X-Book

Out of Time

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

From the hugely respected journalist Miranda Sawyer, a very modern look at the midlife crisis – delving into the truth, and lies, of the experience and how to survive it, with thoughtfulness, insight and humour.

‘You wake one day and everything is wrong. It's as though you went out one warm evening – an evening fizzing with delicious potential, so ripe and sticky-sweet you can taste it on the air – for just one drink … and woke up two days later in a skip. Except you're not in a skip, you're in an estate car, on the way to an out-of-town shopping mall to buy a balance bike, a roof rack and some stackable storage boxes.’

Miranda Sawyer’s midlife crisis began when she was 44. It wasn’t a traditional one. She didn’t run off with a Pilates teacher, or blow thousands on a trip to find herself. From the outside, all remained the same. Work, kids, marriage, mortgage, blah. Days, weeks and months whizzed past as she struggled with feeling – knowing – that she was over halfway through her life. It seemed only yesterday that she was 29, out and about.

Out of Time is not a self-help book. It’s an exploration of this sudden crisis, this jolt. It looks at how our tastes, and our bodies, change as we get older. It considers the unexpected new pleasures that the second half of life can offer, from learning to code to taking up running (slowly). Speaking to musicians and artists, friends and colleagues, Miranda asks how they too have confronted midlife, and the lessons, if any, that they’ve learned along the way.

Critics Review

n

‘A straight-talking handbook for those of us who believe we're still at our peak in middle age but need a few honest signposts’ Viv Albertine

n

‘I spent a lot of time nodding along in agreement to this book as if it was my favourite record*’ Jeremy Deller

n

*‘Hallelujah’ by Happy Mondays (Weatherall & Oakenfold remix)

n

‘Sawyer is at her best articulating with honesty the angst many of this generation feel about getting older… the Morrissey of her journalistic generation’ Sunday Times

n

Praise for ‘Park and Ride’:

n

‘A great success … Such annihilation has been performed before. John Osborne did it. Sid Vicious was there. But this is prime stuff’ Independent On Sunday

n

‘Like Victoria Wood she has a talent for illuminating the absurdities of how ordinary people live their ordinary lives’ Observer

n

'Miranda Sawyer's suburban memoir ‘Park and Ride’ was as excellent as we expect’ Julie Burchill, Guardian (Books of the Year)

n

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag and the x-book®

Discover the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed to simplify finding, purchasing, and enjoying your favourite books in audio format. Our flexible pricing model makes bestselling audiobooks affordable, offering the best audiobook deals without the need for a subscription. You can also give the perfect gift with our convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

A core differentiator of xigxag is our groundbreaking listen-and-read x-book® technology, which delivers a truly immersive digital book experience. This unique innovation seamlessly combines the audiobook, text, and images into a brilliant, integrated format, complete with exclusive audiobook features and a next-generation digital reading experience. Our growing x-book selection is easily discoverable by looking for the distinctive purple x-book® ribbon, or by simply filtering your search by ‘x-book’.

Beyond our technology, xigxag is committed to sustainability and ethical practices, ensuring a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we stand as a leader in audiobook innovation and a compelling alternative to big tech. Our commitment extends to delivering extraordinary customer service, provided by our friendly UK support team.

Effortlessly search audiobooks, gain insights from honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. You can download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere, guaranteeing the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Experience the future of audiobooks today.