Book excerpt: Does Midlife Have to be a Crisis? The Beauty of 40: Unwrapping the Gift of Midlife is a call to clarity, reflection, and sensible responses to what is happening within us sometime around age 40 and beyond. Award-winning author, family life specialist, psychologist, and sought-after speaker, Dr. Michele Alignay, has written real-life matters and issues that we need to come to terms with a midlife. In this deeply personal book, Ichel talks about the beauty and pains of growing up and the early adult years, and how these integrate in an inner process during the season of midlife. Drawing on her experience and expertise, she dissected through candid, down-to-earth yet soulful insights and practical points the crucial areas of the self in this book. The pages unwrap the gift of midlife and how to navigate the season. The Beauty of 40 is an assurance that midlife need not be a crisis. Rather, it can be a beautiful inward process of deepening one’s relationship with the self and with God. In these pages, be prepared to learn from Dr. Ichel. The lessons she gives are bite-sized and based on her own life, making them relevant, relatable, and oh so real! Enjoy!