The Best Summer Reading List for Women Over 40 in 2026
Alexis Lynch reads more books in a month than most people read in a year, and in this conversation, she brings her full 2026 summer reading list for midlife women (so you don’t have to do the research!).
We discuss her three top picks, tips for actually reading more when life is full, and a deep-dive conversation about Heart the Lover by Lily King that is so good we can hardly stand it.
This is for you if you've been thinking:
I have a pile of books I keep meaning to get to and I never actually do
I used to read all the time and I have no idea where that habit went
I feel guilty quitting books even when I am not enjoying them
I want a summer reading list that came from a real person with taste, not an algorithm
I want to actually finish a book this summer
I am not sure how to make time to read when my life is already at capacity
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How to Read More Without Making It Another Obligation
The standard advice for reading more tends to be impractical for midlife women who are already using every available minute. Alexis has a different approach, and it comes in two parts that sound counterintuitive but work.
The first is to lower your expectations. Not every book you pick up has to teach you something or make you a better person. If a trashy novel gets you genuinely excited to get into bed at night, that is the entire point! The goal is the habit, and the habit only sticks when the book is something you actually want to read.
The second is to be a quitter. Both Alexis and Jessica admitted they had been holding themselves to a standard of finishing every book they started, for no good reason. At this stage of life, your time is your most valuable currency. A book that is not earning your attention gets closed. Buh-bye.
A newer addition: trust your own taste over trends. Earlier this year, Alexis joined several book groups and buzz lists and ended up reading a string of books that did not resonate with her. Getting back to trusted personal recommendations and actually reading the synopsis before committing made a significant difference.
Three Summer Reading Picks for Midlife Women in 2026
Alexis chose these three books with intention. Summer is a specific kind of reading season, and midlife womanhood requires its own kind of list.
The first pick is So Old, So Young by Grant Grinder. It follows a group of college friends from their early twenties through their forties, showing all the ways a person changes over decades and all the ways life refuses to turn out the way you planned. The early chapters are set in the early-twenties chaos of their post-college lives, and Alexis acknowledges you have to sit through some of the silliness knowing it is going somewhere. It does. She described lines in the book that just hit her, sentences about aging and identity that arrived at exactly the right moment. This is the book for the midlife woman who has mourned who she used to be and needs to be reminded that who she is becoming can be even better.
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood has the same warm, character-driven feel as Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, with the same effect: you finish it feeling genuinely satisfied. A retired teacher starts a book club in a women's prison, and the story expands from there into the lives of various characters going through very different things. It earns its emotionally rewarding ending without taking a shortcut to get there. Alexis described finishing it and thinking: that was so satisfying, which she said is not a feeling she gets often.
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean is the guilty pleasure pick. A tech billionaire dies and leaves a fortune to his kids, who do not get along and have to play an inheritance game to claim it. There is also a romance subplot. Alexis read it in 24 hours. It is a page-turner that asks nothing from you and delivers exactly what summer reading is supposed to deliver.
A Discussion of Heart the Lover by Lily King
Both Jessica and Alexis described Heart the Lover as a physical and emotional reading experience. The novel follows a female protagonist, known throughout by her college nickname Jordan, through her passionate early relationship with Yash and then her stable, comfortable marriage to someone very different. The contrast is unmistakable and the author makes you feel it, not just observe it.
After finishing this book, Alexis spent ten minutes searching for her college boyfriend online. "I looked him up and was like, where is he, what's he doing," she said. The book does that. It reaches back into feelings you thought you had put away and reminds you they were real.
The name reveal on the final page is a gut punch in the best way. The reader has gone through the entire book knowing her only as Jordan. Jessica saw it as a question of identity: the nickname belonged to who she was in college, and releasing it was releasing that version of herself. Alexis saw it as the character finally, after all the events of the novel, believing she had made the right choices and no longer needing to hold onto the past to be sure. What do you think?
They also discussed a secondary storyline involving a character whose father's pressure pushed him into a career that never fit him. When you are now the parent, reading about the influence a parent had on a character's entire life trajectory lands differently. Alexis called it stress. Jessica called it a gift. What are your thoughts?
