Reinventing middle age

If you think your best days are behind you once you hit middle age, you can blame Canadian psychoanalyst Elliott Jaques, who coined the term “midlife crisis.” Two economists later piled on with the “U-shape of happiness,” a curve suggesting that well-being bottoms out in the middle years. Together, these ideas cemented the belief that our 40s and 50s are a time of struggle and turmoil, an inevitable low point in life. Psychologist Margie Lachman says that’s a myth. This week on The Connection, we rethink midlife. Lachman directs the Lifespan Lab at Brandeis University and is the author of Primetime: A New Vision for Midlife, which debunks the biggest misconceptions about this stage of life. Yes, it can be stressful, with competing demands but it’s also a time of real growth. We’re also joined by novelist Christina Clancy, whose editor’s one-word change made her see her own middle age differently.