40 Things To Do When You Turn 40: 40 Experts on the Subject of Turning 40

by Allison Kyle Leopold

This inspiring, informative, and varied collection of 40 essays speaks directly to the reader who has or will soon turn forty. Readers will find essays that are practical, covering subjects like health care, fitness, finance, and business, as well as essays that are more reflective, whimsical, reassuring, or just plain laugh-out-loud funny. This book will answer that burning question that every forty year old confronts: Now what do I do? Here are forty ideas to get you started.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

219 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2007

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so fun, and inspiring, and empowering...it makes you realize how badass 40 is going to be! Lots of good writing by men AND women, this isn't just a book "for the ladies".
Really, this book is totally how to punk rock middle age.
KA-POW!!!

[NelliRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent stories and lessons!

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like essay collections full of platitudes with snippets of material that resonates or inspires, read this. You know if that’s not your thing, so just skip it.

I recently turned 40 and marked the occasion in my reading life with this book. The first essay, by author Tawni O’Dell, was promising as it seemed to paraphrase the thoughts that I have been tossing around for the past several months. That really resonated with me!

Other essays, not so much. Like unfortunately the whole section of money/finances during which my eyes glazed over and I had to skim.

There was another essay that referenced the environment and climate change and advised on a list of things we should do before 2015 (😬) at which point I realized just how outdated this essay collection was.

While the copyright for the edition is 2019, the copyright on almost all of the essays is 2007. (You can find this details at the very last pages of the book.) And while turning 40 might still be a universal milestone in many ways, it would be better for me to read essays by gen-xers and elder elder millennials. I had to assume these essays written by folks who were fortysomethings nearly twenty years ago are all boomers and the world has just changed so much since then.

[Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short essays by various writers on things to do or think about or ways to mark the occasion of turning forty. There really are some good tips in here as well as insights about putting this moment/middle age in perspective.

A lot of the essays touch on the milestone as an opportunity to evaluate your life and reflect on how you want to spend the next phase. Several of the essays encourage taking up a new hobby--if your twenties were about having fun and your thirties were about establishing a home, family, and career, and tending to everybody else's needs--your forties are a chance to embark on doing something you want to do for yourself.

This is a fun collection, easy to read, with meaningful food for thought. I'd venture that this is a good book for anybody age 38-45, or a gift for somebody turning the big four-oh.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, a birthday present from my boyfriend's parents. Although it's mostly stuff I know, it was from a different persons perspective which is nice. It's a fun, easy read of short essays.

[Kresimir Mudrovcic · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to read something related to turning 40 and this book was spot on from the topic perspective but the content was not spectacular, there were some short chapters that were inspiring and motivated me to think about certain ideas and areas of my life

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

True page turner. Essays are inspiring yet realistic. I would suggest as a gift for anyone rounding this bend of life....

[Brenda Wharton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Advice from all different 40-somethings about what to do or not to do when you turn 40. Some were funny, others were good ideas and some were a little strange

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun and easy read, but I would not read it again or recommend. Took years to engulf my attention enough to want to finish it.
Just ok not miraculous!

[Aliaksandr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some chapters are really interesting and some show that the authors desperately wanted to reach 40 chapters:)

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are heading toward a midlife crisis, do NOT read this book. It will drive you to beat your head against a wall while loudly bemoaning the stage of life at which you've arrived. I gave it two stars because there are a few worthwhile essays hidden in the mix (Tawni O'Dell, Tim Hall, Scott Chesney, Jonathan Ames) but most of the book is made up of "how-to" expositions on things like managing your money, taking up golf, planting a garden, and deciding whether or not to color your gray hair (ouch). One piece suggests buying a miracle bra. Another advises having a baby. The last essay in the book encourages living in denial about having turned 40 and suggests calling it 30-10, etc., for as long as you need to (until you can be comfortable with the actual number of your age). I'm sure this last essay was meant to be a humorous way of suggesting that age and its meaning lies mostly in the meaning we choose to give it...but, still. I read one essay a day in order to finish it (because I have an OCD-like compulsion to finish every book I start), and it still took me way more than 40 days to get to the end because I was so SO bored by it. I am thrilled that the torture is over.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this in a cool bookstore in Destin, FL. The proceeds from this book are donated to non-profit organizations dedicated to preventing and curing cancer. There is a book just like it for turning 30, 50, 60, etc. I chose 40 b/c it looked interesting and I got 3 more years to accomplish this stuff. All essays compiled by various authors were written pro bono. Translation: don't expect too much. So far, it is light and enjoyable, some essays of course being way better than others. A good beach read as well as doctor's office waiting room read. I have a special person in my life with cancer, so there you go. Some tidbits? Throw a fabulous party, buy a miracle bra, stop doing things you don't enjoy, embrace your inner passion, and seize the dreams of your youth.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a 40th birthday gift from my best friend. I read it in chunks over the year, and it's fitting that I finished it almost one year later. It's mostly a good read, particularly those essays which focus on changing your outlook on life, reassessing what is important, relationships with siblings/children/parents, taking care of yourself physically, and assessing your career. There were some essays which were little more than advertisements for the author's particular line of work, and those were disappointing. On the whole, it was a fun, as well as introspective, way to begin my 40th year. It gave me food for thought as I move into the next stage of my life.

[P. Flaherty Pagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is worth buying to support the cancer charities that it benefits. I received it as a nice birthday gift. That said, it is more like a group of motivational magazine articles than a book. There are a few nice essays about self-acceptance, like Tawni O'Dell's, but in general the collection could have delved deeper.

[Teresa Haverstock-holroyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite sure what I was so afraid of. It's cover reminded me too much of a "self-help" book that I truly didn't appreciate it as the gift my husband intended. I am happy to report it is a gift.....turning 40 & this book! I smiled, I laughed & I cried. I gained insight & peace to this whole 40 thing!!

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend of mine gave this to me for my recent 40th birthday. Fun little book with lots of advice - some serious (Have a Heart to Heart with Your Parents) to the more whimsical (Don't Dye Your Hair). Enjoyed this little intro to life in my 40's.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently turned 40 so I wanted to do some research on the subject. The book is divided into 6 sections each dealing with a broad topic. The essays are hit and miss because I have no use for a miracle bra and I feel golf is the most boring sport on the planet but, overall, I enjoyed the book.

[Kelly Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few practical things; a few hippy dippy. Overall, a nice little reminder. I love the essay telling me to stop doing things I don't like to do. Probably won't "do" that one, but I'm for it!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

some essays were more helpful than others, several were amusing. I would NOT recommend this as a MUST READ.

[Therese Gilardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

a collection of forty essays by forty-something writers .... overall i enjoyed this, although a few of the pieces struck me as a bit preachy and/or obvious.

[Mary Streufert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a gift from my sister for my 40th birthday. Overall, a good book with interesting perspectives from 40 people aged 40+. Recommend for some inspiration around turning 40.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. No, I'm not going to do all 40 things, but it did inspire me to go out and make this, the year before I turn 40, extra special.

[Cindy May]

Yeah, I'm a little late since I turn 42 in a few weeks, but at least I finally got around to reading it.