These pages contain a selection of the best features from Observer Review's Living section. Please send comments and suggestions to Observer site editor Sunder Katwala at observer@guardianunlimited.co.uk or get in touch with the Observer Review team at review@observer.co.uk
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Who's afraid of the Big Four-O?
It's a milestone in a man's life: some will ditch their job, change their wife - or even buy leather trousers. But, at 39 years and 10 months, Andrew Anthony hopes to avoid the turmoil of a midlife crisis.
There must be more to life...
We may seem to be living in a secular age - but more than 70 per cent of us still believe in an afterlife. Here, Peter Stanford, author of a new book on heaven, explains how his mother's death led him to look at our reasons for clinging to eternity.
Honestly, you haven't changed a bit
Rachel Cooke hadn't seen her first love, Alan, since they were at school. Then, like millions of others, she logged on to FriendsReunited... What lies behind the huge appeal of revisiting our schooldays - is it curiosity or are we somehow disappointed by adult life?
Life's good. Why do we feel bad?
We've tried shopping and New Age cures, making money and spending it. What's missing from our lives, asks Richard Reeves?
Call me a feminist
Gaby Wood's generation thought the battles had been won. Yet for many women 'having it all' has turned out to mean doing it all, and the female eunuch has returned to haunt them. Which is why, she argues, we need feminism now more than ever.
Damned if you do...
One in three women has had an abortion and 92 per cent of us agree with the right to choose. So why, asks Nikki Gerrard are we still ashamed to talk about its effect on our lives?
I didn't expect to do this alone
Few women set out to be single mothers but Stephanie Merritt found the man in her life could not cope with the idea of her pregnancy.
Fathers don't get to have it all either
For men, work is a duty, not an option. But many long for more time with their kids, argues Richard Reeves.
I want my granny
Who do you turn to when you've fired the nanny or the au pair's gone moody? Well, says Fiona Gibson, if you've got any sense, you just call for your parents...
The mystery of childhood
Our children seem to be changing at breathtaking speed but why are adults lagging behind, asks Mary Riddell, in this essay from a major collection on 21st-century life from the cradle to the grave.
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How email can wreck your life
Next time you flirt with a few keystrokes, remember there is no such thing as privacy on the net says Sophie Radice. Email romances are a growing cause of marriage breakdown.
That's what friends are for?
When your female mates marry, they soon bump back down, ready to chat. But when male pals get spliced, they tend to vanish on you. So, asks Rachel Cooke, is there any hope for true friendship between men and women?
How to compete with ex appeal
Does your partner compare your sturdy companionship with memories of her wild and wicked ways? There's no need to panic just yet, says Sophie Radice.
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