Episode 1

Jane Shilling's reflective and enquiring memoir is told from the perspective of mid life. Today she finds similarities between the changes that accompany middle age, and her memories of adolescence.

Read by Samantha Bond.
Abridged by Julian Wilkinson.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard

Jane Shilling's memoir, The Stranger in the Mirror, views life from the perspective of mid life. In exploring her past, Jane discovers similarities between middle age and adolescence. To her frustration she finds that there are no role models for her middle years that interest her, particularly as she sets out to create a new wardrobe on arriving at fifty. A failed love affair leads her to contemplate a different kind of future, and the precariousness of life as a freelance journalist is brought into stark relief by events beyond her control. Finally, she also reflects on the women who have influenced her from the previous generation, and discovers that while middle age seems to be a series of small losses, it is also about looking forward to the next part of the adventure.

Jane Shilling writes on books for the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and Daily Mail, and on television for the Evening Standard. This is her second book. She lives in Greenwich with her son.