Last week we wrote about how the authors of the forthcoming book "50 Ways to Leave Your 40s" are looking for people with stories to tell about their midlife experiences. »more»

While researching her book The Breaking Point: How Today's Women Are Navigating Midlife Crisis, Wall Street Journal columnist Sue Shellenbarger discovered that "women not only undergo bigger changes than men in middle age, but they also by some measures have a more positive attitude about their prospects in life."

One key source was "Turning Points In Adulthood," a chapter in the MacArthur Foundation's "How Healthy Are We? A National Study of Well-Being At Midlife." It shows that men and women are distinctly different in a measure of life fulfillment.

Researchers found that before 50, less women than men feel they have "fulfilled a special dream" in the last five years (24% vs 40%). But after 50, women's fulfillment goes up -- to 36% -- while men's falls to about 28%. »more»

Wall Street Journal staff writer Sue Shellenbarger wasn't looking to write a book about female midlife crisis -- the subject found her. »more»

"It's time we stopped dismissing middle age as the beginning of the end. Research suggests that at 40, the brain's best years are still ahead," says a George Washington University researcher in a recent Newsweek article. »more»

One study in the research we highlighted here found that less than a quarter of middle-aged respondents experienced what they felt was a midlife crisis -- and for many of those, the crisis was not associated with aging. More detail is in this article, where one of the researchers emphasized that an age-related midlife crisis is not that common -- but midlife challenges are: »more»

Was there a “trigger” (job change, divorce, etc.) that got you thinking about the next phase of your life and how you plan to live it?