Originally published at: 
http://www.thelogicgirl.com/2008/04/10-women-youll-be-before-youre-35.html

I was at Barnes and Nobles the other day, and I came across this book by Alison James - The 10 Women You'll be Before You're 35. I spent some time flipping through the book, and I came away cheered. The half-an-hour spent on the book actually put me in a good mood!

I was thoroughly entertained with James' choice of words, and her frivolous sense of humour in typecasting the various stages all of us women go through.

According to James, the 10 stages women will pass through before we are 35 are as follows: New Graduate, Dollarless Diva, Worker Bee, Party Girl, Body-Conscious Babe, Chameleon, Crisis Chick, Ms. Independence, Wirl (half woman/half girl) and finally the True You.

It starts with the New Graduate stage when you have just graduated from university - you are fresh, young, happy, excited, flighty and giggly, and ends with the True You stage, when you become finally who you really are - that is, you are no longer personified by a stage. The 8 other stages in between are full of quirky snapshots of what your life have been, or could be (if you're not there yet).

My favourite was the Crisis Chick, maybe because it was easily identified as the one most matching my present stage (somewhat anyway). Crisis Chick has a stable job, maybe a boyfriend, and she has a life almost eveyone thinks she should be happy with. But for whatever reason, the Crisis Chick is unhappy, feels that she is stuck in a rut, and she wants to change her life. She is confused and goes through agonizing periods of reflection. She flits between dramatic pronouncements of life changing decisions and helpless self-pity. She thinks of giving up her job to save the world by joining the Peace Corps, so she can give meaning to her life. Then decides she would not be able to realistically survive without showering (or having her other comforts) in poverty-stricken countries like Africa. She hermits herself in her apartment and lives on snack food! I just love the way James portrayed this stage - she managed to trivialize this stage with a humour that does not take away from the actual reality, which can be quite debilitating to people feeling this way. Almost like saying, it's a confusing time, but hang in there through all of this nonsense, and you'll come out just fine.

Now, anyone looking for real self-help information in this book should be forewarned though - this will not help you solve any of your major problems. However, if you are looking for a light, fun read to occupy your spare time while relaxing, this would be a good companion book - a true chick lit gem. Close