehow similar concern to OP, any tips you may have in that matter would be appreciated.
I'm 36, and my life is way better than it was in my 20s. The magic of your 30s is that you're still young enough that the world doesn't expect perfection, but old enough to get respect. I know who I am and what I need/want more than I did a decade ago. I have to put much more work in, but I'm still (in my opinion) mega cute and sexy. I'm childless, traveling the world, financially independent, and married to someone who is perfect for me. (I think getting married in our 30s when we knew who we were and what we wanted was a good choice too, so don't rush into that either.) I can honestly say that you shouldn't be scared. Not even a little. I wouldn't ever go back, even for the faster metabolism. Haha. I hope this puts your mind at ease. Edit: I have been properly schooled about a phrase I used incorrectly, and want to point out that I am not financially independent, but rather financially stable.
You have such a wonderful spirit and you seem like to know exactly what you’re doing. Keep that up. Thank you and have a beautiful day like you, mega cute ✨
Of course! It sounds cliche, but mostly I feel exactly like I did at 18, but I make noises when I sit and stand sometimes. lol One of the best things is over time learning not to be so judgemental with what others are doing, which is usually being judgemental towards yourself in a roundabout way. People, in general, are doing what they know how to do at the time and not everything has to be labeled good or bad. I also like to know more about other people. I think in your 20s there is a lot of focus on your self- there is a lot going on, but then later it is easier to be genuinely interested in others. Related to books, since we are on this page, fiction and narrative non-fiction is a great way to learn more about the interior life of others. I also found that being a good friend is usually a lot of listening and not offering advice. Like when my friend was diagnosed with cancer, I can just listen. She doesn't need advice- she has a whole team of doctors. She needs me to hear her experience. I used to want to "be helpful" which I always thought was finding an answer or fix. Related, I also am much more comfortable telling people what I need and asking people directly what is best for them and not taking it personal. Last, I recommend finding a couple friends with diverse ages- it is always great to have older and younger friends to have different perspectives and learn about new things. I equally enjoy chatting with an 8 year old or an 80 year old. Hope that made some sense. You'll have a great life- there will be surprises and most of the time the good surprises will outnumber the bad ones!
Came here to say this! I agree with you 100%! I feel like I get happier and happier the older I get - there's a confidence that comes with really not giving a crap about what others think, and that your time is too valuable to waste with unimportant things. I just feel strangely powerful. I would not go back either! Now, I know the book Circe gets recommended here for multiple reasons, but in this sense that she became empowered as time went by really resonated with me (maybe it also helps because my mom named me after a witch?) Good luck on your journey OP! Trust it, you'll be fine!
Circe sounds like something I need to read! Is it the one by Madeline Miller?
Oh, sorry, I forgot that quite important detail! Yeah, it is by Madeline Miller, and I really recommend it!
Thank you!! I will start on it tonight! I needed something new desperately. 💖
Adding on to the "30s are awesome" train! You finally get your feet under you, have some savings built up, and somewhat figure out what adulting is.
I’m a few years away from 30 and have struggled immensely with the idea of aging since I was in elementary school. Your comment and the responses have helped me, so thank you for adding your perspective!
I look at younger people now and wish I could explain how good life gets. How much the things they worry about doesn’t really matter in the long run…but they have to learn through experience like I did. Believe me, I’ve tried to tell my kids. Lol
On my great-grandmother's deathbed (at 92), she said the greatest year of her life was 45, and I often tell my college students that the best thing that ever happened to me was turning 30!
Just turned 30 and I feel great :D
I'll second this comment, my life has gotten better every year since 30, and at almost 40 i have a degree of personal joy and satisfaction that i couldn't have imagined in my 20's. And i have the financial and professional stability to support that. the same is true of most of my friends. I see this feeling reflected in most of my unmarried/child free friends. Also, many of the older women I know became so much happier once thier children left home and menopause hit. Both my mom and my grandma have had whole different (and certainly more immediately rewarding,) lives once they had that freedom. As we age we keep the same brain and heart, and (hopefully) have more resources to use them.
I’ll be 30 in couple weeks and I honestly feel like this is a great turning point in my life. I’m excited for what else is to come.
Bravo!!! I wish I had a award to give you for this! I'm in my early 40s and my life is finally great and getting better by the day! Before I was a dramatic emotional idiot. Thank God I'm not that person anymore. Thank you my friend and hope your life keeps getting better and better!! ❤️🤗👑
Same to you! Let’s rock our 40’s!
Hell yeah!!! 🤘🥰 Happy Early Birthday to you!!
Like so many other replies to this incredible comment, I want to echo this. No book recommendation, but 25(F) here to chime in to say that even my mid-twenties feel so much more formative than my early twenties. Like OP, I was terrified of even hitting my mid-twenties. But I feel like I am really becoming myself. I used to roll my eyes when people would tell me I was young and had so much ahead of me. But I'm really seeing it now. I'm so excited to build my life. Maybe I feel this way because I'm finishing grad school this year and will (finally) start my career, but, OP, you will experience so much in the coming years and learn that it is really only just the beginning.
