Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty [Paperback]

Joan Price (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 13, 2005

Better Than I Ever Expected is a warm, witty, and honest book that contends with the challenges and celebrates the delights of older-life sexuality. It asserts that women over sixty are at the top of their game when it comes to enjoying sex.
Joan Price’s woman-to-woman straight talk transcends the self-help style of other books in this field. Yes, there are challenges to sex after menopause and beyond, says Price, but there are also creative solutions. She is on a mission to let women her age and older know that they can, in fact, have the best sex of their lives. Price gets personal and stays positive, combining her own story with candid comments, tips, and sassy tales from sexually seasoned women. She acknowledges the gritty issues that older women confront in their sexual lives, noting that it’s not easy, but it certainly isn’t over.
At age 61, Price is newly engaged to the man she’s been looking for her whole life. Her discovery of how great “well-seasoned” sex can be was the inspiration for this book. Sidebars present candid and friendly sex tips; fitness, exercise, and lifestyle information; and women's erotic vignettes—both real-life experiences and fantasies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" [Joan Price] spices the book up with her own experiences."—New York Times -- The New York Times

"Better Than I Ever Expected" gives older women advice on how to date and how to love." -- New York Newsday

"Price brings an upbeat tempo and infectious energy to this empowering and straightforward guide to sex for the older woman." -- Kirkus

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (December 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580051529
• ISBN-13: 978-1580051521
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm elated to tell you that Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex won two prestigious awards: Outstanding Self-Help Book 2012 from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and the 2012 Book Award from the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT).

I am an author, speaker, advocate for ageless sexuality, fitness professional, and contemporary line dance instructor. I invite you to visit my website at http://www.joanprice.com and to participate in my zesty blog about sex and aging at http://www.NakedAtOurAge.com/.

Please see all my upcoming and recent events at http://betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com/2007/01/joans-upcoming-events.html. If you'd like me to come to your venue, please contact me via http://joanprice.com/.

My background: For twenty-two years, I taught high school English in Italy, New York, and California. Then, in 1979, after a near-fatal automobile accident, I realized that I owed my life to my exercise habit and had a mission to share with others the joy of movement. I left teaching, became an exercise professional, and wrote five books about fitness and health, including The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book: 300+ Quick and Easy Exercises You Can Do Whenever You Want! and hundreds of print and online articles.

After one marriage, several serious relationships, and more flings than I wish to count over decades of single life, I found the love of my life, artist Robert Rice, when I was 57 and he was 64. We were each other's Great Love, and we were together for seven years until cancer took Robert from me.

The power, intimacy, and spiciness of our relationship led me to write Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex after Sixty (Seal Press 2006) at age sixty-one to acknowledge the challenges and celebrate the delights of older-life sexuality. I followed that book up five years later with Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex (Seal Press, 2011) after hundreds of readers sent me questions and comments about their own senior sex lives.

I live in Sebastopol, California where I write and teach contemporary line dancing. I travel widely, presenting upbeat talks and workshops on ageless sexuality.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 72 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging advice, and a great love story, too February 24, 2006

By T. Goldfarb

Format:Paperback

If you're trying to decide which of the new "sex over 60" books to buy, definitely choose this one. It is not a step-by-step "how to" book that might offend people, although it does cover every aspect of sexual activity--married, single, solo, gay, straight, young, old, one-night, long-term (50 years and even longer). Instead, the book provides practical, encouraging advice from experts and from ordinary women about the joys of loving relationships, dealing with sexual problems of menopause, loss of interest in sex (or your partner's loss of interest and/or ability), how to approach sex with a new partner, helpful exercises, and even a detailed discussion of sex toys and assistive devices. (I thought these were only for `adventurous' couples, but the book explains how they can make sex possible and more enjoyable for older people).

