I am over 40 and female. I believe this has a lot to do with the reasons why I liked this book so much. A lot of reviewers felt this book somehow missed the mark, not living up to its potential. That to me though, is the essence of the book.
There comes a point in our lives when we wonder what would have happened if we'd done X instead of Y or if our circumstances had been different from the outset. Many of us don't get the opportunity to go back and try again either. I think though, that the old adage, "you can't go back" is a critical aspect to this book. Rebecca tries to go back and finds that it doesn't live up to her own hype.
I mean really, who knows what our lives would have been if we'd done something differently. Have we missed out on our true potential? We'll never know! We just have to do what we can to enjoy life with the choices we have made!!