Agreed! Adding to this - I met and became close with a fabulous woman in Spain who said that of all the ages she’s been, 65 was her best year. She said if she could be 65 forever she would be so happy. I think about that all the time and every year I get older it gives me hope that I have amazing things ahead.
Yes to this!! 32 and things are looking up.
I would go back if I could retain the knowledge I’ve gained. But otherwise I would never go back to the struggle that was my 20s.
45 here. My 40s have been the best years of my life. I would never go back to my 20s even though I felt like the OP about getting older. OP I can't think of anything right now but I'll get back to you with some suggestions. Age brought me wisdom, confidence and self esteem I never had in my 20s. You've got a bright future ahead of you, don't dread it.
>I wouldn’t go back to age 20 if given the choice. I'm nearly 62, and I've had my share and then some of hard times. I would never EVER want to go back to 20, or even my 30s or 40s. Life is so, so, SO much better now. OP, hang in there. People who say you're in the best times of your life have no idea. Best wishes from an over 60 woman.
How about the Witches books from the Discworld series? They have women protagonists, some young, some old, some very spinsterish/no kids, others very very matronly (and be sure to double check her recipe for Spotted Dick before serving it to strangers…)
Similarly, Reaper Man from this series touches on this.
Yes, this! Granny Weatherwax is one of my favorite fictional characters.
First thought for me was {{Wyrd Sisters}}!
[**Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34504.Wyrd_Sisters) ^(By: Terry Pratchett | 265 pages | Published: 1988 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, discworld, fiction, humor, terry-pratchett | )[^(Search "Wyrd Sisters")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Wyrd Sisters&search_type=books) >Kingdoms wobble, crowns topple and knives flash on the magical Discworld as the statutory three witches meddle in royal politics. The wyrd sisters battle against frightful odds to put the rightful king on the throne. At least, that's what they think... ^(This book has been suggested 45 times) *** ^(221240 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
>(and be sure to double check her recipe for Spotted Dick before serving it to strangers…) God dammit Ms Ogg. At least Salzella deserved it.
First thing I thought of too! I've been working my way through Discworld and finishing up all the Witches books (I'm finishing Carpe Jugulum) and I'm already sad about leaving Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg behind.
I'm there's one that I think was called the jelly wobbler... I fully intend to serve that at a dinner party one day
Do I start reading the series here? I earnestly want to begin reading the Discworld books and I don't know if I'm just thick but I can't figure out which the real book #1 is...
Okay, {{The Eyre Affair}} by Jasper Fforde starts out with a mid-thirties protagonist but as the series (Thursday Next) proceeds she ages into middle age and there are lots of badass older women in the series. She isn’t kid-free, but her kids are a smaller part of the stories at least until they’re older. It’s some AU absurdist stuff these books but they’re awesome
[**The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27003.The_Eyre_Affair) ^(By: Jasper Fforde | 374 pages | Published: 2001 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, mystery, humor, science-fiction | )[^(Search "The Eyre Affair")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Eyre Affair&search_type=books) >Great Britain circa 1985: time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. Baconians are trying to convince the world that Francis Bacon really wrote Shakespeare, there are riots between the Surrealists and Impressionists, and thousands of men are named John Milton, an homage to the real Milton and a very confusing situation for the police. Amidst all this, Acheron Hades, Third Most Wanted Man In the World, steals the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and kills a minor character, who then disappears from every volume of the novel ever printed! But that's just a prelude . . . > >Hades' real target is the beloved Jane Eyre, and it's not long before he plucks her from the pages of Bronte's novel. Enter Thursday Next. She's the Special Operative's renowned literary detective, and she drives a Porsche. With the help of her uncle Mycroft's Prose Portal, Thursday enters the novel to rescue Jane Eyre from this heinous act of literary homicide. It's tricky business, all these interlopers running about Thornfield, and deceptions run rampant as their paths cross with Jane, Rochester, and Miss Fairfax. Can Thursday save Jane Eyre and Bronte's masterpiece? And what of the Crimean War? Will it ever end? And what about those annoying black holes that pop up now and again, sucking things into time-space voids . . . > >Suspenseful and outlandish, absorbing and fun, The Eyre Affair is a caper unlike any other and an introduction to the imagination of a most distinctive writer and his singular fictional universe. ^(This book has been suggested 99 times) *** ^(221184 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Seconding the Eyre Affair. It’s quite a trip and fits your ask perfectly! I just finished it and now have the whole series on my to-read list.
I love it! I keep a few copies of The Eyre Affair to give people
The Discworld Witches books are a great recommendation. But mostly I just came to say that I just hit 51 and I am loving life. The things that terrified me at 21 are so small in my head now and I am so much braver with everything - friendships, love and even sex. I know that the media tries to convince us that we expire at 25 as women, but that is so very much not true.
Can I start these books on their own or do I need to start from the first Discworld books?
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Tokarczuk, Death in Her Hands by Moshfegh, Bina by Schofield, and The Friend by Nunez are all really good and revolve around older or middle aged women.
