Kate Reddy is back. But this time she’s living in a fixer-upper outside of London, having given up her high powered finance job to be a stay-at-home mom. Her husband Richard was relieved of his job, and he decided to take that time to restructure his life as a counselor. He is in 2 years of training, being counseled himself, and dedicating himself to a lifestyle fueled by cycling and eating healthy. Their kids are now teenagers, and between Emily’s self-image issues and Ben’s addiction to video games, Kate feels stretched in more directions than she can handle.
As if that’s not enough, Kate’s mom is recovering from a heart attack and her sister is the main caregiver, and Richard’s mom is struggling with Alzheimer’s with his father as the main caregiver. And the money is running out. With Richard not working, and not planning on working for 2 years, Kate has to become the breadwinner. She decides it’s time to get back into banking and starts asking around about jobs. But as she is getting close to her 50th birthday, she realizes that she’s not going to be able to land a good job unless she tells a small fib or two . . . and shaves 8 years off her age.
Kate’s best outrageous friend Candy is back, although via emails as she’s moved to New York City to run her (naughty products for women) business. But Kate’s also making new friends at her Women’s Returners Group, a group of older women who have taken time off from full-time work to raise children, help with older parents, or recover from illness and now want to get back to paid work. Her best new friend is Sally, who is a little older and wiser and has a dog who enjoys walking in the park as much as Kate’s dog does.
Also joining Kate are her two new friends, Perry and Roy. Perry is the perimenopause that is stealing her libido, her energy, her sleep, and some days, her will to live. And Roy is the slow-moving research librarian who has taken control of her memory. And then there’s Dr. Libido, who offers her prescriptions to get Perry and Roy in gear and help Kate finally get a decent night’s sleep.
With intelligence, wit, and maybe a little over-sharing, Kate gets through it all with the dignity and grace that comes from staying true to yourself, your values, and the ones you love.
How Hard Can It Be? is the follow-up to Allison Pearson’s fabulous I Don’t Know How She Does It. It’s not necessary to read the first book before this one, but I encourage you to do just that, as it’s a funnier, more cohesive book. How Hard Can It Be?, while funny and lovely, does get somewhat bogged down in the perimenopause symptoms and the difficulty of life as the Sandwich Generation. Once Kate gets her job (and her HRT), she finds her mojo again and the story moves along better, but it’s a bit of a struggle to get there.
[And for those who have read the first book already, you should know that yes, he does appear again and yes, it’s just as sweet an adventure as it was in the original story.]
How Hard Can It Be? is a great, if sometimes difficult, read for women of all ages, but especially good for women of a certain age who are looking for encouragement and inspiration in the middle of their lives.
Galleys for How Hard Can It Be? were provided by St. Martin’s Press, with many thanks.