Broken Dreams: An Intimate History of the Midlife Crisis - Hardcover

by Mark Jackson (Author)

The midlife crisis has become a clich in modern society. Since the mid-twentieth century, the term has been used to explain infidelity in middle-aged men, disillusionment with personal achievements, the pain and sadness associated with separation and divorce, and the fear of approaching death. This book provides a meticulously researched account of the social and cultural conditions in which middle-aged men and women began to reevaluate their hopes and dreams, reassess their relationships, and seek new forms of identity and fresh pathways to self-satisfaction. Drawing on a rich seam of literary, medical, media, and cinematic sources, as well as personal accounts, Broken Dreams explores how the crises of middle-aged men and women were shaped by increased life expectancy, changing family structures, shifting patterns of work, and the rise of individualism.

Author Biography

Mark Jackson is professor of the history of medicine and director of the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health at the University of Exeter. His books include Allergy: The History of a Modern Malady, also published by Reaktion Books, and The Age of Stress: Science and the Search for Stability.