Books Mentioned
So Old, So Young by Grant Grinder
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
FAQs
What are the best summer book recommendations for women over 40 in 2026?
Based on this episode, Alexis Lynch recommends three books for midlife women: So Old, So Young by Grant Grinder, which follows a group of friends from their twenties to forties and explores midlife identity with emotional depth; How to Read a Book by Monica Wood, a warmly written novel about a retired teacher who starts a book club in a women's prison; and These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean, a page-turning guilty pleasure about a tech billionaire's inheritance game. For a bonus read, Heart the Lover by Lily King is the emotional standout of the year, though it is an intense read.
How can I find time to read more in midlife?
The two most effective mindset shifts, according to Alexis Lynch: lower your expectations and be a quitter. Lowering your expectations means choosing books you actually want to read, not books you feel you should read. If a trashy novel is what gets you excited to pick up a book, that is the right choice. Being a quitter means giving yourself permission to close any book that is not earning your time. At this stage of life, time is too valuable to spend on something that is not working. The goal is to associate reading with something you look forward to, not something you push through.
What is Heart the Lover by Lily King about and is it worth reading?
Heart the Lover by Lily King follows a female protagonist through her passionate college relationship with a man named Yash and then her stable marriage to someone very different, exploring the contrast between passionate early love and steady long-term partnership. The author withholds the main character's real name until the final page, using only her college nickname throughout. Both the host and guest of Midlife Advice described it as a physical and emotional reading experience. It is especially resonant for midlife women because it speaks directly to questions of identity evolution and the choices we made and continue to make.
Should you quit a book if you are not enjoying it?
Yes. Both Alexis Lynch and Jessica Long said they wasted significant time finishing books they were not enjoying before giving themselves permission to stop. Your time is your most valuable currency. There is no rule that requires you to finish a book you are not enjoying. The only exception is the book that is uncomfortable but compelling, where you are not enjoying it exactly but cannot stop reading it either. That is a different category. If you are dreading picking the book up, close it and move on.
Meet Alexis Lynch:
Alexis is a solo attorney with her own law practice where she navigates the tricky world of conservatorships for loved ones with severe cognitive impairments.
She is also a mother, wife, fundraising chair at her daughter's public school, nonprofit board member, avid reader, and smoothie lover.
She's a recovering overachiever and currently working on her over-performer mindset in hopes that someday she’ll discover what actual free time feels like.
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Jessica Long (00:00)
I see that stack of books on your nightstand sitting there judging you. You want to read them and maybe you've started a few, but life got in the way again or the book got boring or TV was just too tempting. I get it. Well, my dear friend Alexis Lynch, who I've known since preschool, reads more than anyone I know, and she is back on the show today with her summer reading list for 2026. Updated tips for actually getting back into books when life is very full.
And a conversation about Heart the Lover by Lily King because OMG, that book is so good. Although Alexis admits she went down a 10-minute rabbit hole looking up her college boyfriend after reading this book. Consider yourself warned.
Jessica Long (00:40)
Hello, my friend. You are in the right place. This is where smart and sassy women over 40 come to figure out all things midlife. We talk hormones, careers, relationships, and everything in between. I'm Jessica Long, health coach and fellow midlife woman on this wild ride with you. Stick around for honest conversations with experts, rebels, and wise women rewriting midlife on their own terms. Let's dive in.
Jessica Long (01:04)
Lex, welcome back to the show. You're only my second repeat guest.
Alexis (01:08)
⁓
the honor. I wasn't gonna like talk really fast and be a spaz, but now you've just upped my anxiety.
Jessica Long (01:14)
No,
I'm telling you be as fast and talk fast. It's who you are. Be you, girl. That's what they want. That's why they loved you last year. And so last year I asked you to come on because you read more than anyone I know. And by the way, I miss your Instagram stories where you used to list out the nine books that you read last month. So can you please bring those back?
Alexis (01:19)
Mm.
