I read a small part of this book translated to Arabic, It touched me a lot, thought it's me who was writing this as it resembles my own style!
I should have a copy in English just to feel the full joy.

I am late coming to this book party seeing that it was written twenty five years ago. Erica is a terrific writer whom I don't always agree with but still enjoy her views. Turning fifty and figuring out how you now fit into a society that values youth is tough for all. Erica managed it with style, grace, and lots of sex. I appreciate her candidness and enjoyed everything I read.

What I liked about this book was some of what she said about writing and how perceptions of your family change as you age. Catching up on some of the 70s stuff I was too young to hear about regarding feminism was interesting.

I realize the kiss and tell stuff probably felt necessary for the author as background info. I didn't read the first book, so didn't need an update. I actually just got around to reading this 10 years after it was given to me for my 50th birthday. Now I can pass it to the next 50 year old.

Not for those who are uncomfortable reading about sex, alcohol or drugs.

سيرة حياة للاديبة والصحفية ايريكا يونغ زوجة المحلل النفسي كارل يونغ ،تضيء فيها من ميلادها مراهقتها اسفارها وزيجاتها وكيف ان الخمسين يمكن ان تشكل هاجسا وقلقا للها كمراة ويمكن ان يكون العكس وتتغلب عليها بالحب والكتابة والسفر .

Fear of Fifty is a designed as a biography that really serves as a treatise on the state of feminism and the many small victories and mega defeats; it is a way of looking at it through the eyes of a person who liberated many, and yet found herself trapped in many of the myths and chauvinistic traps that keep any real equality from occurring.
For the average reader it is a little off-putting that some of the loudest voices of feminism have been people so far removed from the lives of average women, but then who else would have had the connections or the life style luxury to express any opinions what so ever. What saved this book was the final realization that it was really the voices of black women writers that finally allowed Jong to see that there existed ways to look at feminism from a different perspective. It is a generational struggle for women to be taken seriously, a dialog the average woman has been excluded from in face of the militant and the famous wealthy spokespeople: both of them whom have had choices and opportunities that are not available to others.
There is something positive if the things that have occurred since this book was written so manybe there is some light along the edges.

أول قراءة و تعرف بالكاتبة
و هذا تقصير و تأخير ربما متعمد بسبب الوصمة التي اُنتهجت ضدها لتمنعنا من الاطلاع على كثير من التوعية المطلوبة لفك طلاسم عالم النساء المعقد و الذي مازال غامضا و ما يبدأ يتحرر حتى ينغلق و هكذا جيل بعد جيل

الكاتبة تفتح كثير أفكار ، علاقتنا بنجاحنا و فشل أمهاتنا و الأمومة و ارتباكنا بين الحرية و العبودية الأصيلة فينا

يعلق الجميع على أسرارها الجنسية ، ايوا يا جماعة ماهي مش سيرة قديسة يعني
، و لربما صراحتها في الكشف عن علاقتها الغير شرعية أكثر نظافة من القديسات و عادتهن السرية و خيالات المتزوجات العذروات

عامة هذا الموضوع هامشي جدا بالكتاب
لكن التوعية بالنفس و تحليل مشاكلنا كنساء متشابهات في كل زمان و مكان هو الذي يشبه صوت طششش في دماغنا

* حتى ما يتأفف منه البعض من علاقتها ، فهي تصرح بها لأنها ناجحة ، و نزواتها تؤخذ بعين السخرية أو الاستحقاق لكن نزوات غير الناجحات قطعا تؤخذ بالسوط على الأعناق

لتفهمي يا عزيزتي أن نجاح المرأة هو ترياقك و هو سبيلك الوحيد للحياة
مهما بدا ذاك كلاما مبتذلا و نسبيا

الكاتبة حللت علاقتنا مع الأم و ميثاق الألم مع جداتنا و مع النساء الاخريات

و هي تزوجت أربع مرات كلهم عن حب !

واو
هذا في ذاته عربون أمل في جو ثقافي ساد فيه تهميش الحب و التخويف من الاعتماد عليه للزواج

و على صعيد آخر مع تحليلاتها العميقة يبدو الكتاب بحافز للانتح ااار

The four months before my fiftieth birthday I spent in what would be our new home, alone. And not only alone in the sense of being the only one living in the house, but also in the sense of human life around me, for our new home lies deep in the forest in a tiny village of (now 8, (but then 5). No shops, no restaurants, no cinema, no trappings of 'civilization', or at least not without driving an hour and a quarter or more. My goals were two-fold: Could I survive in such an environment, and could I learn the language?

I am happy to say 'yes' to both. Not that it wasn't difficult at times, scary, depressing, lonely, but I could stand my own company, and not only survive but thrive. And I got the language.

Due to a mix-up at the airport, I could only take about a third of stuff I had packed for such a venture. The hurried reorganization of everything resulted in flying underwear (and the loss of my coat just before traveling to the far north in mid-winter, but that's a story for another time), but the book chosen for this epic period of my life Fear of Fifty manage to get on board.

Amazingly, I didn't fear the coming half century. Crossing the thirty mark was far more difficult. My fortieth my partner made fun by throwing a completely unusual party and instigating a tradition: doing something new and different each birthday, especially the decade ones. So I didn't fear the up-coming Five-O but I brought the book just in case there was something I should know or learn from it.

My notes from that reading, the spring of 2007 in my tiny village, goes like this: Not always easy to get through, but well, WELL worth the effort.

