“A Circle of Trust Reader’s Guide”

One of the fun things authors get to do for the paperback edition of their book is work with the publisher on a Reader’s Guide for Book Clubs. The publication date for “Fifty is the New Fifty: 10 Life Lessons for Women in Second Adulthood” is March 30th.
In advance of the publication, we’re posting the Plume Edition Reader’s Guide here. Many women have told me the book inspired numerous conversations with their sisters, mothers and friends. I hope the guide leads to even more …

MEMO TO MYSELF
I’ve been advised to write an upbeat end-of-year note – to reinforce the message of my writing, which is that women over fifty are feeling upbeat about themselves and their prospects. And that certainly applies to me. My kids and friends are good; my husband has opened the art gallery of his dreams; and my mother is drifting off peacefully (so far). I have reconnected with old friends, which is an amazing gift; my longtime friends continue to nourish me and one another (one had major back surgery, …

Women in Second Adulthood Are Doing Just Fine, Thank You.
In a country that gorges on “happy meals” and concludes correspondence with a “smiley face,” it is safe to suggest that happiness has been devalued as a meaningful state of mind. Asking about it is like asking “How are you?” Fine.  Nevertheless Marcus Buckingham, who describes himself as “leading expert in personal strengths and best-selling author,” decided to assemble all known happiness surveys (On a scale of 1 to 3, how happy are you?) and report on Huffington Post that his …

Barbara Glickstein, host of NPR’s “Healthstyles” and Public Health Nurse Executive, on the Current Controversy
The release of a report suggesting that women should begin regular mammograms at 50 instead of forty shouldn’t obscure the fact that women over fifty should most definitely be conscientious about scheduling annual mammograms:
Here is what I wrote last month (see “Five Ways to Make Fall Work for You – Remember Good Health is about Maintenance):
“Older age is the single greatest risk factor for breast cancer in women. According to the American Cancer Society (1999), breast …

I Love Your Term the Fertile Void…
Suzanne Braun Levine has been a hero of mine since age 16, when I was a charter subscriber to Ms. Magazine, where she was the first editor. Just as Ms. had many things to teach me about myself as a woman and a feminist, so Levine decades later continues to teach women about themselves, through her writing (in books like Inventing the Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood and her contributions to MORE Magazine) and speaking. I was privileged to talk …

 
A STORY FROM THE ‘FERTILE VOID’

 
The hallmark of the beginning of Second Adulthood is a necessary but disturbing descent into what I call the Fertile Void. Like the onset of menopause, this profound upheaval has nothing to do with chronological age. It may coincide with the loss of biological fertility and it may take as long or longer than a pregnancy, the similarities end there. The Fertile Void is a place of confusion in which a midlife woman wanders without a map until she finds her new self.
The good …

POEMS OF PONDS, PINEWOODS, PROVINCETOWN AND LIFE
 
The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began…
 

I cited the Mary Oliver poem “The Journey” at the beginning of the Fertile Void chapter in Inventing the Rest of our Lives because it spoke so evocatively about the trepidation we feel as we enter unknown territory. The lines “and there was a new voice/ which you slowly/ recognized as your own” in particular resonate with so many women in transition.
This week as I listened to her voice on “Provincetown: …

“THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS” – ISABEL ALLENDE’S REMARKABLE WOMEN- BY LIANA SIDERI

As I was contemplating “Fifty is the New Fifty,” I kept thinking of the immense resilience characteristic of the female nature, the concept of which you illustrate so beautifully. And though most of us have been taught to be in control of the many roles we shuffle daily (and of those we were never called to assume but we have), eventually we come to a point where we need to reevaluate the meaning of and the reasons for …

LOVE, SEX, INTIMACY…
A New Novel from Jane Adams
A year or so ago, I read the manuscript of a novel about a woman like us – turning 60, facing career challenges, dealing with uncooperative children, redefining love- AND sex – and getting to know her authentic self. Charlotte “Sugar” Kane is a great character and very, very funny in that wry way we enjoy in our friends.
The only problem was that the author, my friend Jane Adams, couldn’t find a publisher interested in fiction about midlife women, so she finally …

My Conversation with Sister Marie Pappas on Sirius Satellite Radio
Yes, I still love the radio. But, I had almost forgotten what a pleasure it is to have an extended conversation with an interesting and “interested” interviewer until this recent book promotion tour. I had the opportunity to talk to women and men radio hosts across the country from my home – NO make-up needed! Pajamas optional!
One of the interviews was from a studio on satellite radio. Sister Marie Pappas is on Sirius Satellite Radio along with Martha Stewart, Oprah …