Yeah, I haven't loved books as much this year. I haven't been reading as many good ones. So I haven't felt the need to do that.
Jessica Long (01:37)
Well, so you would grade them, not all of got an A
Alexis (01:39)
That's true.
I could give a lot of Ds. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. That's true.
Jessica Long (01:42)
Tell us what to avoid. We we need that too.
So you came on last year, gave us some tips for how we can either read more or for those of us listening who are like, read, that sounds like a luxury. I don't do that. How you can bring it back into your life and why you should. So go back and listen to last year's episode. But I do want to quickly recap a couple of your tips because they make me laugh and I think they're just so important. my favorite ones are lower your expectations and be a quitter.
Which it kinda sounds like the dating advice you used to give.
Alexis (02:14)
Ha ha
Well I didn't take that advice very well though, I don't think. Yeah.
Jessica Long (02:18)
No, no.
But lower your expectations, meaning you don't have to be learning about the Civil War or reading self-help books all the time. grab the trashy novel, who cares? Whatever's gonna get you back into the habit, pick that up and start reading it. And then be a quitter. You and I talked about how for some reason we both were holding ourselves to the standard that we have to finish every book we start. And then we have this whole conversation about why am I doing that, especially when time is of the essence and it's my most important currency right now.
So you actually helped me. I just quit a book a few weeks ago and was like, I'm not enjoying this. I'm not looking forward to this when I go to bed. And that's what I really want is to be looking forward to the book when I get in bed. So if I'm not, it's it's out the door.
Alexis (02:47)
Really?
It's it's yeah.
It's funny though, because there are books that are quitters just cause you're just like this is not a good book but then there's books that I'm torn with and I just finished one, which is yesteryear, which is a huge buzz book right now about trad life, influencer life. And I did not enjoy it, but I couldn't not read it.
Jessica Long (03:17)
⁓ my gosh, I just bought that book yesterday. All right.
Alexis (03:21)
Like I flew
through it in like four or five days 'cause I was like, I need this to end, but I also need to I need to see it. It's like the train wreck you can't look away from. And so it's it there to me, there's a like different, but then there's just books where I'm just like, This is not calling to me at all, or this is just a really bad book. So sometimes it's hard because you're like, How far do I go? How much misery do I put myself through? Maybe it's gonna redeem itself. It's it's a tough call. But I'd quitting books, my god, please.
Jessica Long (03:29)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Exactly.
Alexis (03:47)
I've quit so many books this year, more than ever. Yeah.
Jessica Long (03:50)
Okay, well you took your own advice.
any new tips for us this year?
Alexis (03:54)
so this year I had a hard time, honestly. I've still been reading a lot of books, but this is so embarrassing. I'm trying to be mostly off social media now, but earlier this year I was not, and I got pretty into these Facebook book groups. And one was specifically for attorneys, which I am an attorney, and I kind of had the stumb idea, these are probably highly educated people that, maybe have the same
interests me bookwise and then there was just other ones that were just like very general book clubs. And I ended up just reading a lot of books that were very buzz books, that everyone was reading. and it was just steering me wrong. And so that was interesting. I think
finding books is really hard and I think f getting them from friends is always a very good safe way. I also go online and read buzz book lists and then I go and read the synopsis of what the book is about. I feel like when I'm doing it more my own way, I have better success instead of just following trends but yeah I think
rotating genres. if you just read all historical fiction, you're gonna lose it. Or if you read all murder mysteries, you're gonna turn into a weird person. So you gotta float around and keep yourself interested.
Jessica Long (04:58)
I might have even said those last year, but I get into these phases where I read too many books about World War Two at a time and I get really depressed and I was like, dude, no more trauma. I gotta move on to something light. And I think myself and I'm sure some of my listeners are thinking, Well, I'm not gonna go do the research. So Lex, you do it for us. So what are your recs for us for our summer reading list twenty twenty six?
Alexis (05:03)
Yes, no, you can't mm.
