Why We Can't Sleep

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




"This is a conversation starter (as well as a no-brainer for book groups that count Gen X women among their members) that might get Boomer and Millennial readers curious, too." -Booklist




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




"'Having it all' was the Baby Boomers' rallying cry as, aided by new tools of reproductive control, we burst from the pink ghettoes of the secretarial pool and ceaseless childcare to seek fulfillment in workaholic professions. Two generations later, despairing Gen X women find the glass mountain of fulfillment still impossible to scale, and with deep perception, wit and incisive analysis, Ada Calhoun tells us why, tracing the internal as well as the external forces that separate women from the peace they've spent their lives earning." -Harriet A. Washington, A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind




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




"This is the book of our generation. Ada Calhoun brilliantly encapsulates the struggle and confusion that is the Gen X woman's experience in middle age. And by placing this condition into the context of the generations coming before and after, she makes sense of how it is that we're so surprised that we have failed at having it all. Heavily researched, expertly paced, and seamlessly woven together, Why We Can't Sleep provides an 'aha' moment that at once validates our experience and establishes a sense of community and hope." -Janet Krone Kennedy, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, author of The Good Sleeper and founder of NYC Sleep Doctor




"It's difficult to grapple with the immense anxiety and fear so many women go through alone, but Ada Calhoun's artistry as a writer makes her the perfect guide through the rough business of middle age." -Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill




"Helping women realize that some difficulty, some confusion, is not just all in their mind is probably one of your more feminist acts, and the impressive amount of research Ada Calhoun did on the very specific forces, past and present, that are bedeviling Gen X women as they face the strange period that is midlife is just that kind of gift. But the other gift is that she writes with clear sight, compassion, and hope about our very specific talents and tenacity. Which means: this book is a thousand times more healing than a jadeite egg!" -Carlene Bauer, author of Not That Kind of Girl




"I love Ada Calhoun's writing. Why We Can't Sleep just took me to school, laughing all the way there." -Adam Horovitz of Beastie Boys