This article is from the October 2001 The Mexico
File newsletter.
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Book Review
Midlife Mavericks : Women Reinventing Their Lives in
Mexico
by Karen Blue. Universal Publishers, 2000, 189
pages. ISBN: 1581127197.
Reviewed by Lynne Doyle
Lynne is a frequent
MF
contributor from Maine. Her article, �East Coast West Coast,� which appeared
in the March 2001 issue, compared Canc�n with Puerto Vallarta.
This is an interesting book,
written by a very interesting woman. It�s certainly not for everyone � men
probably wouldn�t find it fascinating � but for the right readers, it�s
got a lot to say.
In 1996, at the age of 52,
Karen Blue was a divorced Silicon Valley executive with grown children,
wondering �Is this all there is to my life?� Through a series of events, she
found herself moving to Ajijic, a village on the north shore of Lake Chapala,
about an hour south of Guadalajara. Soon after her arrival, she joined a local
writers� group and began to write her story. After she read the first chapter
to her group, someone suggested that she interview other women and include their
stories as well. She found immediate contributors and the rest, as they say, is
history.
While major U.S. publishers
like the book, they did not think the market was big enough to justify
publication, so Blue, as she is known, published it herself. This says something
to me about this woman�s determination and commitment. As she says in her
introduction, �I decided to publish myself so other women might be motivated
to change an unsatisfactory life.�
I�ve read as many books
about moving to Mexico as I can get my hands on, and the recurring theme in all
of them, no matter who the author is, seems to be renewal and rediscovery. This
book is no exception. Karen Blue tells her own story with amazing candor,
describing with humor and honesty how she had to abandon her control freak
persona in order to survive in Mexico, and how immeasurably that major change in
her life has enriched it. She speaks of redefining herself and her goals, and
she is inspiring because she has done it.
The best of this book,
however, are the stories of �ordinary women who have made extraordinary
choices.� Blue has conducted her interviews with intuition and warmth, seeking
both the spiritual and practical aspects of the lives of each of the women
included. The result is a well-rounded view of how a woman in the second half of
her life might approach such a radical change. Some of the stories are great
successes, and some are not. Some of the subjects have stayed and made better
lives for themselves, and some have given up and gone home. All of the stories
are funny, touching, heartfelt, inspiring. I finished this book with a newfound
respect for the courage that the most unlikely people can sometimes find in
themselves, as well as a greater sense of the practical aspects involved in
moving to and making a life in Mexico. It�s not for everyone, and I�m far
from sure it�s for me, but it helps to know, from the �horse�s mouth,�
how some people have managed to make such a great change and make it work for
them.
As a post-script, I checked
out Karen Blue�s website and reviewed her book, and at her invitation,
e-mailed her. She is just as she seems in her book � funny, generous, busy,
cordial, and eager to help others in any way she can to discover what she has
found in Mexico.