10 Best Mid-Life Management Books

Former Today show host Kathie Lee Gifford draws on stories from her remarkable life to weave together a beautiful reminder that whatever circumstances we face, God is still dreaming big for our years ahead. When Kathie Lee Gifford stepped down as cohost of the fourth hour of the Today show with Hoda Kotb, you might have thought her best days were behind her. It turns out, she was just getting started. As Kathie Lee says, “I’m not retiring; I’m refiring!” Taking us from her Chesapeake Bay childhood when she first heard God’s calling, to her skyrocketing fame with Regis, to her decision to leave television for Nashville, Kathie Lee inspires us to pursue what really matters. Because it’s never too late to forgive, to dance the cha-cha, or to make a difference in the world. God placed His dreams in your heart for a reason. And like Kathie Lee, you might just discover that the best is yet to come. Whether you’re an empty nester, newly single, navigating a career change, or just eager for any change, Kathie Lee helps you hear God’s loving calling because It ‘s Never Too Late to . . . * Begin Again * Make Sparks Fly * Leave a Good Thing * Have a Party * Change the Ending, Then Change It Again Is it time for you to rewrite your story, unearth your hidden passions, and live with a renewed purpose? It’s never too late.

” Genius… It is miraculous to read these pieces… You must read The Best of Me.” –Andrew Sean Greer, New York Times Book Review David Sedaris’s best stories and essays, spanning his remarkable career–as selected by the author himself, and including a new essay A CNN and Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Month For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to read without laughing. Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler’s lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say “give it to me” in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird. But if all you expect to find in Sedaris’s work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery, more fellow-feeling than derision. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. In these pages, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms–at long last–with the other. Taken together, the stories in The Best of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected–it’s often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder–but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful. Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called “the funniest man alive” ( Time Out New York ), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing–quite often at himself–and invites readers deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time.

Practical advice and hopeful encouragement for the tough yet rewarding transition to parenting grown kids. If you have an adult child, you know that parenting doesn’t stop when a child reaches the age of eighteen. In many ways, it gets more complicated. Both your heart and your head are as involved as ever, whether your child lives under your roof or rarely stays in contact. In Doing Life with Your Adult Children, parenting expert Jim Burns helps you navigate one of the richest and most challenging seasons of parenting. Speaking from his own personal and professional experience, Burns offers practical answers to questions such as these: * Is it OK to give advice to my grown child? * What’s the difference between enabling and helping? * What boundaries should I have if my child moves back home? * What do I do when my child doesn’t seem to be maturing into adulthood? * How do I relate to my grown child’s significant other? * What does it mean to have healthy financial boundaries? * How can I support my grown children when I don’t support their values? Including positive principles on bringing kids back to faith, ideas on how to leave a legacy as a grandparent, and encouragement for every changing season, Doing Life with Your Adult Children is a unique book on your changing role in a calling that never ends.

An indispensable guide to welcoming children –from babies to teens–to a lifelong love of reading, written by Pamela Paul and Maria Russo, editors of The New York Times Book Review. Do you remember your first visit to where the wild things are? How about curling up for hours on end to discover the secret of the Sorcerer’s Stone? Combining clear, practical advice with inspiration, wisdom, tips, and curated reading lists, How to Raise a Reader shows you how to instill the joy and time-stopping pleasure of reading. Divided into four sections, from baby through teen, and each illustrated by a different artist, this book offers something useful on every page, whether it’s how to develop rituals around reading or build a family library, or ways to engage a reluctant reader. A fifth section, “More Books to Love: By Theme and Reading Level,” is chockful of expert recommendations. Throughout, the authors debunk common myths, assuage parental fears, and deliver invaluable lessons in a positive and easy-to-act-on way.

An entertaining, inspirational book about second acts in life and reinventing yourself from beloved television actress Patricia Heaton –Emmy Award-winning star of Everybody Loves Raymond , The Middle , and most recently, Carol ‘s Second Act. Patricia Heaton is one of TV’s most recognizable and beloved moms. She’s won two Emmys for her starring role as Debra Barone on the long-running comedy Everybody Loves Raymond , and followed that career-making role with another gem as Frances Heck on the popular sitcom The Middle. Now, she returns to television as the lead in the new series Carol ‘s Second Act, which follows divorced fifty-year-old Carol Kenney (played by Heaton), who after raising two children and retiring as a teacher decides to finally pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. Patricia Heaton knows what it’s like to stage a second act and navigate pivotal transitions in life. Just like Carol, when Heaton’s children left the nest, she found herself in a new and unfamiliar stage of life, compelling her to evaluate which direction to take next. She discovered she had the time to pursue passions that were previously placed on hold, both personally and professionally. She made her move and took a step forward in her career and for the first time, Heaton is not only the star of her own show, but also the executive producer. She also now finds her greatest fulfillment in using her influence to support humanitarian efforts as a Celebrity Ambassador for World Vision, the world’s largest non-governmental organization. She and her husband support their work in poverty relief around the globe, something that was planted in her heart long ago. Through her own experience, Heaton became curious about other people’s stories of second-act transitions and ways to offer support in the process. In her new book, Your Second Act , she shares wisdom from her own personal journey as well as insight from stories of numerous people across the country. From work to health, to love and more, the results are heartwarming, inspiring, and surprisingly relatable! Filled with light-hearted anecdotes and pragmatic steps to help you discover your own path, Your Second Act shows us that midlife doesn’t have to be about crisis when you focus on the opportunity. After all, it’s never too late, or too early to stage your second act!

Finding Ultra is an incredible but true account of achieving one of the most awe-inspiring midlife physical transformations ever On the night before he was to turn forty, Rich Roll experienced a chilling glimpse of his future. Nearly fifty pounds overweight and unable to climb the stairs without stopping, he could see where his current sedentary life was taking him–and he woke up. Plunging into a new routine that prioritized a plant-based lifestyle and daily training, Rich morphed–in a matter of mere months–from out of shape, mid- life couch potato to endurance machine. Finding Ultra recounts Rich’s remarkable journey to the starting line of the elite Ultraman competition, which pits the world’s fittest humans in a 320-mile ordeal of swimming, biking, and running. And following that test, Rich conquered an even greater one: the EPIC5–five Ironman-distance triathlons, each on a different Hawaiian island, all completed in less than a week. In the years since Finding Ultra was published, Rich has become one of the world’s most recognized advocates of plant-based living. In this newly revised and updated edition, he shares the practices, tools, and techniques he uses for optimal performance, longevity, and wellness, including diet and nutrition protocols. Rich reflects on the steps he took to shift his mindset and leverage deep reservoirs of untapped potential to achieve success beyond his wildest imagination, urging each of us to embark on our own journey of self- discovery.