3 'thrilling' novels about women breaking free in midlife
Canadian journalist Alicia Cox Thomson says it has sparked a positive trend in the literary world, bringing about discussions that tackle a topic and perspective once considered taboo — and she brought two books to the table that also feature women in middle age.
" Some women might not be comfortable talking about it, some men might not want to hear it. I feel like with this full force, these books are about a real important point in a woman's life," said Thomson.
"Hopefully it'll normalize it, and then we'll start to see more — where the focus isn't 'This character is going through this,' it's just a book about a person who happens to be that age who might be experiencing that, but that's not the main point."
On The Next Chapter with Antonio Michael Downing, Thomson spoke about three literary novels that depict women in their midlife.
All Fours by Miranda July
All Fours follows an unnamed artist in her mid-forties as she grapples with the breakdown of her marriage and the physical and emotional toils of perimenopause. She escapes on a road trip — leaving behind her husband and son, and gets involved in extramarital affairs.
Miranda July is a writer, filmmaker and artist based in Los Angeles. Her previous works include the novel The First Bad Man and short story collection No One Belongs Here More Than You which won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. July's work has also been featured in The Paris Review, Harper's and The New Yorker,
Alicia Cox Thomson says:"I'm a writer, and I do find that when you become a mother, your priorities shift, rightfully so. Did I work as much on my craft when I was in the trenches with young children? 'No.' Have I tried to return to it now that they're older? 'Yes.' I do understand that struggle between your passion for your art, or your creative life, or your journey and your passion for your children."
The Change by Kirsten Miller
In The Change, three different women navigate the changes and challenges of mid-life. While they're each battling their own issues — marriage breakdowns, career shifts, empty nests and loss of loved ones, they're brought together through one woman's ability to hear from the dead, which leads them to solve a string of murders.
Kristen Miller is an author who was born and raised in North Carolina, but now lives in Brooklyn, New York City. Her previous works include Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books which was a GMA Book Club pick and the YA series featuring Kiki Strike.
Alicia Cox Thomson says:"It's like a juicy thriller that you just want to turn the pages. It's a thoughtful work about women and power and coming into your own. It is a powerful discussion of what happens to powerful, wealthy men who are finally pushed back against."
The Mother Act by Heidi Reimer
The Mother Act depicts the tumultuous relationship between Sadie Jones, a famous actress and feminist, and her estranged daughter, Jude. Despite Sadie's fame from a one-woman show about motherhood, Jude has spent her life seeking validation from her mother. Two decades later, when they meet at Sadie's play premiere, they explore whether it's possible to balance motherhood with career.
Heidi Reimer is a writer based in northern Ontario. Her work has been featured in Chatelaine, The New Quarterly, Literary Mama and the anthologies The M Word: Conversations about Motherhood and Body & Soul: Stories for Skeptics and Seekers. Her debut novel is The Mother Act.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sarah Nurse says PWHL Barbie can inspire next generation of female athletes
Sarah Nurse will start her first season with the still-unnamed Vancouver franchise in the Professional Women's Hockey League this fall — but she's already made her mark off the ice with a Barbie doll in her likeness. The Canadian forward, MVP at the 2022 Olympic women's hockey tournament, was one of two players featured in a recent collaboration between the PWHL, Tim Hortons and Mattel. Nurse and Montréal Victoire star Marie-Philip Poulin each have dolls dressed in PWHL gear, part of a project celebrating women's achievements in the sport. Nurse says it's a 'big privilege' to show the younger generation that women can be professional hockey players. 'There are so many women who are older than me, who never got the chance to play hockey or never had a hockey-playing Barbie doll to play with when they were younger,' she said. 'And so, I've really seen this Barbie be able to touch different generations of women.' Nurse has been part of a Barbie project before — she and Poulin were featured five years ago as Olympic players in a Hockey Canada partnership with Tim Hortons and Mattel. That campaign recognized their influence in helping open doors for women in the sport. 'They were such a huge success the first round, they had to bring them back again,' Nurse said. This latest edition, she said, is an opportunity to show girls that playing professional hockey can be an actual, tangible goal. Nurse and Poulin first saw their dolls during a joint shoot for the Barbie campaign, 'where even the Barbies had their own hair, makeup and wardrobe stylists.' 'I think it was really cool just to be in that environment. And then obviously to see these Barbies that are inspired by us is, it was really special,' she said. The off-ice highlight comes ahead of a new chapter in her playing career. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. Nurse spent the league's first two seasons with the Toronto Sceptres before signing with Vancouver in June after being left unprotected in the expansion draft, as the league expands to eight clubs with new West Coast franchises in B.C. and Seattle. Nurse joins a roster that includes Olympic teammates Emerance Maschmeyer and Claire Thompson. PWHL Vancouver will open its inaugural season in November at the Pacific Coliseum. It's another landmark in a high-profile career that has seen Nurse become the first female cover athlete for EA Sports' NHL video game in 2023 and help negotiate the PWHL's first collective bargaining agreement. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