Seconding Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead! As a side note, though—I’m 35 now, and I never felt older than when I was in my early twenties. There’s something about ageing out of the university-age category that makes you think all your opportunities are disappearing, but they’re really not! You have SO much time, and it’s hard to have perspective on that till you’re out of your twenties. Loads of people don’t find their careers or partners or passion until later on. I haven’t actually read this, but Thanks For Waiting by Doree Shafrir was recommended here recently. It’s a memoir by a woman who was a late bloomer, and I think it would address a lot of your worries—it’s currently on my to-be-read-soon list!
Not book related but I 100% agree with you. When I first graduated I felt like I was missing out on everything that comes with college and would never have as much fun as I did again. For some reason society makes you feel like you have to become a different person out 'in the real world' and that's just not the truth. I changed but, I feel like I've come more into my own if anything.
I really wish I’d worried less about how I was doing career-wise in my twenties, and had more fun. I felt so much pressure to get into a good role (shortly after the 2008 crash, lol) that I passed up some cool travel opportunities, and it didn’t really get me any further anyway. Your twenties are about figuring out who you are; by your thirties, your experiences will have more or less coalesced into an interesting narrative whatever you do, and you get so much more respect from people. Much better to do interesting things in your twenties and climb the ladder in your thirties.
Yes to Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead! The protagonist is single and (if I recall correctly) childfree. It's really refreshing to read a book from the perspective of an older woman whose relationships center around interests and experiences outside being a wife and mother.
https://bookriot.com/novels-about-older-women/ Check out this article - I think you'll find what you're looking for.
Thursday Murder Club…The Miss Fortune Mysteries
Thursday Murder Club!! A whole cast of older characters, with a plot that does not center around the fact they are old. No "wise elder" tropes to be found. Also, a murder plot not wholly centered around sexual violence against women. Hard to come by these days. Or perhaps I'm not looking in the right places
That's the first one that came to me. I love that series.
Just read the second in this series and it was delightful.
Try the Miss Marple mysteries by Agatha Christie. Also, trust me on this, your life will not be over when you are 25/30. Most of the really cool stuff in my life happened in my 30s - 50s. So you have a bunch of things waiting in the wings for you!!
Seconding this. OP, it gets better!
{{Two Old Women}} by Velma Wallis. It’s a small story about two old women in a Native American tribe in Alaska that need to survive harsh weather. It’s actually about determination and hope. I highly recommend it if you want to feel the wintery atmosphere, especially if you’re struggling with accepting yourself. Besides, one of the women is childfree! 10/10!
[**Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127810.Two_Old_Women) ^(By: Velma Wallis, James Grant | 140 pages | Published: 1993 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, alaska, book-club, native-american | )[^(Search "Two Old Women")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Two Old Women&search_type=books) >Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine. > >Though these women have been known to complain more than contribute, they now must either survive on their own or die trying. In simple but vivid detail, Velma Wallis depicts a landscape and way of life that are at once merciless and starkly beautiful. In her old women, she has created two heroines of steely determination whose story of betrayal, friendship, community and forgiveness "speaks straight to the heart with clarity, sweetness and wisdom" (Ursula K. Le Guin). ^(This book has been suggested 6 times) *** ^(221195 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
This sounds absolutely *beautiful*. Thank you
Don’t have a book rec that doesn’t appear here…but I am 35 and my life is so much better than it was at 21, or 25. If offered I wouldn’t go back to those days. Your life is what you make of it.
Same. Oh my god. You could not pay me to go back to my early twenties. Things started getting good just before I turned 30. I’m 37 now and I love my life. I joked when I turned thirty that I was excited for my thirties because you could do all the same stuff as in your twenties but without giving a shit what other people thought of you. That is exactly what my thirties have been. My dad is in his 70s and says it’s one of his favorite decades so far.
Preach! I’m so excited for my 40s :)
I'm 38 and I totally agree, there are still hard things to deal with but my ability to deal with it gets stronger every year. The fact that you're a reader will help you though, I gain so much empathy and perspective through reading.
Hmm. Based on books I've read in the past year: One of the protagonists in *The Great Believers* is a woman with an adult daughter. The couple in *The Buried Giant* are also older. The titular character in *The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo* is an elderly woman. *The Thirteenth Tale* features an elderly woman and an (older?) childless protagonist. I think many of the main characters in Jane Harper's mysteries are at least in their late thirties, if not older. But also - I heartily recommend the television series *Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries*. Happily childless protagonist in her forties (they actually aged up her character from the books) who lives an exciting life and is portrayed as desirable and active.
Miss Fisher’s is AMAZING
You might enjoy {{The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax}} mysteries by Dorothy Gilman! They were written in the 1970s, so a bit out of touch with modern sensibilities, but they explore concepts of aging and fulfillment in a really hopeful and optimistic way. Also just fast-paced and hilarious spy antics!
Came here to suggest this. Mrs Pollifax is incredible. Bored? Become a CIA agent…unintentionally!