Yeah, so I really tried to think of like 2026 reading list, summer. Summer is a different reading list than winter reading list. let's be very clear here. Okay. recently someone recommended a book to me, and I was like, this isn't the season for that book. I just know. so summer is a very specific type of reading list, as well as midlife womanhood is a very specific type of reading list.
So I was trying to figure out like what'll please the masses So first I'm gonna start with one that just hit me so hard recently. it's called So Old, So Young by Grant Grinder. This book starts out with some post-college kids. I think they're like two years out of college they probably graduated college like 2005. So close to us.
little younger. and it starts with them at this New Year's Eve party. And at first I was like, this is just drivel. the young twenty something year olds, having dumb twenty something year old issues, which we all experienced, we all experienced, but we just don't relate to anymore. And I was pretty disappointed because I'd heard good things about this book. And then you keep going and it is so, so much more than that. And it basically is this group of college friends.
From two years after college up until like maybe early 40s, and all the changes you as a person go through and all the things in your life that dramatically change. And it's also interesting because there's not one narrator. Every chapter is a different character, so it'll switch from character to character in their narration of whatever time period they're in. And so basically it's showing them.
meet up at this New Year's Eve party and then they meet up X years later and then X years later again. it's always some sort of event like someone's birthday party or something. And so I was so ridiculously moved by this book because it's just so spoke to me in the sense of we all have changed and we all have mourned the people that we were.
And we all feel like we've lost ourselves in so many ways, but it is not that. And it's really coming into who you are in so many other ways. And it's also just this is just the natural course of life. And instead of fighting it and and feeling sadness, which is fair, you also need to just realize you can't stop it, and it's just gonna happen.
and then every now and then he hits you with the most beautiful line about that feeling of aging and yeah, it's a really it's really good.
Jessica Long (07:47)
Aw, good and relatable and it makes you think about yourself. And yeah, what you're saying is it got me thinking we're we're not really that well prepared for our own evolution. And I mean, how could we be? We don't know how we're going to evolve. But I think that's part of what makes us mourn what we had and who we were and that sort of like freedom and footloose and fancy-free feeling that is gone when you're adulting all the time. But
I don't think I was prepared for how much I was going to evolve and change over those couple of decades.
Alexis (08:20)
No, and then you're like, I just used to be cool or I used to, go out at night and be fun and you don't anymore and it's I think your forties is you leaning into that more, right? And being like, This is actually great doing it this way.
Jessica Long (08:23)
Haha.
Alexis (08:35)
Yeah.
Jessica Long (08:34)
Okay, good chap.
What's number two?
Alexis (08:37)
So number two is called How to Read a Book, which seems appropriate for this podcast. if you read Remarkably Bright Creatures, did you read yeah. This people loved it and now it's a show and the whole thing. So this has a similar feel.
Jessica Long (08:44)
⁓ yes, I loved it.
Alexis (08:51)
Which is why I chose it. I feel like this is a book that I can't imagine someone reading and being like I didn't like that book. I just don't think this is an an unlikable book. it's also good storytelling, good characters different types of characters and all going through their own things. And you get to see some prison life, which is interesting. women in prison. And there's so many stories going on, but it starts with a retired teacher.
Who goes in and leads a book club in a women's prison, which I love. Like I love that. And it's so fun because she shows these women all sorts of different authors, different time periods and different genres and their reactions to it. It's so interesting. But then it goes so much beyond that into the personal lives of various people and what's going on with them. and it's one of those books that like when you're, you know, summer, I feel like you don't, like life is hard, the world is a mess.
Jessica Long (09:17)
⁓
Alexis (09:40)
We don't need to spend summer reading books that are too intense. And I feel like this one has a good amount of hard stories in it without depressing you. And also helps redeem your faith in humanity a bit, which we all need really badly every second of every day right now.
Jessica Long (09:57)
I love that. I think we talked about this last year, about how reading helps build your empathy. And what a lovely gift that she's giving these prisoners is help build your empathy, right? That's a good skill to have for when you're let out. And also help you imagine what life could be like, right? So yeah, I love that.
