NOT TOO LATE

A journalist offers a unique perspective on her midlife journey.

One night at a dinner party, Bounds, author of Little Chapel on the River, listened as an elderly man asked a tween girl what she wanted to be when she grew up. It struck her that at 45, “nobody was ever going to ask me that again,” and she felt a rising anxiety. Although she was happily married, close to her family, and engaged in a meaningful career, she wanted something more. On a whim, she Googled, “What are the hardest things you can do?” Google suggested, “What are the hardest physical things you can do?” Bounds clicked and found her next calling: obstacle course racing. One popular example is the Spartan Race, a series of races of 5k to 30+ miles that require participants to scale high walls, swing on monkey bars, carry sandbags, crawl in mud under barbed wire, and flip heavy tires, among other obstacles. However, as Bounds admits, she was not an athlete. As a kid, she was often the last one picked for team sports. Now she was middle-aged; could her body withstand such arduous physical punishment? Though unsure, she was eager to find out and truly test herself. Bounds started running and strength training in earnest. She also consulted scientists, doctors, and other experts on aging, fitness, and endurance and a philosopher on how people can live more fulfilling lives. Her intriguing discoveries weave through the narrative, which takes us on an adventure-filled journey of her transformation sure to appeal to others on similar paths. “Even in middle age and beyond,” she writes, “we can redefine who we think we are and recast the limiting constructs of who we believe we’re not.”

An inspiring guide on how to unearth a “second wind,” from someone who’s been there.