National Observer
5 hours ago
- National Observer
MOVIES: A US-Canada hybrid and three gems with horse handlers, a tragic pop star and unusual education
It's getting to be festival time again. VIFF in Vancouver is soon to announce its schedule for this year. TIFF in Toronto has been releasing bits of it for some time and this week revealed it all. There are almost 300 features including new work by Sarah Polley, Richard Linklater, Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein) and get this, Jude Law as Vladimir Putin in The Wizard of the Kremlin. Baz Luhrman has a follow to his huge hit Elvis with 'EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert' made up of concert clips, rare film and memories. TIFF will open with a documentary on John Candy and close with Peak Everything a Canadian black comedy that played well at Cannes. TIFF has also stirred up and then backed off its first controversy. It canceled a film about events after the Hamas attack on Israel. Reason given: copyright issues over some footage belonging to Hamas. Security and expected protest seem more likely. 'Censorship' was alleged. TIFF worked out whatever the problems were and yesterday re-invited the film. It is by Canadian director, Barry Avrich. The new movies this week are mostly "in select cinemas" or not previewed here (Nobody 2) but do include three well worth going to see and a caustic view of America. East of Wall: 4 stars It's Never Over Jeff Buckley: 3 ½ Folktales: 3 ½ Americana: 2 ½ EAST OF WALL: Looking for a truly unique film? Try this. It's just as moving as the last film I praised with those words, The Rider, back seven years ago. And it is similar in several ways. Also set in South Dakota, on a horse ranch and feeling almost like a documentary. It's that real. Only slightly fictionalized, the events really happened to the people we see in the film. Writer-director Kate Beecroft found them when she went looking for stories that don't just repeat other movies. She got to know Tabatha Zimiga and her daughter Porshia Zimiga on a ranch near the town of Wall and got them to, in effect, play themselves in the movie, along with other non-professionals plus a couple of actors, Scoot McNairy and Jennifer Ehle, in key secondary roles). Tabatha, with multiple tattoos and half her head shaven, is rebellious and tenacious. She's an ace horse handler. She can tell when the animal has had the bridle on too long ('she can diagnose a horse in two minutes') and how to assure a buyer that it won't kick. She sells horses on Tik Tok (a modern touch) and tutors riders at auctions to put on a show to stir the bidders. She has also taken in stray youths to live on her ranch and is struggling to keep it going while keeping them in line. McNairy arrives as a potential buyer (with a few strings attached to his offer) and Tabatha has to decide on it. And keep some tragic memories under control. It's a powerful story of resilience. And, real. (In theaters) 4 out of 5 IT'S NEVER OVER: JEFF BUCKLEY: I'm glad to finally learn about him through this documentary. I've seen references to him many times and read that his version of Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah is the key interpretation. It was a big hit in Europe, not that much in North America and that may explain my lack of familiarity. Now I know that David Bowie said his one album is the best that he had ever heard and that another industry type called him 'one of the greatest singers of all time.' You get a lot of performances in this film to decide yourself. They are very emotional and with his huge vocal range, powerful. And you get his story. He had a bit of an imposter syndrome possibly because he was distant from, and felt rejected by his father, the singer Tim Buckley. He wasn't even mentioned in his dad's obituary. He was raised by his single mother. She's in the film talking about him as well as two women who had romantic relationship with, former band members and musical stars Ben Harper and Aimee Mann. She described his voice as having 'a boundary-less, liquid quality.' We learn he was influenced by artists from many genres: Nina Simone, Judy Garland, Edith Piaf, Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Led Zeppelin. And that constant touring after his album became a hit wore him out. A chance to rest, though, led to tragedy, an early death (drowning) at age 30. Director Amy Berg gets across a strong sense of loss over what his career might have been. The film was a favorite at Sundance. (in theaters) 3½ out of 5 FOLKTALES: Right now, as many go to summer camps, this film is particularly apropos. It gets across the feeling of camaraderie, of learning, of exploration and growth. A bit effusive, yeah, but that was part of my reaction to this documentary about an educational tradition in Norway. Students are allowed time off from school to attend a camp north of the Arctic circle where they train sled dogs and ride the deep snow trails to show what they've achieved. Doesn't sound like a normal education but comments are made like 'a dog can unlock something inside a person'. The principal welcomes the students with the message to 'try to find a new version of yourself.' One student says he was bored by school and needed something different. Another talked about overcoming anxiety. The whole program is designed for students seeking independence and we see them develop from wary and even aloof to spontaneous and accomplished. They bond with the dogs and the other campers. They trade their stories (one says he's 'nice' but 'annoying') and in their vision of the future even the pessimists see things getting better. One narrates the film with the story of the god Odin and the three fates 'that weave our destinies out of yarn.' It gives a fable quality to this film about young people testing themselves and learning from handling the dogs. 