Alexis (10:18)
Yeah,
it just was one of those books that I finished and felt so satisfied. I don't finish a lot of books and go like
Jessica Long (10:23)
yeah.
Alexis (10:24)
That was so satisfying, you know? And that's how I felt. So I always have to have a guilty pleasure because we all need the guilty pleasures.
Jessica Long (10:26)
Ha ha.
Okay, good. And what's number three?
For sure.
Alexis (10:35)
So it's called These Summer Storms. And there are two tropes of books that I'm really getting fucking sick of, honestly. And one is Rich Dysfunctional Families. Like I'm just over it.
we've seen it a million times. A lot of times it's not done well. and the other one is grumpy old lonely women who are mean but are misunderstood supposedly. that's just overdone to me too. but then the correspondent came through and just completely ⁓ I I no, I mean this is not a guilty pleasure. But ⁓ the correspondent, I really love that book. And Jane Fonda is producing and starring, so hello.
Jessica Long (10:58)
I was gonna say you're not hinting at the correspondent, are you?
It's so good.
I saw
that.
Alexis (11:11)
but anyway,
so those are my two tropes that I don't love. But this one is These Summer Storms is rich, dysfunctional family, but in a way that didn't bother me. And it's basically a tech billionaire who dies and then, has a fortune to leave to his kids who don't get along, of course, and they have to do this inheritance game almost. but it's very well done. There's even some romance, guy little rom-com thing going.
Jessica Long (11:32)
Yeah.
Alexis (11:33)
and I seriously think I read it in 24 hours on my couch one time when those rare times when that actually can happen. And so if you just want like a mindless but entertaining but not too dumb, page turner type, like what's gonna happen next kind of book this is just a great page turner guilty pleasure.
Jessica Long (11:39)
Yeah.
Alexis (11:53)
Like you don't have to overthink it. Yeah.
Jessica Long (11:55)
I love that. And I think for someone
who's listening who's like, I would love to maybe try to read a book this summer. This might be a good place for her to start.
all right. girl, we're also gonna talk about Heart the Lover because you said, well, read this book and let's talk about it on the podcast. And it is so good. I've already passed it on to my friend who I give all my good books to. And I think I made my mom read it. It's so good. Okay, tell me what you love about this book.
Alexis (12:06)
I can't. I mean
It's so good.
My God. I mean, I just the way it made the feelings it brought out in me. So did you read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow? I had the same reaction to that book, and I haven't reacted to a book since then until this one, where I read it so fast I couldn't stop reading it. and then once I finished
Jessica Long (12:30)
Yes.
Alexis (12:43)
For like two to three days, it was just like consuming me, consuming me. And just the way it made me feel. And I can't even explain how it made me feel, but just this the impact. It was like a physical impact too. And it's just I found it very beautiful. And also just very relatable.
Jessica Long (13:02)
It's so interesting to hear you say that because my reaction was exactly the same. And it was a little hard to put words around it or explain why I think the author does such a good job at seeing the reader. So one example I can give, and it's how she writes. But like you're saying, you have a physical, emotional response when you're reading this book, and the author acknowledges it when it's happening. So someone will be speaking. She will stop that person's quote and
put in just a line, something like, and then her stomach dropped. And that's exactly what just happened to you. And then she picks up the dialogue again. And it's like she knows exactly how you're feeling when you're reading this and calls it out and you just feel so seen.
Alexis (13:46)
It is a brilliant book. she has other books. I've read one other, which is Writers and Lovers, which is actually a tie in to this book, which some people didn't know when they read it. Mm-hmm. And funny story is after this book, I was like, Well, I have to read Writers and Lovers because I knew that there was this tie in. And I went to read it and I was like 10% in and I just kept being like, This is so familiar. And then I realized that I had freaking read it already.
Jessica Long (13:54)
Yes, which I didn't know and you're telling me now, okay.