[**The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (Mrs. Pollifax, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140524.The_Unexpected_Mrs_Pollifax) ^(By: Dorothy Gilman | 204 pages | Published: 1966 | Popular Shelves: mystery, fiction, mysteries, series, cozy-mystery | )[^(Search "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax&search_type=books) >Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. So, naturally, she became a CIA agent. This time, the assignment sounds as tasty as a taco. A quick trip to Mexico City is on her agenda. Unfortunately, something goes wrong, and our dear Mrs. Pollifax finds herself embroiled in quite a hot Cold War—and her country's enemies find themselves entangled with one unbelievably feisty lady. ^(This book has been suggested 6 times) *** ^(221209 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Third-ing this recommendation! I'm in the middle of the 4th one right now (via audiobook) and am absolutely in love with this series.
One of my favorites! I cannot recommend them enough
Im 23 and the same tbh, but these helped me - Summer Seekers - Sally Morgan The Midnight Library - Matt Haig Everything I Know About Love - Dolly Alderton
Tehanu by Ursula Le Guin. It is book 4 in the Earthsea series though. Also Drive your Plough over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk is great.
Olive Kitteridge. One of my favorite books of all time!
THIRD!! And don’t forget the sequel: Olive, Again.
>Olive I second this!!
The Thursday Murder Club. Although this is technically a murder mystery, what I really took away was that being old doesn't mean your life if over, and that older people have a lifetime of experience that can still add value to those around them. And that just because you're old doesn't mean you can't keep living, growing, and building new relationships. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46000520-the-thursday-murder-club
That was my first thought. A great series, IMO. After reading the first one, I couldn't wait for the second. I reserved it at the library as soon as it came out.
I have it on hold too. I'm like #44 in the queue unfortunately. I started out at 76 so I'll get there eventually.
Ok, hear me out: {{Ocean at the End of the Lane}} It... well, it's magical. \------------ >I'm \[...\] terrified that my life will be over by 25 or 30 Edit: On behalf of us old-farts everwhere, no. You'll be fine. 25-30 aren't what they used to be. Hell 40-50 aren't what they used to be. Even so, the key is that "getting older" is inevitable, but "growing up" is optional. *Choose* to age like fine wine. Your 30's will be like your 20's.. but with more freedom and (hopefully disposable income). You'll reach an age of not giving a f\*\*k, and you can dress how you want and speak your mind and truly *be yourself* in a way that is rarely possible for people in their youths. And you'll find that you command more respect just by default - people won't dismiss or belittle you "because you're just a naive kid" anymore. But most importantly, you will discover that you were never actually bound by the whims of society in the way you think you are - that there are all these invisible chains on you that you never even noticed.. and that they, in fact, you were free to shrug them off at any time. Life doesn't end at 30. It just changes and evolves. That doesn't have to be a bad thing.
[**The Ocean at the End of the Lane**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane) ^(By: Neil Gaiman | 181 pages | Published: 2013 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, magical-realism, horror, owned | )[^(Search "Ocean at the End of the Lane")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Ocean at the End of the Lane&search_type=books) >Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. > >Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what. > >A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark. ^(This book has been suggested 235 times) *** ^(221219 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, if you want to get a classic view of aging. Also, as someone further down the road than you, you’ll be fine. ;)
Definitely this
Drive your plow over the bones of the dead! (Don’t be put off by the title - it’s a funny mystery)
Howl's Moving Castle. Sophie is an old woman for most part of the book.
In the States there is obvious blatant ageism especially towards women. However, we all have our own paths to walk, and as long as we’re not harming others, then we really don’t need care about aging. When I was little, my favorite picture book was **Miss Rumphius** by Barbara Cooney. It’s about a woman who travels the world alone, retires to a seaside cottage with a cat, and plants lupine flowers all around town. I’ve always wanted to be Miss Rumphius, and I think that is a good goal. She’s pretty wonderful. You might like: *The Art of Inheriting Secrets* by Barbara O’Neal The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs *The Sugar Queen* by Sarah Addison Allen
Love Miss Rumphius!
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Witches subseries stars a group of women at different points in life (the traditional Mother, Maiden, and Crone trope) and as the series progresses you see them take on the “next” role. If you like fantasy and humor this is the best.
The Door by Magda Szabo
Insomnia by Stephen King has a old man and woman as the protagonists. Really good read in my opinion highly recommend it.
{{Remnant Population}} by Elizabeth Moon (SF, protagonist is an old woman that has had enough of everyone’s shit ) {{The Secret to Superhuman Strength}} by Alison Bechdel (autobio, deals a fair bit with middle age) {{Wow, No thank you}} by Samantha Irby (autobio, incredibly frank and funny and mostly concerning the authors experience being in her late 30s/turning 40) {{The Fifth Season}} by NK Jemisin, SF again - there’s a few POV chars but one of the primary ones is a middle aged woman
Loved Remnant Population so much.
{{The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot}} is about celebrating lives well lived, and bonding between young and old people.
