Fortytude

January 10, 2011
According to Brokaw, a therapist and daughter of the former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, turning 40 can present women with a beautiful opportunity for powerful self-reflection and self-improvement. Making the most of this critical milestone takes a kind of strength that Brokaw calls "fortytude," and she identifies five core values—grace, connectedness, accomplishment, adventure, and spirituality—that can help women thrive as they navigate the journey from age 35 onwards. She profiles American women from different walks of life: an overweight Wisconsin nurse, resolving to live her own life more fully after her sister's suicide, undergoes gastric bypass surgery; a California ceramics artist is inspired by her daughter to accept her small breast size; a brigadier general who mentors other women through the difficulties of military life and the horrors of war. Brokaw, a single woman, decides to freeze her eggs, a decision that enabled her to stop searching frantically for a partner; and a television producer honors her late mother by raising money online for nonprofit organizations. Although Brokaw's advice is helpful and inspirational, it is also generic and familiar.