Alexis (14:15)
I had read that book. ⁓ which is good. So I'm just gonna say Writers and Lovers is a good book. It is not Heart the Lover. Heart the Lover is an amazing book. so good. And
Jessica Long (14:25)
So there
are some pretty powerful themes in this book that I want to talk about. So one of them to me was this contrast of passionate love to dependable partnership that you see the female protagonist go through. So again, we start with these kids when they're in college and this very passionate relationship that the female and the male main characters have. And then you follow the female and see who she marries, which is someone
very different than her college boyfriend. And through the writing style, you feel the passion happening. It's like it's happening to you when you're reading about the college relationship. And then you feel this blah when she's talking about her marriage. And she's not unhappy. I think I would call it copacetic, maybe. And it's relatable, right? Like long-term relationships are different than the passionate college affair that we had.
But to me it was such a stark contrast that I wanted to get your take on. So, why do you think she's pulling this theme together for us? And what are we supposed to feel or learn from this?
Alexis (15:38)
this is the part of the book that shook me, I think. Well, there's a lot of things. But I after I read this book went down a ten minute rabbit hole online looking up my college boyfriend. I mean I did. I fully did. Had don't th I don't think about him.
Jessica Long (15:53)
I was g I would say
which one, but we'll keep it private.
Alexis (15:57)
I can text you after. ⁓ yeah. So ⁓ well, I'll actually give you a hint, but I don't know if you'll remember. This is a very funny, and hopefully my husband is not listening to this, which he won't. But I looked him up online and I was like, How did I never realize that my daughter's first name is his last name? Yes. Yes. I seriously don't think in any way there was like a subconscious thing going there, but it totally spun me out for like a while.
Jessica Long (15:59)
Okay.
Wait, what?
Alexis (16:25)
But anyway, but I did. I looked him up and I was like, where is he? What's he doing? And there wasn't much information about him. And it was like, whatever. And then I moved on. But this book so brought me back to those feelings that you have when you're young and in love and it's probably not the right person. And it's so, so different, right? And it kind of reminds me of the book I mentioned earlier of So Old, So Young, and where
Just because we don't have those things like the bar nights and the passionate, passionate love and the, you know, whatever these things we had were doesn't mean that what we have now isn't actually better and more satisfying and more beautiful. and I think in the book
she obviously battles with that a bit, I think you and I had different takes on and I we don't want to give much away, but on how she actually felt currently about this past love. but I don't know if I have any friends that don't have that one or at least one of those, like the the one that got away kind of feeling, even though I don't think anyone actually thinks that would have
Jessica Long (17:27)
I don't
know. Maybe some people do, but I do think she challenges that, right? She makes you consider your previous relationships, your previous life, and your current choices and why you made those choices. It almost helps you reinforce why you are where you are and why what you chose is a good fit for you now, as this version of you. another thing that I wanted to talk about before we wrap up, because I think this is a really
Alexis (17:28)
been the way to go. I mean, maybe.
Jessica Long (17:56)
big part of the book, but we don't want to give too much away. So the main character has a nickname throughout the book that she's given by her college friends. And that's what they call her. And then even as you follow her through a few decades, the author never uses her name. So you don't actually know what her first name is until the last page of the book. And I'm curious to know why you think the author did that.
what's the importance of that? What's the significance of withholding the main character's name?
Alexis (18:29)
I think that whole phase of her life from college was still lurking in ways. and the fact of the matter is she needed something to happen in order for her to realize that was no longer her. and it's the kind of what I've been talking about, like
Sure, you bring some of yourself with you through life, right? But the fact is, we are such different people. I mean, I'm a completely different person in so many ways. You've known me since then. Like, you know, and the same, right? But I don't want to say closing of a chapter because I think that's such a silly phrase for life, but I think that she really just needed to believe
Jessica Long (18:54)
And the same.
Alexis (19:05)
That she had made the right choice and that she was where she was meant to be and she couldn't until all these events had happened. I don't know. What do you think?
