One day you discover something is missing in your life  —  like a life.

 Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?

— Fanny Brice

We often hear of people who, when suddenly confronted by a wake-up call  —  a divorce, a company downsizing, a devastating illness, or the unexpected death of a friend or loved one  —  vow from here on to change their priorities and how they live. Wake-up calls are those moments when in the blink of an eye, life’s direction changes suddenly.

Midlife in itself can be a wake-up call. It’s typically a time of profound psychological change that usually occurs between the ages of forty and fifty-five and often results in dramatic life changes. The defining symptom is a sense that