Customer Reviews

Painting The Walls Red: The Uninhibited Woman's Guide to a Fabulous Life After 40

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Aging is a conundrum of sorts. As we grow older we get wiser. We gain perspective. We lose a great deal of those immobilizing, everybody-is-looking-at-me insecurities that come along with youth. For the first time it seems that our hard edges soften. We don't take life so seriously. There is something liberating about aging. It feels relaxing somehow. At the same time, however, aging feels overwhelming. We experience health issues that we thought belonged only to our grandparents. We face retirement and wonder how we will survive on a fixed income. We lose those precious attributes (perky breasts, smooth skin, naturally non-grey hair) that our youth-obsessed culture seems to value over anything else. Sometimes I feel that with each year I age, I become more invisible. I am losing my innocence, I am losing my beauty, I am losing my voice in society.

This is where Painting The Walls Red steps in so beautifully and brilliantly. Judy Ford writes with an optimism that is nearly impossible to find these days. It is fine by me that the book does not offer any medical information about aging as there is an abundance of that available to anybody who does a little research. What we are missing, what we desperately need as we grow older, is tenderness and compassion which is exactly what this book offers. It is full of stories about women over forty who have all approached aging in unconventional ways. These stories are utterly inspiring. The women Judy Ford writes about remain excited, inspired, amazed and fresh even as they mature. Painting The Walls Red is not a book for women who are stuck believing the myths we are told about aging. It is a book for women who believe in the power of creativity, who work to keep their hearts open, and who want to live in awe. I guess it is obvious that I have been deeply touched by Judy Ford's work. I highly recommend this book.

Painting The Walls Red has a real depth that only those of us over 40 can really appreciate. Aging well means laughter and hope and Judy gives us both in this truly touching and often times spiritual approach to really living this particular phase of life. I give it a loud and enthusiastic thumbs up!!!

I loved Painting the Walls Red. It's a book that most women over 40 will enjoy and relate to. It's not ponderous reading like some self-help books. Painting the Walls Red addresses a lot of serious situations that older women face. Yet it's done in a way that doesn't feel uncomfortable or tedious. The book feels safe, like an old friend. I love the women's stories. And I love the way Judy Ford has introduced some "fun" things along with the more serious ones. Women over 40 often forget how to play and do the joyful things we did when we were little girls. We take ourselves far too seriously most of the time. Painting the Walls Red is a reminder that we can be serious as well as silly. That we can cry as well as laugh. That our age isn't what dictates WHO we are. It's our attitude and how we choose to look at life. I definitely want to paint one of my walls red!

Another brilliant book from Judy Ford. Opening the book at random, I am immediately seduced by her words on embracing the dark and the loving way she presents this experience. Then, I turn to a section on why it's fun to put lemon on pizza. How charming! She keeps all the rhythm and beauty and humor of her prior books and stil manages to add something new.

Jay Schlechter, PhD. Author of Intimate Friends: An Antidote to Loneliness

I enjoy(ed) this book immensely and am perplexed by the Publishers Weekly review that it "provides no medical information to complement her outlandish methods of self-empowerment." For me, this book is neither a medical book nor a book containing outlandish methods of self-empowerment. It seems to me that a professional reviewer ought to review books of a genre that they specialize in and about which they know something. For me, this is a book which encourages nurturing of one's spirit and emotional life after 40. I enjoy the book's charm, humor, and sense of sisterhood and I relate to much of it from direct experience. Highly recommended.

This book has a totally refreshing and charming way of addressing the real needs, feelings, and experiences of women after 40. I applaud the author for her great insights, witty advice, and outrageous suggestions. I went right out and bought a red sweater after reading this book and I am heading to the paint store next!

As a woman over 40 it was wonderful to read such an elightening book. It spoke to my soul. Judy's words and stories encouarged me to embrace all the parts of me as I embark on yet another phase of my life. I highly reccomend "Painting the Walls Red" to anyone who is over 40, will be over 40 or knows someone over 40!