Plus, this book is also a beautiful love story which could stand on its own, even without all the excellent sex information. The writer chronicles her many relationships, from her first teenage romance (You'll be furious to learn how her father broke up what might have been a lasting relationship), to a succession of sexual affairs, including a short failed marriage. It's easy to see why she had given up on finding true love. But she never gave up on having an active, fulfilling life as a dance and exercise instructor, despite two devastating auto accidents that left her with many scars and lasting injuries.

And then, magic! In the form of a trim, gray-haired, older man she spots in one of her dance classes. These are true-to-life 60-plus people, not wrinkle-free, gorgeous-body super models, but the story of how their love and sexual relationship blossomed is a real page turner.... And be prepared for a few tears when you come to a troubling revelation near the end of the story.

This is a thought-provoking, informative, encouraging book you'll definitely want to share with friends. Read more ›

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Sex Itself: Fascinating, Fun, and Educational October 17, 2006

By Charles B. Price

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty by Joan Price lives up to its title! Like sex itself, it is fascinating, fun, and educational: a how-to book for staying sexually active and enjoying it as we, men and women, mature. With stimulating anecdotes and clinical details, it leaves no sexual arena unexplored. It encourages us to move beyond age and sexual stereotypes and better understand ourselves and our bodies. It gives a variety of suggestions on how to surmount dryness, wrinkles, flaccidity, and the like, in order to continue exploring the frontiers of pleasure and intimacy. Wise and very respectful, Joan reminds us "Great sex is what's happening between two souls, two minds, two hearts--not just two bodies." This book is a testimony to love and creativity. EVERYONE will learn from it. It is what a book should be, enriching! I wholeheartedly recommend it.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sassy Elders! February 1, 2006

By Rebecca Brown

Format:Paperback

Dr. Bond of Rebeccasreads highly recommends BETTER THAN I EVER EXPECTED: Straight Talk about Sex after Sixty as a courageous & witty guide for young people on the verge of discovering the paradise of sexuality, for older couples who have been brain-washed into thinking sex is only for the young, & for those happy lovers of all ages who wish to believe that the bliss of lovemaking will continue as long as they live.

After Joan Price agreed to write BETTER THAN I EVER EXPECTED, she circulated the following: "Wanted: Interviews with sassy, sexy women, age 60+, who are willing to share feelings and experiences openly and anonymously in a candid, woman-to-woman book" (p. 6). To her surprise, women responded abundantly, & were hungry to share their experiences & reveal the most intimate details of their bodies, fantasies, & relationships. Price uses quotes from these women's responses to illustrate her findings throughout.

BETTER THAN I EVER EXPECTED is an original book that needed to be written.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time - Thanks Joan Price! January 27, 2006

By John

Format:Paperback

What I love about this book is how lively, personal, and sexy it is! This is a 61-year-old woman talking straight out about her own sexuality: her first introduction to sex, her wild exploits in her 30s, her frustrations as an older woman looking for a relationship, and her affectionate, erotic, and often funny antics with the man she loves. I disagree that it's a "woman's book," by the way -- any man who's interested in how women think and act would enjoy this! I sure did.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book February 3, 2006

By Klio

Format:Paperback

The truth is, indeed, that it's better than I ever expected. Probably because we were brainwashed into thinking there wasn't any life left for us in our 60s. How fascinating to discover that there are many other women out there who feel as I do. Joan Price writes an informative, personal and witty book. I found myself reading it as though it were a novel -- couldn't put it down. Thank you, Joan, for sharing with us in such a delightful and intelligent way.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex after sixty works for younger lovers too February 13, 2006

By gidget

Format:Paperback

This is the very best book I have read on enjoying sex as a mature adult. I highly recommend this book to ALL men and women, young AND old. Although I am many years from being sixty, it helped me adjust to the physical and psychological challenges of pre-/post- menopause. The specific and detailed sex advice by Joan Price and her contributors have inspired in me a renewed confidence and an accelerated enjoyment of sex. The sexperts have helped me to supercharge my sexual enjoyment and outlook on sex at any age. A whole new world has opened up for me thanks to you ~ I love you, Joan!