Pamela Druckerman investigates life in her forties, and wonders whether her mind will ever catch up with her face.

Druckerman asserts that there are stages to becoming a grown-up: First, you definitely aren't one. Then you pretend to be one. Then you are sure that there are no grown-ups. And then finally, maybe one day in your forties, you just are one. It's not all-knowing, omnipotent and large; it's humble, solid and small. But at long last, it feels like you. And you think, just then, that this is the best age of all. Explore the challenges of being fortysomething, of raising kids while caring for aging parents, realizing that "soul mate" is a title earned over time, and hope to finally merge your aspirational and actual selves.

Pamela Druckerman investigates life in her forties, and wonders whether her mind will ever catch up with her face. Druckerman asserts that there are stages to becoming a grown-up: First, you definitely aren't one. Then you pretend to be one. Then you are sure that there are no grown-ups. And then finally, maybe one day in your forties, you just are one. It's not all-knowing, omnipotent and large; it's humble, solid and small. But at long last, it feels like you. And you think, just then, that this is the best age of all. Explore the challenges of being fortysomething, of raising kids while caring for aging parents, realizing that "soul mate" is a title earned over time, and hope to finally merge your aspirational and actual selves.