Skimming it for this review seven years later, I discovered I had marked a lot (and I mean A LOT) of passages, most of which I still find relevant. I have added them to my quotes if anyone is interested. The odd thing I did find is that although Jong and I are technically in the same 'generation' -- i.e., Baby Boomers, we come from different ends of the spectrum, thus explaining our very different life experiences. By the time I reached adulthood, many more doors were open and I didn't see marriage as my only option. I still don't though I have been married twice, both long-term. The four-month period mentioned at the beginning of this review, confirmed for me that I can if I must live happily on my own. Marriage is a choice, I am happy to say.

But what about the book? Jong is much less whiny in this than in Fear of Flying, much more mature, as one would expect. I found the tone a relief. She is somewhat repetitive, but again not nearly as much so as in Fear of Flying, again a relief. There is so much to be gained by reading this book or even in skimming it to revisit passages, that I would recommend it to anyone.

Second read for this book. Second book in the "fear" trilogy.

Fear of Flying author Erica Jong's autobiography, (written in 1994 when she was fifty) was another thrift store find for me. Her books are always a good read, and I enjoyed her auto-biography. I've not read all her novels, but now that I remember what a good writer she is, with such a clear voice on women and their lives, I plan to re-read (and read for the first time) her novels. I know that at one time I owned several of her books. But, where are they? Guess they were given away long ago.

اريكا يونغ ، اصبحت من الكاتبات المفضلات لدي . بإختصار الخوف من الخمسين كتاب لا يموت واحببته اكثر من اخيه الخوف من الطيران . ما يجذبني حقاً في نصوص اريكا يونغ ، واقعيتها وتجردها من نفسها داخل الاقصوصة . جرأتها فذة لكن ثقافتها الواسعة فذة اكثر ومستفزة اكثر .
من افضل قراءات العام ، ان لم يكن الافضل .

Lõpetasin selle raamatu oma 50. juubeli eelõhtul. Ma ei võtnud seda kätte hirmu pärast, kuna olen oma vanusesse ja vananemisesse üldisemalt alati üsna pingevabalt suhtunud. Samas on teema ju õhus: kõik need mehed, kes keskeakriisi lävel mootorratta ostavad ja oma kaasa noorema mudeli vastu vahetavad ja kõik need naised, kes end kohendada lasevad ja kelle enesekindlus on ometi ümmargune null, sest kunagi ei tea, millal su koha tööl või kodus mõni värskema olemisega noorik endale saab. Mina lugesin pigem uudishimust, kuidas teised sama vanad naised ennast tunnevad ja millest mõtlevad. Natuke oli raamat selles osas pettumus, kuna Erica Jong kirjutas palju oma eelnevast elust ehk siis tegemist tema memuaaridega, kuid sellest punktist, kus mina praegu olen ja mille kohta tahtnuksin lugeda, eriti palju juttu ei olnud. Ning teine pettumus tuli sellest, et Erica Jongiga on mul ikka raske ennast samastada: minust kolmkümmend aastat varem sündinuna on ta hoopis teise põlvkonna esindaja, lisaks ameeriklane, neli korda abielus olnud, lugematutes suhetes veel peale selle. Aga loomulikult oli ka äratundmishetki ning kirjanike elulood on alati huvitavad, kuna nad kirjutavad ka sellest, kuidas nende raamatud sünnivad, kust tuleb inspiratsioon, kuidas leida aega kirjutamiseks. Kahjuks ei ole ma ühtki Erica Jongi raamatut veel lugenud, ehkki eesti keelde on neid päris mitmeid tõlgitud. Arvan, et tema raamatuid lugenuna oleksid memuaarid veel huvitavamad olnud.

Erica Jong on USA-s väga tuntud, isegi skandaalne kirjanik, kuna oli üks esimesi naiskirjanikke, kes puritaanses riigis avameelselt seksist julges kirjutada. Kindlasti tõi kuulsust juurde ka tema värvikas eraelu. Jongi puhul ei saa üle ega ümber feminismist, aga tema feminism ei kõnetanud mind nii nagu Caitlin Morani feminism, ilmselt siis tänu sellele, et Moran on britt ja minuga üheealine.

Pärast raamatu läbilugemist kõndisin suvesoojal augustiõhtul mööda Kalamaja tänavaid oma raamatuklubisse, et proseccoga tähistada minu viimast õhtut alla 50-aastasena ning rääkida raamatutest, keskeast ja naiseksolemisest. Mingit hirmu ma saabuva juubeli puhul ei tundnud, pigem ikka rõõmu headest raamatutest ja ilusast suveõhtust.

Tõlkija järelsõnast:
“Viiekümneseks saanult otsustas ta teha oma eelnenud elust kokkuvõtte, ning nii ilmuski 1995. aastal romaan “Hirm viiekümnenda eluaasta ees. Keskea memuaarid”. Selles püüab ta oma elu põhjal teha üldistusi oma põlvkonna naiste kohta, keda on kasvatatud põhimõtete järgi, mida nad üha kiiremini muutuvas maailmas kasutada ei saa. Kas ja kuidas on võimalik naisel hoida kodu laitmatult korras ja olla samal ajal edukas oma ametis? Miks tekib feministlikus liikumises perioodiliselt langus ja kuidas oleks võimalik seda vältida? Kas lastekasvatamist ja kirjutamist on võimalik ühendada? Mida tähendab vananemine ühiskonnas, mis on tõstnud pjedestaalile nooruse? Need on ainult mõned probleemid, millele Erica Jong on oma raamatus osutanud. Vastuse peab leidma iga naine ja mees ise. Autoriga ei pruugi kõiges nõustuda, kuid intrigeerivalt mõjub ta sellegipoolest.”

Fear of Fifty, memoir by Erica Jong is a powerful book about feminism and bucking the status quo. Written in 1994, it's interesting to see how things have changed and haven't.