Let’s Read Together
Established in 2024, the FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE® Book Club is a unique book club that highlights books written by female authors when they were in midlife and beyond. It's a way to celebrate, support, and learn from other women in this transformational time of life!
We gather monthly - on Saturdays online and Sundays in Phoenix - to chat about our book of the month. Our selections alternate between nonfiction and fiction, for six of each in a year.
Monthly book-related emails and Book Club discussion details are shared exclusively with those who join the FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE® Book Club.
Our 2026 reading list meets us right where we are - in the midst of identity shifts, elusive sleep, deepening self-understanding, and blossoming self-love.
Navigating the Messy Middle and Why We Can’t Sleep speak honestly to the physical, emotional, and cultural realities of midlife and beyond, while No Stopping Us Now helps us see aging as a powerful, collective rise rather than something to endure quietly. These books validate lived experience and remind us we are part of something much bigger than our individual stories.
Several of our selections invite us into deep reflection and reconnection. The Comfort of Crows and The Serviceberry encourage us to slow down and tune into the natural world, reciprocity, and abundance. Don’t Forget to Write gently nudges us to honor our voices and inner lives, while Whiskey Tender offers a raw, beautifully written exploration of resilience, belonging, and self-acceptance. These books linger long after the last page.
What’s in store for 2026?
We’ll also travel across history, culture, and women’s friendships through rich storytelling. The novels Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, The Phoenix Crown, Wayward Girls, Happy Land, and Tilda is Visible explore identity, independence, loyalty, reinvention, and what it means to claim space in a world that doesn’t always make room for women - especially as we age.
Our 2026 book selections are sure to spark meaningful conversations during our gatherings. After all, it’s not only about reading! The connections we create and the compassion with which we listen and share feel especially powerful in midlife and beyond.
This is a book club for women who love good books and crave opportunities to show up as their authentic selves. If you want to be part of a community aligned with this season of life, the FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE® Book Club is waiting for you. Join the Club at the button above. Download our 2026 Reading List, with gathering dates, at the button below.
Featured In CrunchyTales
CrunchyTales.com is the first illustrated online magazine on a mission to change the narrative about midlife.
More than just an online magazine—CrunchyTales is today a dynamic community pulsing with energy, where every feature celebrates the fearless spirit of women who refuse to be defined by limitations but rather embrace the art of ageing playfully, with sass and substance.
want to find community in a book?
This month’s Book Club Gatherings:
ONLINE:
Saturday, October 17th - 11am-12pm PST/AZ Time
IN PHOENIX:
Sunday, October 18th - 1:30-3:30pm PST/AZ Time
THIS Month’s Book
October 2026
In 1960, a young woman discovers a freedom she never knew existed in this exhilarating, funny, and emotional novel by the bestselling author of She’s Up to No Good . When Marilyn Kleinman is caught making out with the rabbi’s son in front of the whole congregation, her parents ship her off to her great-aunt Ada for the summer. If anyone can save their daughter’s reputation, it’s Philadelphia’s strict premier matchmaker. Either that or Marilyn can kiss college goodbye.
With the school year quickly approaching and her father threatening to disinherit her, Marilyn must make her choice for her future: return to the comfortable life she knows, or embrace a risky, unknown path on her own.
next month’s book
November 2026
As Indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests Serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most?
Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the Serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of interconnectedness and gratitude.
The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution ensures its own survival.
And the next
December 2026
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men.
As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.
FAQs
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No and yes! Read what you have time for, what feels good. Listen to the audiobook, if you prefer. You are welcome to attend any gathering, whether you read the book or not. Show up to hear what it’s about, learn if you want to read it, and get the life-lengthening social connection you crave.
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The online gatherings are held each month on a Saturday from 11am-12pm AZ time (that’s MST in the fall/winter and PST in the spring/summer). The Google Meet link is sent in an email the Friday before Book Club weekend.
The in-person gatherings are held each month on a Sunday from 1:30pm-3:30pm AZ time. The meeting location is usually at the Burton Barr Central Library in Phoenix, and the exact location is sent in an email the Friday before Book Club weekend.
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Yes. This is how I communicate with members of the FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE® Book Club.
You can expect emails the Friday leading into Book Club weekend and the Sunday evening of Book Club weekend. I remind you on Friday and recap our gatherings on Sunday.
I may occasionally email you outside of this cadence if something lands on my radar that I think will interest you. Often it’s book-related. Sometimes it’s not.
I NEVER share or sell your info, and you can unsubscribe from the Book Club emails at any time.
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Of course! Women from anywhere are welcome to join our gatherings. Invite them so they can experience the good vibes and encourage them to join the FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE® Book Club email list.
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My email is karli@flipsideofmidlife.com. If the situation is urgent, text/call me at 602-705-6822.