Customer Reviews

Getting over Getting Older

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maybe I didn't enjoy this so much because I am only 45 and, therefore, a good 15 years younger than the author. That makes us of different generations making her personal anecdotes difficult to relate to. In addition, I don't have a great career, I'm not married, I don't live in a large metropolitan & cosmopolitan area, I don't have a group of fabulous girlfriends to drink wine and compare stories with, and I don't have kids (and likely never will) so again, I found a lot to not bond about with the author.

The opening chapter, however, was wonderful and had me howling in my chair. I hoped that fun would be maintained throughout the book. Instead, I felt the book spent too much time talking about superficial aspects of aging like eating right, exercising, and keeping your mind alert by trying new things (well, duh!). She also completely overlooks the more spiritual aspects of mortality in favor of political discussions about women in society (important but not what I'm needing right now). There was a rather graphic description of a breast bioposy which was riveting (the author holds nothing back there and thank you for that) Maybe in another five years I'll connect better instead of finding this to read very much like an irritating upbeat "how-to-be a glowing senior citizen article" out of Good Housekeeping Magazine. For now, I'd recommend Awakening at Midlife by Kathleen Brehony.

A must-read for those 49 1/2 and--sorry--older. My sister (55) recommended it to me (52) after I noticed that some men I had dated were starting to die in their 50's. I landed on Pogrebin's
reassuring comment that death isn't a factor of aging but a factor of life with relief and recognition. She approaches the good, the bad, and the ugly (and what her grownup daughters label even as disgusting) with humor and the sense of sisterhood and community that are her hallmark.

This book was like talking with a close friend. I thank Letty for being honest, sensitive and very funny. If you are 50 it's a must read...I bought 6 copies to give to friends!

I found this to be the best book of its type that I have read. It is upbeat, practical and written in a pleasant to read style. It is helpful without sugarcoating or depressing.

While I had adjustments to make when I came into my 50's, this book didn't really help, as Pogrebin was far more freaked out than I was about aging, and seems to spend the book convincing herself that it's ok. I wasn't concerned with a lot of the superficial stuff with regard to aging... looks, weight, etc. So it was more the spiritual and existential aspects of life that interested me. But, even up to the end of the book, it sounded to me like a frantic effort to make herself comfortable with the aging process. Letty's mother-in-law (my nursery school teacher), Esther Pogrebin, was a true feminist who was always comfortable in her own skin and freaked out by very little - now, she could have written a terrific book on aging.