My Favorite Midlife Crisis (yet)

by Toby Devens

 

ISBN: 1402207476
Sourcebooks Landmark
Fiction | Humorous

excerpt | reviews | book club discussion

2011

Dear Readers,

Writing about women comes naturally to me; After all, I've had decades of living my own exciting life with its share of breathtaking, heartbreaking and often hilarious experiences.  What better fun than turning those adventures—real and emotional—into novels that I relish writing and you enjoy reading.

My Favorite Midlife Crisis (Yet), the story of three women in their fifties reinventing and rejuvenating themselves, got unanimous cheers from the media.  As important were your reviews via this website, during on call-in radio programs, at book signings and in Q and A's after presentations.  You told me that the women in Midlife Crisis encouraged and strengthened you, gave you a new perspective on your own problems, nudged you toward solutions and best of all… inspired hope.  And, oh yes, made you laugh a lot and cry a little.

In turn, your enthusiasm inspired me to write my new novel, Performance Anxiety.  In it, half-Korean, half-Jewish symphony cellist Judith Soo Jin Raphael faces a rash of major upheavals as she approaches her fiftieth birthday.  She's survived a rocky childhood, a brain aneurism, and more than her share of disappointment. Her early years were marred by the desertion of the two most important men in her world.  When they re-emerge just before her milestone birthday, Judith's life—always stretched at the seams—starts to come apart.

At some point, often around a significant date, we come to face-to-face with our past and realize we need to make peace with it to move on.  Judith, wonders, "How did I get here? What now? What next?"… questions we all deal with midlife.

In Judith's case, the answers shake up her private life, screw around with her current love relationship, and threaten her musical career.  Still, she has her clever mother, a generous mentor, and her own brand of chutzpa with a Korean kick to help in her struggle with Performance Anxiety on stage and off.  Witty and on-her-way-to-wise, she also has a few tricks up her sleeve.  Her story is one you won't be able to put down. Promise.

I'll let you know when the book is headed for publication.

In the meantime, welcome to my website.  Enjoy browsing. And know that I love hearing from you and having you share your insights and comments with me.  Also, if you're in the area, I'm giving a series of writing workshops starting October 11th.   Read more about the workshop. 

Warm wishes,

Toby