From The Age / Sydney Morning Herald's best-read columnist Kate Halfpenny, Boogie Wonderland is a funny, relatable and sometimes devastating memoir about marriage, menopause, identity, empty nest syndrome and the confronting morass of midlife.

When Covid lockdowns hit Melbourne, metropolitan midlife couple Kate and Chris decide to make a sea change and move to a small coastal town to ease financial pressures and live out the beach lifestyle many of us dream of. But they didn't give much thought to just how different it would be. With late night drinking sessions in Melbourne's coolest suburbs replaced by the disconcerting peace of a summer destination largely quiet for the rest of the year, they're suddenly rattling around in their beautiful new home without kids, friends or a real community.

And when a disturbing truth about their marriage becomes unavoidable, it's time to face up to reality and ask what's really important. Should they stay or should they go? And what's next when your whole world seems to come crashing down around you?

Details

ISBN13: 9781923022133
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 304
Edition:
Publication Date: 24 Jun 2025
Publisher: Affirm Press
Publication City, Country: Mulgrave, VIC, Australia
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)
Weight (gm):

Author Biography

Kate Halfpenny has spent four decades telling other people's stories as an award-winning writer, editor and commentator for Who, Vogue, Marie Claire and ABC Radio. Her own plot twists include three kids, two husbands, and one mission to talk honestly about midlife as a columnist for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
Post-pandemic, Kate fled Melbourne for Ocean Grove, where she boogie boards daily and has become unafraid of magpies. A former synchronised trampoline champ and tapestry fan who's learning the Rocky theme on piano, she's trying to break up with Botox and cooking.

Reviews

'Highly relatable stuff that’s bound to touch on so many similar issues in our own lives.' -- Meredith Jaffe
'Highly relatable stuff that’s bound to touch on so many similar issues in our own lives.' -- Meredith Jaffe
'Highly relatable stuff that’s bound to touch on so many similar issues in our own lives.' -- Meredith Jaffe
'Highly relatable stuff that’s bound to touch on so many similar issues in our own lives.' -- Meredith Jaffe
'Highly relatable stuff that’s bound to touch on so many similar issues in our own lives.' -- Meredith Jaffe