Join The New York City Chapter of The Transition Network for an evening with Suzanne Braun Levine sharing her groundbreaking, funny, poignant stories, interviews and research on the many ways women are finding love, and redefining their relationships in Second Adulthood.”

Her new book, How We Love Now, is “the third chapter” in her ongoing conversation with women over 50.

Save the Date! An inspiring evening awaits!

“Reinventing Love in Second Adulthood with Suzanne Braun Levine”

Thursday, February 16, 2012
Time: 5:45 to 8:00 PM
Location: Community Church of New York – 40 East 35th Street (bet. Madison and Park)
Email: rsvp@thetransitionnetwork.org

Register for event:
Members: $20
Non-Members $30
http://bit.ly/AEsrrF

Our Newsletter:
http://bit.ly/zxF3Xl

The New York City Chapter has members from all 5 boroughs as well as some of the close areas of northern New Jersey and Westchester Country.  TTN NYC is the largest chapter with more than 550 members.

Photo by Eleanor Foa Dienstag

For more information about the NYC Chapter, please contact us at NYCChapter@thetransitionnetwork.org.

The chapter’s vitality is reflected in the opportunities available to members to make new connections, learn, grow and enjoy this stage in our lives. 

Monthly meetings are on the Third Thursday when TTN women gather to socialize, welcome new members, and find out what’s happening in the chapter.  There are also special events and peer groups to join.

THE TRANSITION NETWORK (TTN) is an inclusive community of professional women, 50 and forward whose changing life situations lead them to seek new connections, resources, and opportunities. For additional information, see: www.thetransitionnetwork.org

I am happy to report that I am now blogging on Huff/Post50. My first post is up today – “We Still Undress in the Dark, But the Sex Is Great!”

I am delighted to have this opportunity to join a busy and thought-provoking on-line outpost of the ongoing conversation about women in Second Adulthood that began with my first book Inventing The Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood back in 204. 50 Is the New Fifty: 10 Life Lessons for Women in Second Adulthood (2008) distilled some of the wisdom that we are accumulating about this life experience.

My next book – How We Love Now: Sex and the New Intimacy in Second Adulthood – continues the conversation…

Take a look at Huff/Post50 and share your Comments there!

Click Here to Pre-Order
ON SALE DATE: JANUARY 2, 2012

Thousands of women in their fifties, sixties and seventies are living – and defining a totally new love narrative. Whether they are already experiencing intimacy or joy – and great sex! – or need the inspiration and support to go for it, readers will be energized and motivated by the stories of new ways of loving in How We Love Now: Sex and the New Intimacy in Second Adulthood…

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE IN LOVE NOW?
LET ME COUNT THE WAYS…

The kinds of love we can experience in a lifetime are limited only by imagination and circumstances. Yet for too many women the notion of finding or reinvigorating intimate relationships at midlife seems preposterous; they have bought into the conventional wisdom that menopause is the last stop on the road to loneliness and decline.

They need to hear from the increasing number of other women who are living — and defining — a totally new love narrative. Their stories are fresh and surprising. By the time she reaches the empowering stage of Second Adulthood, a woman’s wants and needs are different, and the women in this book are fulfilling those unfamiliar desires — in both flesh and spirit. Not only are they still lusting and loving as they age, they are enjoying it more than ever…

The first thing they tell me is that they are amazed by how unexpected this new aspect of their lives is. “I can’t believe that I am telling you this…” or “I can’t believe I am doing this…” Some report that are astonished to be finding the Real Thing–at last. Others delight in the rediscovery and reinvention of what has been there all along. There are those who are celebrating a different option – the freedom they are building into their relationships or the simple fun of “no strings attached.” The common thread is the surprise and wonder at the new dimensions to their own capacity for love. That expansion of possibilities extends from new frontiers of sex to profound commitments to people and projects that – although they make not get the dopamine flowing – feel very good indeed. My goal in this book is to map that unexplored territory.

LET ME COUNT THE WAYS – Anecdotes women have shared with me give a glimpse at the range of love stories out there…

“I have fallen in love–with a short, balding, and very shy guy,” a fifty-two-year-old bride tells me with a tinge of disbelief.

“I don’t mind the way I would have in the past that he has only a GED while I have two master’s degrees; he has a Ph.D. in life experience.”

“All the things you worry about when you haven’t dated as long as I hadn’t dated–about sexual intimacy, about being attractive–none of that happened. Your body just kind of takes over.”

“I was happily married for forty years, but when my husband died, I found myself becoming increasingly drawn to other women. I just found the intimacy so easy.”

“You may be shocked, but I have discovered the joys of one-night stands. I need a rest from ‘relating.’ And the sex is great.”

“I’ve come to realize I’m more comfortable as a ‘serial monogamist.’ I enjoy running my own life, on my schedule and when we get together, it’s like a holiday that never ends! It’s time we broke out of the married-or-single mind-set to realize that there are all kinds of relationships in between”.

