Fear of Fifty by Erica Jong -- A Birthday BOOK BEGINNING

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Hello 55! It's my double nickel birthday this week! 

I'm celebrating all week with cozy at-home festivities, since restaurants aren't open in Portland anyway and on top of corona lockdown we are gearing up for a big snowstorm. They predict five to ten inches of snow and the last time we had real snow like that, Portland shut down for two weeks! We stocked up on groceries and are ready to hibernate until it melts. 

So let's share some book beginnings. Please share the opening sentence or so of the book you are featuring this week. Share your link below. If you post on social media, please use the #bookbeginnigns hashtag. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

As part of the celebration of my 55th birthday, I'm finally reading Fear of Fifty, Erica Jong's "Midlife Memoir," published in 1994.  

So there I am at the spa with Molly, facing my fiftieth birthday, and feeling hideously depressed. I am no longer the youngest person in the room, nor the cutest.

My mom gave me Fear of Fifty when I turned 50 -- makes sense -- but I forgot to read it then. Just as good now! So candid, warm, enthusiastic, and honest. I love, love, love this book.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

Please add the link to your Book Beginning post and not your blog home page or social media profile. 

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THE FRIDAY 56

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Fear of Fifty:

Now, you have to know that my father is the kind of guy who never has lunch with me alone because he thinks my mother might be jealous. If we meet during the week – which may happen every seventeen years or so – we snatch lunch at a greasy spoon like rushed adulterers.

I look forward to finish reading Fear of Fifty in front of the fireplace this weekend, with a warm beverage and a snuggly blanket. What are your weekend plans?

My other birthday week activities included:

• Watching that lawyer cat filter video about 5,500 times!

• Recording an episode of the Great Trials podcast about our BSA sex abuse cases, particularly a big trial here in Portland that resulted in the public release of the BSA’s “Perversion Files” on child molesters. I believe transparency about child sexual abuse is important, so I am always glad for the opportunity to talk about this tough subject..

• Texted and FaceTimed with friends and family wishing me happy birthday. Definitely the highlight of my week!