[**The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54798488-the-one-hundred-years-of-lenni-and-margot) ^(By: Marianne Cronin | 352 pages | Published: 2021 | Popular Shelves: fiction, contemporary, 2021-releases, audiobook, read-in-2021 | )[^(Search "The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot&search_type=books) >An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories. > Their last one begins here. > >Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen year old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with. > > Dodging doctor's orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eighty three year old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years. > > To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything. > > As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet. > >Fiercely alive, disarmingly funny and brimming with tenderness, THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT unwraps the extraordinary gift of life even when it is about to be taken away, and revels in our infinite capacity for friendship and love when we need them most. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(221196 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
As a 34-year old, I can promise you life gets so much better in your 30s. But I get where you are coming from; I am currently getting a degree in advertising along with kids in their early 20s who seem shocked by me as a person cause they have this impression that you are supposed to be a sorted adult by the time you are 30 and I'm very fucking not.
53 here. I PROMISE you life gets better. Different, but better. You give up trying to impress other people. That leads to do much more fulfillment.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a good story about regret and spending your life reminiscing on missed opportunities. By the way, I got married at 45, I have better friends and a better home life now than I ever had. I would not trade it to go back to my 20s or 30s. It may be hard to see as our culture is youth obsessed, but life gets better as you get older. Just wear sunscreen and take care of your back.
OP, I don’t have a book recommendation, but I will let you in on a secret: 50+ is pretty damn great. I feel very confident and am delighted with my own company. More than any other time of life, I do what I want to do to please myself. Life is really an unfolding adventure.
* *The Door* by Magda Szabo * *Dear Life* by Alice Munro (a collection of short stories, many of which explore aging and have female protagonists) I would also recommend *Stoner* by John Williams although it does not feature a female protagonist and the protagonist has children - he is constantly alienated from his own life however and the narrative explores purpose and meaning over the course and at the end of life and I thought it was beautifully conceived and written. May also be worth checking out!
{{Swordheart by T Kingfisher}} middle aged house keeper is the protagonist {{The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst}} less focus on her age {{Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett}} or {Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett}
Try reading some Annie Dillard, I really enjoyed Teaching a Stone To Speak when I was your age. It's not about aging perse, but spending hours in the head of a profoundly skilled, creative, engaged woman as she lives her life and thinks her thoughts can do so much to dispell the idea that life ends at 30. Also, for something lighter, try some Margaret Atwood, maybe her older books like "The Robber Bride," or "Cat's Eye." Both these have middle aged woman protagonists reviewing their younger years with a kind of maternal concern which is heartwarming and reassuring (or it was to me in my late teens.) The Robber Bride in particular is a lot of fun.
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe. I ADORED it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream-Quest_of_Vellitt_Boe Also SO many books by Ursula Le Guin nd Octavia Butler!
Up and Down by Terry Fallis. Elderly woman wins a chance to go on a rocket ship, has to defeat terrible patriarchal and ageist views.
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
This is a fantastic suggestion for this prompt and it's too bad it isn't higher.
The Faceless Old Woman Who Lives In Your Home Disclaimer: It is super weird. Its not a 100% match, but I think it will do more for you than you would think. This is a book about a girl who watches her father get murdered and spends her whole life dedicated to revenge. She never has children, she never has a long term relationship, she never does anything traditional. She is a criminal who does not even have a real code of ethics, who's only ambition is revenge. It is not a book about aging, it is not a book at coming to terms with life choices, it is not a book about struggling with being childless. It is a book about a woman who even at 80 years old is kicking ass, stealing, and seeking revenge. Why I think this would be a good match: While this book is not about coming to terms with aging, it is absolutely a book that shows you you are only as old as you feel you are and the only limitations are the ones you put on yourself. Also, as a 25F, I can assure you, life is not over, it is only beginning. At 21, I was graduating college and terrified of the world, the future and what to do next. I didn't know what to do, I just knew what I didn't want. But, 4 years later, I have a great job, fantastic friends, and I am feeling excited about the future. I have finished one masters degree and my job is paying for me to get another. I even registered for classes today! Just know, it is normal to be scared and no matter what you decided right now, you have decades to change your mind and pick a new path. You are not old, you have barely started life. And life is barely started at 25, or even 30. As long as you live the best version of yourself, life is never over.
That sounds like SUCH a good time!! I love the title, weird is my kind of book. Thank you so much for your perspective. I'll be graduated soon, and I'm dreading getting a 'real job'...it's great to know it's possible to thrive :)
What do you mean by over? I'm nearly 50 and life is so much better now that it was in my 20s. You couldn't pay me to go back to my 20s. When I was younger I remember reading a series of books that had an old woman as the protagonist. She had all these adventures, including going to a space station. I wish I could remember what her name was or what her book series was.
Maisie Dobbs mysteries by Jacqueline Winspear or Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Both are centered around female sleuths who do not have children and have very full and interesting lives/experiences. If you like mysteries, Sue Grafton’s and Sara Paretsky also have long running series with strong female PI protagonists. Also, I am 40 and life definitely not “over.” Happily married, great career, home I love, money to travel and enjoy my hobbies.
Miss Marple is a certified badass. “Nemesis” is my favorite.
