When I turned 60, I didn't want to be seen as a "dried up old hag," a "little old lady" or as any of the other terrible images our culture offers. I didn't want those stereotypes applied to any other woman either so I published a book to help create new, vibrant and positive images of older women. Here are some editorial reviews and excerpts to give you a sense of what the book is about. You can also find customer reviews at
http://www.amazon.com/Still-Going-Strong-Memoirs-Stories/product-reviews/0789028700/ref=sr_1_1_c
Editorial Reviews
"Janet Amalia Weinberg, you have created a wonderful volume. This 80+ year-old woman thanks you." -- Rose Dobrof, DSW, Brookdale Professor of Gerontology, Hunter College, City University of New York; Editor, Journal of Gerontological Social Work
"MOST ENJOYABLE. . . Heartwarming. . . A PLEASURE TO READ." -- Frances Sternhagen, Actress, currently in Steel Magnolias on Broadway
This anthology MAKES ME LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING OLDER. A quick and enjoyable read, it passes my 'good book test' -- D. J. Shedlock, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, Human Development Program, Department of Psychology, SUNY Oswego
"MOST ENJOYABLE. . . Heartwarming. . . A PLEASURE TO READ." -- Frances Sternhagen, Actress, currently in Steel Magnolias on Broadway
This anthology MAKES ME LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING OLDER. A quick and enjoyable read, it passes my 'good book test' -- D. J. Shedlock, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, Human Development Program, Department of Psychology, SUNY Oswego
Description of the Book
It's terrible to get old? Life is all downhill after fifty? That's what our youth-centered culture may think but don't be duped. This book can change how you think about aging, even make you feel good about getting old! Discover a new, positive way of looking at aging with Still Going Strong: Memoirs, Stories, and Poems About Great Older Women. This exuberant, inspiring anthology celebrates the vitality of older women and shows them having adventures, facing loss, enjoying romance, and feeling more capable and confident than ever. The 42 authors included in the collection know that life after middle age is not the diminished state dreaded by our youth-centered culture, but rather, a time of growth and fulfillment, enriched by the wisdom of experience and perspective.Get a taste of the passion, wit, and wisdom of some of these women:
From "Why Vermont" by Elayne Clift: It was great not to be driven by achievement. I was learning the art of laid-back living. Spending a day writing, or reading, was heavenly and I was reminded of my freedom whenever a friend said, "I'd give anything to be doing that!"
From "Gray Matters" by Marsha Dubrow: . . . finally [I] have decided to enjoy being a gray. It links me with a powerful sisterhood, complimenting each other on our gray badge of courage. A woman with dreadlocks resembling pillars of salt approached me on the street and said, "You go, girlfriend. We're gray and we're proud--and gorgeous." We smacked high fives.
From "Katherine Banning: Wife, Mother, Bank Robber" by Melissa Lugo: Crazy, you say? Well, wait till you hit 90 and realize you still want to live, that even though you're way past menopause you want another child, and that even though your breasts make tracks in the mud, you still want a lover, and that even though your hands shake, there are still things that you didn't get to do (like going to the Olympics and bringing home the gold) things you want to do, that you will do. Then, see what you're capable of. And you'll be perfectly sane. Senility, temporary insanity, it's all bull. Old folks know exactly what they're doing. One of the good parts about being an old fart is that you have a license to be loony tunes, to live the wild way you didn't have the balls for before. At 90, you see, your dignity's gone the way of dirty diapers, and your life is heading the same way fast. You have nothing to lose except the moment.
From "A Different Woman" by Joan Kip: My relationship with Seth is, I tell him, my great experiment. He calls me on every one of my tightly-held protections, and his pleasure in meeting my body is matched by my own freedom to respond. Ours is a relationship with no hidden agenda, no commitments. Our occasional evenings of uncomplicated delight are the intertwining of two desires who touch down and embrace one another, knowing they will meet again, sometime, somewhere. And while sex is not absent from our meetings, it is, rather, my compelling ache to be touched and held and to touch and hold that pulls me back each time to Seth. Like the newly-born whose being depends upon the enfolding presence of a parent, those of us who are now so old, glow more warmly when we, too, may share our tenderness.
Still Going Strong counters demeaning stereotypes of "little old ladies" by offering positive, empowering views of women over fifty. It is a hopeful voice that speaks to any woman facing her own future.
