Toby Devens knows firsthand that being over 50 doesn't make a woman over the hill. The Clarksville resident is a successful author, a widow twice over, and mother to an adult daughter.
The characters in Devens' first novel, My Favorite Midlife Crisis (Yet), could be her own circle of friends. They are three women juggling love lives, aging parents, relationships with grown children, and their own careers.
Devens said an "ability to find humor, except in the most difficult circumstances, is probably what buoys up most women." And humor is how her characters cope with their complicated lives.
Devens will discuss My Favorite Midlife Crisis (Yet) today at 7 p.m. at the Howard County Central Library. The talk is part of an ongoing "Meet the Author" series. Attendees can buy Devens' book and have it signed.
When her first husband died after struggling with Crohn's disease, Devens wrote and published a work of nonfiction about her experience. Mercy Lord, My Husband's in the Kitchen was published in 1980.
My Favorite Midlife Crisis (Yet) was also inspired by tragedy. When Devens' second husband died of cancer, "I was just about 50 and alone again and I started feeling a little bit sorry for myself," she said.
She observed "a lot of divorced women who never expected to be divorced ... and some widows." In addition to being newly single, these women were raising teenage children and caring for aging parents.
Devens said she "wanted to write a testimony to these women because they were living their lives with a lot of humor, grace and strength."
Devens lost her public relations job a few months before she planned to retire. She decided to turn the notes and ideas she had collected into a novel. My Favorite Midlife Crisis (Yet) came out in September 2006.
Early versions of the novel went to Devens' critique group for review. Columbia author Chassie West is a member of the group and has known Devens since the 1970s. "It was a good book to begin with, and it was a terrific book by the time she finished," West said. "It was just so heartening to watch this book come to life."
The novel centers around three women in their 50s. Fleur has never been married. Kat -- a Columbia fiber artist -- is widowed. The protagonist, Gwyneth Berke, is a divorced physician caring for her ailing father. The story takes place in Baltimore, Columbia and Washington.