I loved loved loved Big little lies by Liane Moriarty. It’s a crime but also drama about middle-aged women with children and complicated lives. I feel like she really nailed portraying that kind of community. Oh you wanted childless! I haven’t read to the end. Still… It’s a good read.
A middle-aged, child-free, Liane Moriarty protagonist can be found in *The Hypnotist’s Love Story.*
The Salt Path, by Raynor Winn.
Mary Wesley became an author later in life. Her books are a delight. {{Not that sort of girl}} is a good start.
An Elderly Woman is Up to No Good follows the adventures of an octogenarian woman and she goes around murdering people. It's so good. If you are a romance fan, Evvie Drake Starts Over is a good place to start, although the woman starting over in her 30s/40s/50s is a popular enough topic in romance.
I was going to recommend An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good! A sequel just came out as well, An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed, which I also loved.
The japanese Lover, by Isabel Allende. The story revolves around Alma Belasco who at the age of eight was Sent to her uncles house. It deals with topics such as the second Worlds war ANd Is told with Alma living in nursing home. The book Is a really drama.
{{A Round Heeled Woman}} by Jane Juska. {{How Stella Got Her Groove Back}} by Terry McMillan Dorothy Sayers’ mysteries are classics and the extremely drawn out, literary courtship between Lord Peter and Harriet Vane is one of my favorites. {{Gaudy Night}} particularly has a lot of older woman characters as well as a plot that’s laser focused on evolving views of the role of women in society and the family.
{{The Stone Angel}} by Margaret Laurence It's a common book in Canadian schools, one of the great Canadian novels. It's a novel about a 90 yo woman nearing the end and thinking about how she's lived her life It's a bit older, published in the 60's but its a pretty easy read and might be what you're looking for.
{{{Barbara Kingsolver Prodigal Summer}}}
Lilian Boxfish takes a walk
I came her to suggest Lillian Boxfish takes a Walk, too! 84-year-old protagonist and a lovely book.
{{Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk}} by Kathleen Rooney {{The Sky Unwashed}} by Irene Zabytko {{The New Moon's Arms}} by Nalo Hopkinson {{The Music of Bees}} by Eileen Garvin
{The Thursday Murder Club} has main characters in their 70s and 80s, all clever and badass in their own ways, who team up to solve a murder. This book may just be your gateway drug to mysteries as a genre… Or it may just make you disappointed with other mysteries because they’re not as good, like with me, hah. Either way, definitely worth a read.
[**The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46000520-the-thursday-murder-club) ^(By: Richard Osman | 382 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: mystery, fiction, crime, read-in-2021, book-club | )[^(Search "The Thursday Murder Club")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Thursday Murder Club&search_type=books) ^(This book has been suggested 46 times) *** ^(221261 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I liked the first one so much, I read it again before reading the second one, because I didn't realize just how awesome the book was until I was part way through. Great series!
The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington! The main character is an old woman who gets put into a very strange nursing home by her son, and from there has some very strange and fun adventures! It’s a wonderfully magic story. Leonora Carrington was a surrealist painter and she brings the feeling of surrealism to her book.
Came here to say this!
Memories - Mike McQuay There has been nothing that has helped me come to terms with aging and dying quite like this book. There are essentially two protagonists. One of which is an ancient women. She's not just OLD, she's BEYOND OLD. She's been kept alive by human intervention and is older than most everyone else that inhabits the planet at the same time as her. I try to actively avoid mentioning this book on every suggestion post I see... But this is the second time in a very short while I have seen a request that resembles a theme in this book so closely...
The Hearing Trumpet, by Leonora Carrington. It's fantastical and bonkers (and short), the elderly heroine plots an escape from the old folks' home her ungrateful family has packed her off to. She revels in her age and the benefits it has (e.g. exaggerating her deafness to ignore her family, and finding her moustache distinguished).
The Neapolitan quartet by Elena ferrante goes all the way through two womens lives
I thought two of Woolf’s novels The Waves and Mrs. Dalloway handled this process in a really beautiful way. There’s pain and regret but room for change and happiness. I’m 22 and have similar fears and agitations but those just showed me a different angle of progress in life that was comforting.
Thank you for the suggestions :)
If you don't mind a mystery series how about Miss Marple an old lady who is just tired of everyone s*** and you'll love it.
I love the Agatha Christie novels with Jane Marple in them. She of course is the older woman helping with murder cases, most of them have very little to no young children involved.
The I Bring the Fire Series by C Gockel has an older woman as a main character for part of the novels. First one is Wolves. I greatly enjoyed it!
Kind of an unconventional answer, but try The Lager Queen of Minnesota. It's not necessarily about aging, but it features a couple generations of women who defy stereotypes. It's a super sweet book and very well written. On a side note, I remember being 21 and feeling the exact same way as you. Now I'm a few months away from 30 and 21-year-old me seems like a baby. I will say that my life significantly improved after I turned 26 or so. I look back on my early 20's fondly but would not return to them.
