Elyse, Rachel, Brie, Leah and Alex, who have been best friends since their freshman year of college, are living their best lives in their late twenties. Between career accomplishments, bachelorette parties, weddings, baby showers and housewarming parties, they experience a wave of major life milestones together, jam-packed over one summer.

Fast forward seven years, and despite the appearance of living their perfectly curated lifestyles, they all find themselves in unexpected situations. From mundane little struggles to life-altering decisions, the women navigate the throes of motherhood, fertility, career expectations and family relationships.

Elyse finds herself at the pinnacle of her career, the absolute worst time to have a baby that her husband so desperately wants. Brie, who is happily focused on her academic career and a revolving door of six-month situationships, has her life flipped upside down when she becomes the caregiver for her ailing mother.

Alex, freshly back to work after maternity leave, struggles with her identity and confidence as a woman, professional and mother, especially when her own estranged mother starts to push for more of a presence in her life. Leah is dealing with secondary infertility, a husband who is not willing to do whatever it takes to expand their family, and the overall realization that she has less control over her life than she thought she did.

And Rachel, now a mom of two, is just going through the motions of daily life. She’s been putting others’ needs before her own for so long that it doesn’t even bother her, most of the time.

Thirty(ology) is a reflection of modern women, the formative decade that is your thirties, and most importantly, the female friendships that, although they may get put on the backburner, are the foundation for thriving—or at least surviving—your thirties. .