“Now when I consider the prospect of being in love, I am most intrigued by the possibility that I could actually be who I am…with someone who gets me.”

“Our love has mellowed into a deep bond of friendship and shared life experiences. Yes, romance is still there. But the relationship is not rife with the up-and-down mix of emotions there was in the beginning of our marriage. Rather, there’s trust, safety, love, and mutual support that only the years can bring.”

I also heard stories of commitment, affection, intimacy and trust that expand the definition of love itself.

Copyright © Suzanne Braun Levine, 2011

As psychologist Jane Adams put it:

“Whether you’re single or married, widowed or divorced HOW WE LOVE NOW will remind you of how many opportunities for getting as well as giving love already exist in your life, and how many more await you in Second Adulthood.”

For additional information and interviews, please contact:

Louise Braverman
Associate Director, Viking/Penguin Publicity
PENGUIN GROUP (USA) INC.
375 Hudson St., 4th Floor
NY 10014

Direct: 212/366/2752
Louise.Braverman@us.penguingroup.com

Click Here to Pre-Order
ON SALE DATE: JANUARY 2, 2012

Seeking the Buddha Nature in a Kayak

Gliding parallel the shoreline
Nanoseconds of now
And
Fleeting instances of the present
Come to pass
Along with skeletal shaped shoots
And clusters of seldom cut caryopsis
Advancing and retreating
Teasing the mind and eye
Making common cause
The competition
Between anticipation and now.

Joyce Ellen Weinstein
June 2011

Joyce Ellen Weinstein finds inspiration in the personal and emotional as well as the interaction developed through self, family and community, all of which are parts of making the whole of her unified body of work.

To learn more about Joyce Ellen Weinstein and her work, please visit:

Joyce Ellen Weinstein – fine artist
www.joyceellenweinstein.com

BlueStone Gallery
104 East Ann St…
Milford, PA
www.bluestonegallerymilford.com

Buy Now Amazon

We each have our personal demons that show up in the middle of the night shrieking a litany of worst-case scenarios: What if I don’t have enough money to support myself? What if that nagging ache is something really serious? What if I can’t figure out what to do next? What’s wrong with meeeeeee?

They can drain our waking resolve.

Here’s my advice – underscored by the point that there is no right way to deal with fear, taking risks, work, speaking up, relationships…and the changes in second adulthood. The only constant and Life Lesson is: “Nothing Changes, if Nothing Changes”:

Tell your Demons To Shut Up!

I had a friend who literally did that–out loud!–whenever she awoke full of doubts and self-pity. Another woman dismisses those panicky voices with a sarcastic “Thanks for sharing.” A stern”mommy voice” may come in handy here.

Engage Just One Demon.

The conversations that take place in the dark of night of the soul can be transformative. Single out just one of the fears that bring on a cold sweat. And stare it down. Finding a new financial adviser to review your “dire” situation, switching medications for a chronic medical condition, or instituting a weekly let-it-all-hang-out lunch with two or three open, lively women should silence at least one of the voices of doom. At least temporarily.

Next, we’ll tackle Risks and Work…

Copyright © Suzanne Braun Levine, “Fifty Is the New Fifty: 10 Life Lessons for
Women in Second Adulthood” (Viking/2009).

By Joyce Ellen Weinstein

During the late 1960’s and into the 70’s I was a commercial textile designer working in the garment center in New York City to support myself and two children.

My boss at that time, the woman in white, was getting married for the second time.

The ceremony was held out of doors at a lovely location in the Hamptons. The bride was an exceedingly beautiful woman, smart, talented and very charming who attracted men wherever she went. The man standing next to her worked at the same company we did as a textile salesman. Although it may appear that way, he was not the groom, but her lover of many years.

His wife who may or may not have known of her husband’s relationship (everyone else did!) with the bride is placed at the edge of the work on the right. She is not quite in the picture.

Between the salesman and his wife is a woman who was the bride’s very close friend. She had never been married but had very much wanted to be. In empathy for her friend, the bride threw her bouquet in her friend’s direction so she would easily be able to catch it, which she did. You see her in almost orgasmic ecstasy.

Hope springs eternal.

On the opposite edge of the canvas is me, the artists. I am part of the proceedings. The strange expression on my face is due to the quantities of cocaine I had inhaled along with the others in the painting. It was at time cocaine was ubiquitous as a sign of affluence.

Second Wedding (1985) – an oil painting on linen is an autobiographical work. It is 54” x 62”. All the people in the painting are real (left to right): Me (the artist), the bride, the salesman, the friend and the wife.

Joyce Ellen Weinstein – finds her inspiration in the personal and emotional as well as the interaction developed through self, family and community, all of which are parts making up the whole of her unified body of work.

