Going Gray: How to Embrace Your Authentic Self with Grace and Style [Paperback]

Anne Kreamer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2009

When 49-year-old Anne Kreamer saw a horrifying photo of her harshly dyed brown hair, she realized she wasn't kidding anyone. So she set out a plan: over the next few months she would give up her weekly visits to the salon and let her hair go its natural way. The result is Going Gray: an exploration of that experience and a frank, funny, and unflinchingly wise investigation of aging today. Through interviews, experiments, and surprising personal acounts, Kreamer probes the issues behind two of the biggest fears mature women face: Can I be sexually attractive as a gray-haired middle-aged woman? and Will I be discriminated against in the work world? In searching for the balance between attrectiveness and authenticity, Kreamer offers an entertaining and valuable look at the politics and personal costs of our definition of "aging gracefully."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anne Kreamer is the former executive vice-president and worldwide creative director of Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, and a co-founder of SPY magazine. She currently writes a monthly column for Martha Stewart Living and is a former columnist for Fast Company. Kreamer lives in Brooklyn with her husband, novelist and journalist Kurt Andersen, and her two daughters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; Reprint edition (January 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316166626
• ISBN-13: 978-0316166621
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I became a writer in my forties. Before that I'd been fortunate to work in a lot of wonderful places. In the late 1970s and early 80s I was part of the team that distributed and co-produced Sesame Street around the world. A few years later I helped launch SPY magazine, about which has been said, "It's pretty safe to say that SPY was the most influential magazine of the 1980s." In the 1990s when my kids were young I had the perfect job -- Worldwide Creative Director for Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite, where I created and launched Nickelodeon magazine.

At the turn of the century, I switched careers becoming a columnist for the cutting-edge business magazine Fast Company. After that I created the monthly "American Treasures" column for Martha Stewart Living. In 2007 I published my first book, Going Gray, What I Learned About Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity And Everything Else That Matters, and wrote a Yahoo blog, "Going Gray, Getting Real." Random House will publish It's Always Personal, my new book exploring the new realities of emotion in the workplace.

Although I now live in Brooklyn, with my husband, the author, Kurt Andersen (Turn of the Century, Heyday, Reset), and our two great daughters, I was born in Kansas City and will always consider myself a Midwesterner at heart.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Maybe a Magazine Article or Blog Post but not a Book About Gray Hair, January 11, 2010

By 

Terri J. Rice "ricepaper" (WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Going Gray: How to Embrace Your Authentic Self with Grace and Style (Paperback)

Interesting concept, does going gray change whether or not you are beautiful, your intimate life, your work, being a mother, being authentic, and everything else that really matters? And the book was interesting for about ten pages.

The author at long last takes a decidedly pro-gray stand and pretty much thinks those that can't stand the heat of going gray are a bit wimpy and not natural enough and lacking in character. And that is fine to say for a few pages which is when this book should have ended.

Anne Kreamer put way too much thought into a pretty simple decision and then stretched it into book length with the history of hair color advertisements, a plethora of quotes from men and women on gray hair, and number crunching about gray hair.

Wow! If you are into gray hair statistics and why gray hair is the best, this is the book for you.

It should have been a short magazine article or blog post.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In My Top Ten Books Of All Time, February 3, 2010

By 

Alicia M. Webster "perspicacious petunia" (Winchester, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Going Gray: How to Embrace Your Authentic Self with Grace and Style (Paperback)

I love this book--I love everything about it. I love the message that it imparts, I love the author's writing style, and I love that Kreamer was brave enough to tackle a topic that seems to be one that most people try to avoid. Why on Earth are women terrified to walk in this world as is (sans "improvement")? I hope this book inspires other authors to tackle other societal "musts"--leg shaving, anyone?

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking!, February 16, 2012

By 

LibraCyn "Cynthia" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going Gray: How to Embrace Your Authentic Self with Grace and Style (Paperback)

Upon making a decision about going grey, I read this book, which is a short read. Couldn't put it down. . . aspects I have been wondering about regarding this subject were detailed in interesting and captivating ways! The thought of "letting my hair go grey" was strange and intimidating for quite a long time, but reading this book made me feel much more at ease with my decision and actually sealed it for me. Besides loving the way grey hair looks on lots of women, I think it is an important part of womanhood that is often superseded by youthful depictions and aspirations. If you are hesitant to stop coloring, this book will be a turning point for you. Well-written, to-the-point, and often humorous, this book will entertain, educate, and amuse you. It will also be quite an eye-opener.