Book cover titled 'Being 40' with a pink background and yellow text, featuring starburst graphic elements and the subtitle 'The Decade of Letting Go—and Embracing Who We Are' by Stacey Lindsay.

Being 40 is a brave and inclusive reframing of what it means to be a woman today

Your forties can feel like navigating a relentless wave of pressure. Questions such as “Am I where I ‘should’ be?”, “Should I be married?”, “Have kids?”, “Switch careers?” often dominate our thoughts. And for too long, society has marked this decade as one of decline and predictability.

Today, though, it’s anything but. Shaped by thrilling possibilities, your forties can be a time of profound self-discovery.

In Being 40, journalist Stacey Lindsay crafts a new narrative that captures the diverse experiences of women entering midlife today. Through expert insights, candid interviews; and personal reflection, this book provides women a modern, bold exploration of marriage and relationships, living with and without kids, beauty standards, career transitions, and health shifts.

Being 40 is a brave and inclusive reframing of what it means to be a woman today, and a compass for anyone ready to trust their intuition, embrace change, and step fully into who they are.

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 Early Praise for Being 40

  • “This book gives voice to what women so often carry quietly — the questions about work, worth, love, and who we’re allowed to be. Being 40 turns those questions into liberation.”

    —Maria Shriver

  • "This book will help you cut through the noise of a sexist world and connect to the authentic you that Society has taught you to ignore."

    —Kara Loewentheil, New York Times bestselling author of Take Back Your Brain

  • “Being 40 is a reflective, incisive exploration of womanhood today.”

    —Anna Malaika Tubbs, social scientist, and New York Times bestselling author of Erased

  • "An inspirational picture of a decade that we should look upon as a new beginning."

    —Eliza Reid, former First Lady of Iceland, gender equality advocate, bestselling author, and cofounder of the Iceland Writers Retreat

  • "Stacey Lindsay has written the guidebook I wish I'd had when I turned forty.”

    — Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action and New York Times bestselling author of Fired Up

  • "We always need a reminder to be kinder to ourselves and know we are beautiful, worthy, and whole, no matter what. This book is that reminder—it shows the 40s as a time of wisdom, connection, strength, and possibility."

    —Brittany Snow, actor, producer, director, and bestselling author


  • "With grace, aplomb, and care, Lindsay points us to a new map, one that we get to make for ourselves."

    — Elise Loehnen, author of the New York Times bestseller On Our Best Behavior, and host of Pulling the Thread