BlueStone Gallery – Fine and Functional Art

104 East Ann Street

Milford, PA 18337

570.296.9999

www.bluestonegallerymilford.com

www.bluestonegallerymilford.com/artists/weinstein

www.joyceellenweinstein.com

Showing a bit of attitude with my friends. (I’m the one in the middle)

By Mary Eileen Williams
Founder, Feisty Side of Fifty

Boomers are the first generation of women to openly claim our rights to personal power and parity with men since the decline of the Goddess cultures. The first feminists fought long and hard for women’s suffrage. But, once they got the vote, many seemed to lose steam and returned to stoke the home fires. Rosie the Riveter was the first female to roll up her sleeves and openly display a formidable muscle, at war’s end she was quickly pushed out of the factory – asked to trade in her blowtorch for an apron.

But boomer women have more or less kept breaking new ground in issues of authority, control, and gender politics (thank you Hillary Clinton and cohorts). Moreover, now that most of us have passed our half-century birthday, our sense of personal power surfaces like never before. Hormonal changes, pent up personal needs after years spent deferring our own to favor those of our children, and the growing knowledge that we won’t be around forever, combine to create a mighty, menopausal drive. Midlife calls us to refocus, individuate, and access our own sense of mastery and achievement.

In light of this drive, Gloria Feldt and Suzanne Braun Levine have joined me on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio to share their thoughts on claiming and enhancing this menopausal gift. Both have lived their entire professional lives in the epicenter of the Women’s Movement and are well versed on the topic. Gloria’s latest book: No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power and Suzanne’s most recent work: Fifty is the New Fifty: 10 Life Lessons for Women in Second Adulthood combine to create the ideal framework from which to identify ways we can access our growing personal power.

I invite you to invest 30-minutes, listen to the show, and make a giant leap in your own journey towards personal fulfillment. Both Gloria and Suzanne continue to help us enhance the female experience in our years past fifty and your time will be well spent as you listen to their insights.

One of the categories I selected for the “Feisty Side of Fifty” blog is “Aging with Attitude.” It’s high time we claim our attitude, our feistiness, and our power and forever transform the way society views women of maturity. Boomers, after all, have always been trailblazers. It’s up to us and we’re up to the challenge.

Thanks for listening and tell your friends.

www.feistysideoffifty.com

www.gloriafeldt.com

When I wrote, “Fifty Is the New Fifty. Sixty, I hasten to add, is also the new sixty, and seventy the new seventy. And the women who are the new fifty, sixty, and seventy wouldn’t want it to be anything else…” I knew that we are a different generation than our mothers.

And, we are pioneering change for women in a new stage of life…

“Every time we look up, there seems to be a new frontier ahead of us. We don’t know where the next blow or blessing will come from; we don’t know how we are going to deal with it, but increasingly we are gaining the confidence that we can cope with whatever comes.”

- FIFTY IS THE NEW FIFTY: 10 Life Lessons for Women in Second Adulthood

That is why I am happy to celebrate “BEST AFTER 60,” a new site that is a resource and community for you and me. Founded by entrepreneur and women’s advocate Dianne Beaudoin Morris it celebrates who we are today!

Here’s what Dianne has to say about her goals:

“During our lives, the roles and opportunities for women have proliferated – the challenges too.

Our lives are not our mothers’ lives. Now many of us are moving into new and largely uncharted territory for women. I can see this in the lives of my sisters, my friends and my acquaintances. We need new information, advice, recommendations and inspiration. BestAfter60.com attempts to be a resource to help us to live our best lives after 60.

I’ve had a long and continuing career as a serial entrepreneur. During the course of it, I’ve been involved with many women’s groups and with individual women who have been inspiring and helpful to my life. I look forward to our continued sharing.”

Dianne Beaudoin Morris
Editor

FIFTY IS THE NEW FIFTY and an interview with me are featured on www.BestAfter60.com.

Join me and this new community of women.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13 – NOON (EST)

STRATEGIES & TIPS FOR WOMEN OVER 50 IN TODAY’S JOB MARKET

What Is the Major Issue that Is Holding You back?

How Can You Get Your Resume Noticed?

How Can You Best Sell Yourself in an Interview?

Mary Eileen Williams and I did a 10-part series on the lessons in my book “FIFTY IS THE NEW FIFTY.” Now, it is my turn to ask the questions. I will be interviewing Mary Eileen about her new book: “LAND THE JOB YOU LOVE:10 Surefire Strategies

Mary Eileen says “many women over 50 (and men) fear ageism in our culture and it may be holding them back.” Mary Eileen’s been a job search specialist and National Board Certified Career Counselor for over twenty years. She will be sharing her experience and wisdom in the interview.

Mary Eileen Williams is the founder of the popular blog and radio program “Feisty Side of Fifty” (www.feistysideoffifty.com). about her new book: “LAND THE JOB YOU LOVE! Friday, August 13^th (Noon, EST) on her radio program http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feisty-side-of-fifty.  The good news is you will be able to access the broadcast after initial live broadcast.

Join us on Friday August 13.

Get Started looking for work the FEISTY WAY &

“LAND THE JOB YOU LOVE!”

Post Your Questions for Eileen here!