For parents whose children became middle-aged behind their backs.

There are many clues that you may be getting older, but few are as shocking as realizing your child is turning fifty. If You Have a Child 50… You’re Old! captures that hilarious moment when parents discover that the “kids” now have gray hair, reading glasses, grown children of their own, and strong opinions about what Mom and Dad should be doing.

Rick Segel finds the comedy in changing family roles, milestone birthdays, grandparenthood, memories, and the impossible arithmetic of aging. Behind every joke is something warm and true: families grow older together, but the love, teasing, stories, and familiar roles never completely disappear.

This is an irresistible gift for a parent whose son or daughter is turning fifty, for the fifty-year-old child who wants to return the favor, or for any family that enjoys laughing at the passage of time. It is proof that getting older is unavoidable—but taking it too seriously is entirely optional.