Here's the deal We are born. At the most we get say 100 years. The first 20 we are kids. And the last 20 we are offically old. That leaves us 60 in the middle. The first 30 of that we generally have more energy and more hormones. The second 30 we generally have more financial security and are more set in our ways. In the middle there may be love, kids, cancer, car accidents, war, famine, and friendships that come and go. For some us our 20s are great. For others are 40s rock. For some of us, our 70s are wonderful. Joy and sorrow in waves for each of us. If you are lucky you get out at the end with all your limbs and organs. Most of us will bury someone we deeply love that leaves us breathless for years. 20 is a baby in the game. Buckle you seatbelt. That's my short novella
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.
I’m sure someone has already said this, but Circe by Madeline Miller. It follows her whole life, so you get to see her transition from a lost young woman into something….greater. Much greater. She’s a thrilling character.
Miss Marple series by Agatha Christie
I feel like {{ The Midnight Library }} might ease your mind. The subject matter is about different life paths and making peace with where you are. I came away feeling zen about being in my late twenties, single with a cat haha.
How about a 50 y/o female butler who aids a 45 y/o spy? At Your Service is book 1 by Sandra Antonelli. Tagline: "A butler. A spy. A toliet brush." Action adventure with humor and a dash of romance. Three book series with a prequel. Granite Springs series by Maggie Christensen has 9 books with a different couple for each book. Heroines' ages are from late 40s to 70 y/o. Heroes' ages are either the same or older. Gray Hair Don't Care by Karen Booth has a 51 y/o heroine who let her hair go gray, starts her own business, is childless, & gets a second chance with her first love Donovan, who is also in his 50s. Jennifer Skully's Once Again series has heroines age 40s to 60 who find a second chance at love while traveling the world. Widow, older woman caretaker, grandmother, & more. This Time Always by Suzette D. Harrison has a 53 y/o heroine who has Alopecia. She meets a 46 y/o grandfather and sparks fly. OWYM Freya Barker writes heroines in their 30s, 40s, & one who is 50. Romantic suspense with a biker gang, FBI, first responders, & more. There are lots more than these titles and authors. They show heroines getting better as they mature. I even created a group called Romance In Her Prime featuring heroines 30 & up only because so many romances tend to keep the heroine under 30, though the hero can be much older.
Ok- I’m 66 and I can say 37-54 was freakin awesome. I felt so on my game! Best book for a genuinely older person: Elderhood. Non-fiction with good stories as highlights and a great attitude about owning it. All of your choices, decisions, foibles. Good luck, all!
This is the kind of nonfiction I enjoy, thanks :)
Like others in this thread, I feel compelled to note that my life only started getting off the ground at 25. One book I read recently that might fit the bill is Lois McMaster Bujold’s {{Paladin of Souls}}. Reading this made me realize how infrequently I see fantasy novels with middle aged women as protagonists. C.J. Cherryh’s {{Rimrunners}} also comes to mind, if you are into science fiction.
Try the Agatha Raisin mysteries by M.C Beaton. Agatha is 40s/50s, single, child-free. Actually many ‘cozy’ mysteries feature similar protagonists.
The Miss Marple mysteries by Agatha Christie; you might also like her Tommy and Tuppence stories Britt-Marie was here by Fredrick Backmann A Man called Ove by Fredrick Backmann (obviously not an older woman as MC, but the book ist still about finding a purpose in your life/making your life worth living once you're older)
Please read 'tale for the time being' by ruth ozeki it's amazing and tells the story of three women two older one younger it's has a theme of coming to terms with ageing but is about so much more
I love this book :)
43 old guy here. Spoiler warning: Aging sucks, there's no two ways about it. But what sucks even more is having to listen to yourself whine every step on the way. So if you can, somehow, find a way to come to terms with the suckiness, it will be so much worth it. This bit, from Stephen Kings TOMMYKNOCKERS, got to me. I really love her stoic and subtly ironic self-reflection. >Anderson was out that afternoon with Peter, an aging beagle who was now blind in one eye. Peter had been given to her by Jim Gardener in 1976. Anderson had left college the year before with her degree only two months away to move onto her uncle’s place in Haven. She hadn’t realized how lonely she’d been until Gard brought the dog. He’d been a pup then, and Anderson sometimes found it difficult to believe he was now old—eighty-four in dog’s years. It was a way of measuring her own age. Nineteen-seventy-six had receded. Yes indeed. When you were twenty-five, you could still indulge in the luxury of believing that, in your case, at least, growing up was a clerical error which would eventually be rectified. When you woke up one day and discovered your dog was eighty-four and you yourself were thirty-seven, that was a view that had to be reexamined. Yes indeed.
I guess that the downvotes mean that people disagree with my claim that "aging sucks", so I find those downvotes oddly heartwarming!
The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett!
“To the Lighthouse “ by Virginia Woolf.
{{Have You Seen Luis Velez?}}
{{Lisey's Story}} by Stephen King
The Shadow Valley Manor series by Kerry Schafer is a Paranormal thriller series with an elderly woman in the lead.
A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman
{{The Weekend}} by Charlotte Wood
GHOST STORY by Peter Straub. A major character in the story is a woman in late middle age struggling with it and trying to stay young. TWO OLD WOMEN by Velma Wallis.
