While light to the point of occasional frothiness, Christie Mellor's all-purpose guide for women over 40 provides such a wide and free-ranging variety of tips and advice that just about every woman in her target audience will find something to take away. Mellor herself is a likable and assured narrator--optimistic and cheerful without veering into mania, and just self-deprecating enough to be relatable without descending into bitterness or, worse, excessive cutesiness. The personal anecdotes with which she peppers her book are lively and often funny. In other words, she is one of the girls, someone who can be trusted.
The book is loosely divided into broad categories that encompass beauty, fashion, entertaining and emotional well-being. It is understandably difficult to cover subjects as thorny as how to eat well in midlife with any great depth, so Mellor relies here on rather basic but sensible advice such as the importance of small portions, eating slowly and avoiding fast food. On the other hand, she provides a fresh take on exercise by suggesting a "Backyard Workout Wonderland,"--for a small financial outlay, women can enjoy a creative, safe and effective workout. Mellor's beauty and fashion tips are inconsistent but extremely humorous. For example, while there isn't much variety in her suggestions on how to apply make-up or what to wear once one has drifted past 40, Mellor does provide a master class on the merits of red lipstick. Even non-believers will be swayed by her entertaining argument for lacquered lips. The strongest section--in terms of both practical advice and novel information--addresses entertaining; Mellors provides interesting recipes, simple ideas for making one's own party dress (really) and some novel do-it-yourself gift ideas.
Although Mellor does offer a brief section on what it means--physically and emotionally--to be a woman over 40 in today's society, she chooses (rightly in this case) to stay very much on the surface. Her basic philosophy can really be summed up as "loosen up and have some fun," and her goal with this book is to provide the tools to do just that. This is a directive women of any age would do well to follow. Mellor's warm, spirited and ultimately sincere guide makes it an easy one to follow.--Debra Ginsberg
Shelf Talker: A chatty, fun and often useful guidebook of beauty tips, fashion advice and DIY projects for women of a certain age.