NEWTON, Mass. - BostonChron -- Coming of Age at Forty is the sequel to Alfred's Journey to Be Liked (Book One) and Hannah's Journey to Be Happy (Book Two).

The Alfred Series features a universe of characters who are challenged in different ways and grow and adapt over time. Book One explores the social and communication skills of fourteen-year-old Alfred and a coach who guides him by offering a series of practical tips to help him build a circle of friends.

Book Two follows the journey of Alfred's friend, Hannah, who has a residue of anger that colors her mood and behavior. As she heads off to visit her father and his girlfriend over the summer, Hannah follows Alfred's coach's advice and captures each day's happenings in her journal. Readers are rewarded with Hannah's mix of humor and insight.

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In Book Three, our attention turns to Alfred's mom, Ellie, who is forty and a single parent, dutifully raising her son. Prompted by Alfred, Ellie, for the first time, looks back at the traumas that filled her earlier years. With the help of a therapist and writing in her journal, Ellie begins to heal, planting the seeds for a far richer life.

Coming of Age at Forty reminds us that personal growth and transformation are always within reach.

Ebstein, who has been a business consultant for decades and is now easing into a retirement of writing, says she has considered the possibility that "At some point, we stop growing, but I single-handedly reject the idea, in the same way, I reject that coming-of-age stories should always be about young adults. We come of age all the time. The age just changes."

The story's protagonist, Ellie, allows readers to see how a single mom with baggage redefines her life and is rewarded for the painstaking process. Ebstein says, "It took a lot of digging, but the Ellie at the end of the book is not the same as the Ellie at the start. My hope is that readers find inspiration."

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About Jill Ebstein

Jill Ebstein is the author of Hannah's Journal to Be Liked (March 2024), Alfred's Journey to Be Liked (February 2023), editor of the At My Pace series of books – At My Pace: Twenty Somethings Finding Their Way (April 2018), At My Pace: Lessons from Our Mothers (Nov 2016), and At My Pace: Ordinary Women Tell Extraordinary Stories (2015). She founded Sized Right Marketing, a Newton, Mass., based consulting firm that helps companies use the customer voice to identify unmet needs and drive strategy. She holds a BS from Washington University and an MBA from Wharton. Learn more at www.jillebstein.com