45 Things To Do Before You're 45: A Novel

De: Julia Tuffs

Narrado por: Isy Suttie

"This isn’t how I pictured my life, you know? It was going to be fabulous. I was going to be fabulous.”

Meet Charlie; unfulfilled and perimenopausal, Charlie’s suburban life is a far cry from the Manhattan glamour she once dreamed of. Her husband is incapable of talking about anything other than his latest Ironman challenge, her sex life consists of fictional encounters with Hollywood stars, her kids need constant man-management, and to make things worse, her optician has just prescribed her reading glasses.

Oh, and she can’t stop crying at TV adverts…

In the hope of re-discovering her sense of self, Charlie begins writing a list: 45 things to do before she’s 45.

1. Eat an oyster
2. Take up parkour
3. Read War and Peace
4. Take ecstasy
5. Try stand-up comedy
6. Go to a sex club

Determined to complete them all, Charlie embarks on a chaotic odyssey through her own spectacular midlife crisis, challenging herself to become the person she wants to be. But what happens if we’re not that person? How do we learn to let them go? Or does something else have to give?

Uproariously funny and deeply human, 45 Things… is an all-too relatable story of what it means to be alive and how much living we all still have to do.

Narrated by the inimitable Isy Suttie (Peep Show), 45 Things... is the perfect listen for fans of Dolly Alderton, Caitlin Moran and Marian Keyes.

"There is so much to relate to. I can guarantee that if you're a woman and over thirty, you'll be nodding and laughing along!” – Laura Pearson, author of The Last List of Mabel Beaumont

©2024 Julia Tuffs (P)2025 Audible Ltd.

It was ok

It made me optimistic about my marriage in that ill have a midlife crisis and go on some spiritual bender

Housewife view

If you ever wanted to understand how housewifes become alcoholic, read it. Somehow, it's easier to blame the one that doesn't work. Why?

Main character is selfish

It’s a good story but at first the main character seems very selfish. But to some extent I was able to sympathize with her.

Started cute but made me sad

This book was very funny & I really was liking it since I’m about to be 40! It progressively got to where the FMC got wreck less & irresponsible. It became really hard for me to relate to but I’ve also never been manic I suppose.

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I got to the part where she had to put the cat down due to neglect and had to put the book on 2X speed. Almost DNFed when she got to the sex club because I was just so sad for our FMC. Ended ok so that’s why it’s 3 stars instead of 2. I appreciate the story that needed to be told, but wish people would’ve stepped in before she went full manic. We never knew the timeframe but I was screaming - is no one going to check on her?!?
This book made me sad and I wish I would’ve known the temperament & about the animal neglect prior to reading it. Going to cuddle my cat now. 💔

not so great

The first few chapters were good and actually had me looking forward to following this dysfunctional but mildly funny mother as she navigated her list. However, it took too many chapters just to actually make the list, and even more chapters with in-depth discussions about her period and sexual fantasies before many items on the list were addressed. By the end of the seventh chapter, I realized that I had essentially stopped paying attention to the book, which is usually a bad sign for me. At that point, I decided to move on to something I truly enjoy. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t it for me. The audio, though, was excellent.

what was this supposed to be?

This book started pretty funny and then got really weird. Felt like reading 2 different styles and story lines. I suppose it came together at the end, but not without a struggle to get through the middle. Based on the first few chapters, I thought it was a light hearted and funny read about being a middle aged woman. It did not end up being that.

Cutesy

Like an ode to sex in the city written in the format of a gooey novel.

What a ride - brace yourself

This book is about a self absorbed woman who actually puts herself second in the roles of mother and wife. She complains a lot because she’s a bored housewife with no personal accomplishments or ambitions and who resents her family for being absent and needy, and leaving her with all the shit in the house. Ok - that’s the surface.
Underneath are all the things we never get to discuss, process, or is ever accepted in society: she’s perimenopausal and having terrible hormone changes, she’s getting terrible anxiety, she is getting less and less sleep, she’s drinking more and is generally also having a mid-life crisis. Through this process she makes terrible and selfish decisions…but she gets a grip on the end, right? (Read and find out)

Real and fun!

Applicable to me and my friends in our 40s and 50s. I love a funny, lighthearted story when life gets heavy. Much needed this week.

I thought it was relevant and funny

Great narration. Love the righting style. Very funny and relevant to being in your mid forties.