Jessica Long (19:11)
no, I think that's that's an interesting take. I was thinking that it was about identity and making the distinction that who you are in your 20s and even like the name that you go by, right? To to really solidify like how different you are when you're then in your 40s. and yet to those people who knew you really well then and you've been separated from for so long, when they see you,
A part of them still sees you as that person. And so they still use that name to call you by. And they they don't necessarily know how you've evolved and changed. And it's this idea of like your identity evolving and changing, and maybe even you let go. I feel like she's letting go of that identity at the very end and choosing the one that she's gonna take with her forward.
Alexis (20:03)
Yeah, for sure. I see that so much. I think another thing I just want to bring up quickly is and I see it in so many books, and especially books about people and their evolution over time. in this book, one character is on one career trajectory and shifts into a completely opposite, you could say, career trajectory. And I would argue it was because of his father and the pressure and the things that his father did
And I think that's something else that's really interesting in midlife when you're reading books. you learn about the character's parents, right? And you see in these books the influence they have on who they become and what path they choose or don't choose or even just qualities or traits they have and when you're a parent.
I read these books and I just am like, ⁓ no, don't like you know, and then it just g it gets in my head too, because we are doing this and we are forming these beings so that is to me like such a complex part of reading at this age, is because that whole dynamic of your of the parents of the characters and what they've done that have affected these characters somehow is very common in a lot of books, even if it's like a more subtle, like it's not like an outright
storyline. And so that for me is like a big, big thing. And and I think in this book, with that one character, the father relationship was hard. That was a hard part for me.
Jessica Long (21:20)
I think that's such a good point that reading about those types of relationships and then actually getting to see how impacted your kids' life was by how you treated them is a gift to us now who have younger kids who we can still help impress upon and try to do it in a way that encourages them to live their dreams. I think that's such a good point.
Alexis (21:42)
It's so funny.
You see it as a gift and I see it as stress. I'm like, no, I hope I'm not like it like it like messes with me. But I love I'm gonna change it to it's a gift. It's a gift. It's a gift that I I like that.
Jessica Long (21:44)
⁓
girl, you need some breath work in your life.
Okay, you know I
wanted to ask you for someone getting back into reading after a long hiatus, what book do you recommend? So I think we can say Heart the Lover is a good one because it's such a fast read. It's so relatable.
Okay. Well, you got Lex's three recommendations. I will put them in the show notes so you don't have to go search for them. Lex, thank you for coming on. It's always fun to chat books with you. I will bring you back on next year.
Alexis (22:16)
can I say something really quickly I listen to a lot of podcasts, and your podcast is first of all, it's the perfect amount of time because podcasts are always too long and it has such good information. And I'd say like 80% of your episodes have fully helped me learn so much that I need to know or encouraged me to go do or try something that I wouldn't have otherwise. And I just think you're really providing an amazing service to midlife women.
Jessica Long (22:25)
I agree.
Alexis (22:41)
And I just want you to know that because I think what you are producing here is incredible. So thank you. truly, it has helped me immensely. And I'm sure there are countless other women out there that would say the same. So
Jessica Long (22:53)
⁓ thanks friend. That means so much. I appreciate that. Love you, girl.
Alexis (22:56)
Yeah.
Okay, I love you too. Bye.
Jessica Long (22:59)
Bye.
Jessica Long (23:01)
Okay, my friend, lower your expectations and pick up the trashy novel. Be a quitter and slam shut the books that suck and have fun. Get swooped up and taken away to another place where life doesn't feel so heavy. If today's episode inspired you to pick up a good book, please leave a five-star rating for the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. That is the best way to let other women like you know this show is worth a listen. And it's the best way to make me so happy.
Alrighty, happy reading and I will see you next week.
🎧 Other Episodes You’ll Love:
Midlife Book Recs (and How to Actually Find Time to Read Them)
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Disclaimer:
Belong Wellness and its members, managers, employees, contractors, and other agents or representatives are not licensed medical care providers and do not provide medical services or advice, including without limitation diagnosing, examining, preventing, treating, or curing any medical conditions. The information shared in this podcast is meant to be educational, not prescriptive. Please consult your medical doctor before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle. Further, the opinions of guests on this show do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Jessica or anyone affiliated with Belong Wellness.
