A Boston Globe journalist reframes the pressures of midlife and maps a more fulfilling way forward for Gen X and Millennial women.

When Kara Baskin found herself in the midst of losing her mom while juggling full-time work and caring for young kids, she sought out a book that would put her experience—which hit like a cocktail of overwhelm, muddled feminism, and bitters—into words. She didn’t find what she wanted, but on soccer sidelines and on text threads, simmering resentment poured forth. A search for validation did, too.

So Kara started asking questions: What do we owe ourselves at midlife? How can we field all of this grief, stress, and upheaval and still, you know, have fun?

The answers became this book. Each chapter of Everything to Everyone unpacks a different role women play—from adult daughter of aging parents, to operations executive, to diligent professional, to EQ-translator. Mixing advice from experts with stories from women who’ve achieved balance, this is the roadmap for the ordinary person’s midlife, exploring how to untangle ourselves from the tyrannical thrum of shoulds. 

Everything to Everyone isn’t a call to burn it all down; it’s a warm, witty guide to know what to put down and when—and an invitation to appreciate what we’ve built, on our own terms.