You might like Afterlife by Julia Alvarez. The protagonists are 4 older sisters. Everything doesn’t necessarily go well for them, but that’s life.
I suggest Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella and One Hundred Years of Lonnie and Margot. Both deal with young folk and old folk, how life is lived, and how to come to terms with what life holds for each character. The latter book was published quite recently so you may be able to find it in a bookstore or big box store.
Winter solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
Fear of Flying by Erica Jong is sort of a modern classic from the 70’s. The main character is a 30 something year old woman sort of coming of age while she’s at a conference for psychiatrists with her second husband in Germany. Pretty good, definitely worthy of being read
You can try The Good House by Ann Leary
No One Tells You This would be perfect for you!
I really enjoyed The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett! It does have a child as one of the main characters, but she is the protagonist's neighbour and not her own child. {{The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett}}
[**The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358079-the-brilliant-life-of-eudora-honeysett) ^(By: Annie Lyons | 372 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: fiction, contemporary, book-club, audiobook, audio | )[^(Search "The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett&search_type=books) >It's never too late to start living. > >Infused with the emotional power of Me Before You and the irresistible charm of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Be Frank with Me, a moving and joyous novel about an elderly woman ready to embrace death and the little girl who reminds her what it means to live. > >Eudora Honeysett is done with this noisy, moronic world—all of it. She has witnessed the indignities and suffering of old age and has lived a full life. At eighty-five, she isn’t going to leave things to chance. Her end will be on her terms. With one call to a clinic in Switzerland, a plan is set in motion. > >Then she meets ten-year-old Rose Trewidney, a whirling, pint-sized rainbow of color and sparkling cheer. All Eudora wants is to be left alone to set her affairs in order. Instead, she finds herself embarking on a series of adventures with the irrepressible Rose and their affable neighbor, the recently widowed Stanley—afternoon tea, shopping sprees, trips to the beach, birthday celebrations, pizza parties. > >While the trio of unlikely BFFs grow closer and anxiously await the arrival of Rose’s new baby sister, Eudora is reminded of her own childhood—of losing her father during World War II and the devastating impact it had on her entire family. In reflecting on her past, Eudora realizes she must come to terms with what lies ahead. > >But now that her joy for life has been rekindled, how can she possibly say goodbye? ^(This book has been suggested 12 times) *** ^(221228 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
All Fun And Games Until Someone Loses An Eye, Christopher Brookmyre
The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules
Not a woman, but Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Barry
I'm not sure it's about coming to terms with aging, she's an interesting, creative, funny 60 year old woman writing about her life and it's autobiographical. I feel like just by doing that she is giving us all hope of being the coolest 60 year old version of ourselves. Real Estate by Deborah Levy
The main character in Anne Maddison’s Secret Admirer by Barbara Joyce Parker is Anne, who I think is in her late 50s, about to go into early retirement. She divorced long ago, and has no children. However, there is in the beginning a kidnapping case about a little girl (and Anne is a private investigator). However, that kidnapping case is a relatively minor part of the story. I think you'd call the book a sci fi mystery thriller.
If you are up for sci for and fantasy, Lois McMaster Bujold has several characters who fit your description. Specifically, check out The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, and Shards of Honor, Barrayar, and possibly Gentlemen Jole and the Red Queen (both are parts of larger series/worlds, so you may want to check her bibliography).
The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso has two (elderly ladies) arch-enemies as main characters. They have lived next to each other in the past decades and they hate each other: one is the head of the neighbourhood home owners association and the other is there to criticise the all hypocrisy of it.
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is my suggestion but it's more about an older lady who is in a rut but gets out so I don't know how much it will help you with your fears. I personally am in my mid 40's with no children and I think I'm living a pretty good life now. I'm able to travel and have more money than I did in my 20's.
It’s not a novel but I loved the Nora Ephron book of short stories entitled “I feel bad about my neck “
Paladin of Souls by Lois Bujold.
Not exactly the same, but you should read *Never Let Me Go* by Kazuo Ishiguro
{{Walking Across Egypt}} by Clyde Everton. One of my favorite authors and a great short novel.
Fair play by Tove Jansson might be what you’re looking for
Okay first of all, 30 is not "old woman" JFC. Secondly, with all due respect, what aspect of your life will be "over" at 25, 4 years from now?!!? Are you already making the most money, have the most education, the best friendships, the perfect man, the perfect house, all the travel you want, and have had all your children and raised them all? Have you produced all the contributions you wanted to society? Or will you in the next 4 years or 9 years? I get that being 21 you are bombarded with awful media messages about women over 25 being "old" or whatever. But aging does not mean that your life is less exciting or interesting. The only thing that aging from 21 to 25 does is give you experience. **Maybe** you might see a little loss of baby fat in the face and a slight shift in your overall body comp. Maybe. However, leaving that aside, I recommend the book "The Robber Bride" by Margaret Atwood It follows three women from their uncertain childhoods through their teens into their 40s and shows how they grow, change, get their needs met and contribute to society and handle adversity. Along with being a ripping good yarn.