My Thirty-First Year (and Other Calamities)

By: Emily Wolf

Narrated by: Cady Zuckerman

On her 30th birthday, Yale-educated Zoe Greene was supposed to be married to her high-school sweetheart, pregnant with their first baby, and practicing law in Chicago. Instead, she's planning an abortion and filing for divorce. Zoe wants to understand why her plans failed—and to move on, have sex, and date while there's still time. As she navigates dysfunctional penises, a paucity of grammatically sound online-dating profiles, and her paralyzing fear of aging alone, she also grapples with the pressure women feel to put others first. Ultimately, Zoe's family, friends, incomparable therapist, and diary of never-to-be-sent letters to her first loves, and the rock band U2, help her learn to let go—of society's constructs of female happiness, and of her own.

©2022 Emily Wolf (P)2022 Dreamscape Media, LLC

A Peek into a Life

Emily Wolf shared the life of a 30 year old, married, and pregnant, expertly performed by Cady Zuckerman. This 70 year old reviewer enjoyed revisiting the challenges of this age group, particularly when the focus turned to dating, translatable to any age.

Terrific Debut

I loved this book. It’s smart, funny and well written. It’s also particularly relevant now as it deals with abortion in a sensitive and complex way. Zoe is such a lovable character and it’s a pleasure to watch her come into her own. I loved her letters to U2 and her use of their lyrics and thought that was an original and clever touch. I highly recommend this book and hope to see more novels soon from Emily Wolf.