'Take chances.' 'Chase a better version of yourself.' That's the optimism and message in this film by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady who have been Oscar nominated for previous work. (Theaters in Toronto, Victoria, Vancouver, now; and London, Ottawa, Toronto again soon) 3 ½ out of 5 AMERICANA: There are good intentions and good ideas in this film but I don't think they're particularly well-presented. They look at the American west with a critical eye, trashing the old myths and arguing that they haven't survived at all in today's west. Good to consider alright, especially the clear-eyed view the film has of how the native tribes were treated back then. It even mentions the word genocide and shows a definite second-class attitude among the whites towards them even today. But most of those whites in here are so low-class it's not clear whether we should be seeing this as a comedy and how serious the film is meant to be. And, of course, the guns are quick to come out and shoot at anything. And by anybody. Of course that might be a comment on modern America too, made by the writer-director Tony Tost. He's got an intellectual background, which may explain why his script mentions Franz Fanon and Karl Marx and the religion created by the Lakota Indians. In the film robbers steal a valuable Lakota relic, called the ghost shirt, from a collector to sell for big money. Before the leader can get it sold he's bashed on the head by his angry girlfriend (played by the singer Halsey) and dies. Then various people are after it, including a band of indigenous activists who cite the American Indian Movement and The Black Panthers as inspiration, the collectibles dealer (Simon Rex) and his violent employee (Eric Dane) and a boy who says he's the reincarnation of Chief Sitting Bull. From the Also a chubby lovelorn guy played by Paul Walter Hauser and the waitress/country-singer-wanna-be that he teams up with (Sydney Sweeney, you know the woman in the ad with great jeans). Crowded cast; it thins out when the shooting starts leaving me to wonder about better ways to present such a thesis about modern America. This one is engrossing but awfully scattered. Made in the USA but produced by Bron Studios of Burnaby. B.C. (In theaters) 2 ½ out of 5
Calgary Herald
6 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
CPO gets early start on its jam-packed 70th season
Article content Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content It promises to be a big bash this year as the Calgary Philharmonic plans an epic dance party, outdoor events and a travelling roadshow to celebrate its 70th season. Article content It all kicks off Sept. 5 at the Big Four Roadhouse on the Stampede grounds with a premiere of SYNTHONY: EDM Meets Orchestra. Guest DJs and vocalists join Calgary Phil in a fun mashup of electronic anthems. Article content The CPO begins its Jack Singer Concert Hall appearances on Sept. 12-13 with Grammy Award-winning conductor Karen Kamensek leading Grammy winner Gil Shaham playing Beethoven. Shaham is considered one of the foremost violinists in the world, and this will be his first Calgary performance. Article content Article content The CPO brings back its popular Pops and Symphony Sundays for Kids series, with The Music of Sting + The Police (Sept. 19 and 20) and The Gruffalo (Sept. 21). Article content The busy month wraps up on Sept. 27 with one of the most anticipated concerts of the season as international piano superstar Lang Lang — also making his Calgary debut — joins the orchestra and conductor Ramón Tebar at the Jack Singer. Article content This season, the CPO will branch out across the city, performing 70 concerts in seven venues across the city, such as the Jubilee, the Bella and the Grace Presbyterian Church. And it's bringing in big talent, with 29 conductors from around the world to lead the orchestra, including Yue Bao, Jessica Cottis, Calgary's own Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Calgary Phil music director laureate Hans Graf, and Calgary Phil resident conductor Juliane Gallant. Article content Article content Some of the guest artists expected this year are guest artists such as Alberta's country star Tenille Townes, former Barenaked Lady and Canadian rock icon Steven Page, rising star Amaryn Olmeda (violin), Canadian luminary Stewart Goodyear (piano), multi-disciplinary artist Vivek Shraya, and the renowned Steven Isserlis, one of two living cellists inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame. Article content Article content The CPO will also continue its tradition of collaboration, with the Calgary Youth Orchestra in January, with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in April and Baroque fall and winter concerts with Mathieu Lussier and Camillie Delaforge, respectively. Article content Always trying to reach new audiences, the CPO will bring back popular additions such as Rockin' Pops (including the music of Prince, disco, Latin pop, Sting and the Beatles), and blockbuster movies accompaniments (Home Alone in Concert, The Princess Bride, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi). Article content And it wouldn't be Christmas without the annual musical tradition of Handel's Messiah.
