In Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis, Calhoun sets out to determine why so many women who seem like they should be happy (married! with kids! and a career!) are actually miserable, anxious, and so, so tired. What she finds is that while the crisis isn't new, the specific circumstances of mid-life for Gen X women pose an entirely new set of economic, cultural, and existential problems. Raised with an unprecedented expectation of success and the belief that they would be able to "do it all," the women who grew up making mix tapes and mailing zines now must contend with the pursuit of perfection across multiple social networking platforms.