Forty Odd

by Mary Bard

Memoir of middle age by the sister of Betty MacDonald.

253 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

The eldest daughter of a mining engineer, Mary Bard moved frequently as a child, owing to her father's work. She went to kindergarten in Mexico City, first grade in New York, and second grade in Colorado. She attended college at the University of Washington, in Seattle, married a doctor, and eventually settled on Vashon Island, near Seattle. She had three daughters, and was active as a Brownie troupe leader. Best known for her series of children's novels about "Best Friends" Suzie and Co-Co, Bard also wrote a number of adult titles. Her sister, Betty Macdonald, best known for her Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books, was also an author.

Reviews

[V. Briceland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Betty MacDonald's memoir, Anybody Can Do Anything, was essentially a valentine to the get-up-and-go gumption of MacDonald's older sister, Mary Bard, during the height of the Great Depression. MacDonald's portrait of Mary was of a devil-may-care, fearless crusader whose many natural talents led them both into outrageously funny situations. This little volume from 1952, penned by Mary Bard herself, is set twenty years after the events of MacDonald's memoir—and it might as well be titled Mary Bard Can't Do Anything Anymore.

Forty Odd takes as its premise that Bard, upon hitting a milestone birthday, suddenly decides that she's forty, fat, foolish, and frustrated. With menopause just around the corner, she decides to take matters in her own hands and avoid sliding into complacency. The book's a little bit of an odd combination of self-help manual, humorous memoir, and the just-between-us-girls practical tips one might find in a dated issue of Home and Gardens. I'm willing to bet that modern readers will find its narrative style—which has Bard over and over again consulting male authority figures for their sage advice on a woman's lot in life—a little bit too patronizing and patriarchal.

But the book's not really as dated as some would probably dismiss it. Bard's fashion makeover involves frank assessment of her own style in front of mirrors that are reminiscent of today's What Not to Wear and advice that could be coming straight from the mouth of Tim Gunn; her experiences with a book club aren't that far removed from the book clubs of today. And although Bard's fairly mopey about her impending Change of Life, she's at least in on the joke—she knows exactly how tiresome she's being, and takes steps to improve by the book's end.

Although none of her memoirs are as deft, as touching, or as funny as Betty MacDonald's, Bard's Forty Odd comes to life at unexpected moments. When she's placed in absurd situations, or well out of her depth, the chapters can be pretty humorous—and when she writes about situations in which she's taking care of others, as in the episodes involving her burgeoning Brownie troop, we get flashes of the old Mary Bard of whom MacDonald wrote so affectionately.

[Marti Wade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a taste for old books that =fail= to stand the test of time; dated prose has a charm of its own. Mary and her sister Betty (McDonald) both wrote hilarious books about their lives. Mary is a housewife married to a doctor in the Seattle area. In this volume, published in 1952, Mary describes reaching the horrible age of 40 - referred to by her community of rather silly SAHM's as the sure sign of "C of L" - change of life, i.e, menopause. Their doctor husbands spend much of their practices treating these middle-aged women - or 4 F's (fat, frustrated, foolish, and forlorn) for maladies real and imagined. Here Mary describes the adventures of her mid-life crisis in detail.

Though many women have mixed feelings about turning 40, it's hardly seen as such a C. of L. today. Because 40 is the new — well, let's just say it's not the beginning of the end.

This book is rather hard to find, but my twin sister found a copy and sent it to me around the time we reached that particular milestone.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been looking for this book for years. I would have been happier if I hadn't found it, I think. It reads as quite dated and very much from the era before women's lib. I bailed out about 50% of the way in, to disheartened and bored to continue.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable glimpse into the time in which it was written.