This Time Could Be Different

Book excerpt: A compulsive overachiever, Madeline lives by the credo that easy is synonymous with mediocre—which is why, at forty-nine, she’s a senior vice president at a prominent bank, frantically adheres to a five-step nightly face cream regimen, and panics anytime she’s a foot away from her phone. Madeline works alongside her best friend, Emma—a master juggler of her own career, marriage, and motherhood to a fourteen-year-old daughter who speaks only in baffling acronyms. The path ahead for both women is brimming with opportunity. There’s only one problem: Madeline is miserable. Seeking purpose in her life while trying to unravel the source of habits she wants to change, Madeline reluctantly agrees to try yoga, meditation, and other wacky suggestions her new-agey therapist tosses her way. She feels as if she’s risking everything—but in doing so, she just might unlock a world more fulfilling than she ever could have imagined.