This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity [Paperback]

Susan Moon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2010

In this intimate and funny collection of essays on the sometimes confusing, sometimes poignant, sometimes hilarious condition of being a woman over sixty, Susan Moon keeps her sense of humor and she keeps her reader fully engaged. Among the pieces she has included  here are an essay on the gratitude she feels for her weakening bones; observations on finding herself both an orphan and a matriarch following the death of her mother; musings on her tendency to regret the past; thoughts on how not to be afraid of loneliness; appreciation for the inner tomboy; and celebratory advice on how to regard "senior moments" as opportunities to be in the here and now.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her mid-60s, Bay Area Zen practitioner Moon, former editor of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's Turning Wheel magazine, writes, I wanted to look right into the face of oldness. What is it? Gentle essays are grouped into three sections: mind/body, relationships, and spirit. Moon uses detail vividly in her determination to make peace with the many failures of brain and body (from forgetting her Social Security number to wondering if she'll ever have sex again), though not all readers may want to follow her into the intricacies of retinal detachment and an elderly mother on a ventilator. Her best writing occurs when memory, emotion, and spirit coalesce as she recovers parts of herself left behind in childhood or comes to terms with solitude. Overall, the book is long on dignity but a bit short on both Zen and humor, focusing on earnest self-disclosure. But Moon's honesty about the inner and outer realities of aging conveys an urgent reminder of inevitable loss; indeed, as she reminds us, I am not getting old alone. (June)
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Review

“Moon is like a Buddhist Anne Lamott--confronting her life bravely and unapologetically. Reading as a man in his mid-sixties, [I] welcomed her honest ambivalence about aging. Her style is conversational yet often beautifully vivid and clear.”— New York Journal of Books


 “A funny, honest, and deeply personal book.  This collection of confessional essays makes for absorbing reading.”—Mandala magazine

“Refreshingly honest and enlightening. In this sterling collection of essays, Susan Moon looks at the rewards, blessings, drawbacks, and challenges of aging.  We are so grateful that Moon has written this insightful book in which she passes on what all this has meant to her.”—Spirituality & Practice

“Gentle essays . . . long on dignity.  Moon uses detail vividly in her determination to make peace with the many failures of brain and body (from forgetting her Social Security number to wondering if she’ll ever have sex again). Her best writing occurs when memory, emotion, and spirit coalesce as she recovers parts of herself left behind in childhood or comes to terms with solitude.”—Publishers Weekly

“Moon shares stories of her journey, providing on each page the deep intimacy experienced with an old friend over a cup of tea, the kind that satisfies and leaves you wanting more.  She plunges below the surface to explore grief, depression, loneliness, and peace, without losing her characteristic wry humor and infectious delight.  And in the process, her stories become our stories.”—Turning Wheel (The Buddhist Peace Fellowship) 





“[Moon] does not shy away from any aspect of aging, from sore knees to foggy memory, but also maintains a sassy sense of humor.  Perhaps if more people were as open about aging as Moon is, we shouldn’t all be so uncomfortable with the idea. This is a great read for anyone pondering the future.”— Sacramento Book Review

“This is a book about aging, but it’s not at all depressing.  Susan Moon is a very funny lady.  Moon shows us aging in a breathtakingly honest way.  I found that I liked her more and more as the book unfolded.  This Is Getting Old is beautiful, warm . . . existential.”—Wildmind.org

“Moon’s stories are wonderful companions and guides as I go about my ordinary life.”—Maxine Hong Kingston

“Aging is the biggest issue facing me and everyone I know. This book is poignant, funny, and spot-on, and I am tremendously grateful to Susan Moon for writing it. I love this book!”—Sylvia Boorstein, author of Happiness Is an Inside Job

"This Is Getting Old is a sweet, mellow, funny, wise, sad, and deeply affecting book. Susan Moon's essays are so disarmingly honest, so personal and plain, that they will make you forget what an astonishingly rare and profound achievement this is."—Norman Fischer, author of Sailing Home and Taking Our Places

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (June 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590307763
• ISBN-13: 978-1590307762
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps navigate the joys and sorrows of aging, May 4, 2010

By 

Niki Collins-queen, Author "author" (Forsyth, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity (Paperback)

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Susan Moon compares her 60s "Consciousness-raising group" to her current Crones Group. The first was to resist and expose sexism the second to accept and realize "This is how it is" and ask, "How can I work with it. The women even found themselves celebrating old age.
Moon says it annoys her when people say, "Even if you're old you can still be young at heart!" for it implies old is bad and young is good. Her heart-warming stories in "This is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity" artfully demonstrate the beauty and wonder of practicing loving for a long time and being "old at heart."
She says the Japanese call impermanence and imperfection "Wabi-Sabi" where things are worn and frayed and chipped through use. Like the beauty of an earthenware tea bowl they are simple and rustic and show their age. Moon says, "I'm turning wabi-sabi. I study the back of my hand with interest: the blossoming brown spots...I'm my own research project."
To avoid self-depreciation she calls "senior moments" little coffee breaks of the brain; a stop sign on the road of life. She stays calm, lets the engine idle and enjoys the scenery. She says it could even be a leg up toward enlightenment.
Sharing stories from her life she talks about caring for an aging parent, health challenges, depression, fear, loneliness and spending a month alone in the woods.
With insight, humor and wisdom Moon helps us navigate the joys and sorrows of aging with more peace, gratitude, and grace.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A unique journey that some will relate to in parts, May 10, 2010

By 

atmj (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity (Paperback)

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A BIT DIFFERENT THAN I EXPECTED:
I guess I expected more and expected less. Susan Moon the author has written a book, about dealing with age-related issues, while also being a practicing Buddhist. Right off the bat, I would imagine, only a minority of people in the States are Buddhists, but since she has written other books on Buddhism, she may well have a following. However for the rest of us, when we consider Buddhism, we imagine, these older monks, moving gracefully into old age and gently fading away. Well the author seems to be aging just like the rest of us... Not so gracefully and with no intention of fading away.

A UNIQUE JOURNEY THAT SOME WILL RELATE TO IN PARTS:
This book is the author's personal journey, which may or may not make it relevant to the rest of us. But, in all, many issues were definitely common age-related issues: Diminished capacities, Health issues and Loneliness. We all remember the day's of contemplating "firsts". Now we are contemplating "lasts" and that is not quite as much fun.

The book weaves in and out of the author's life. She hits various milestones and points in her life and she realizes she is powerless to fight the changes.

Ironically one of her limitations affects her Buddhist practice and what I found odd, was the resistance (in her mind) to accept the necessity to change due to physical issues (not necessarily just age) within the practice. I know nothing of Buddhism, but it seemed counter to what I would expect.

A very sad part in the book on the death of her Mother captures that frustrating maddening experience of dealing with the hospitalization of an elderly loved one. Nurses and Doctors, do their best but often miss the human element of family entirely. I can see where the family was left hanging and trying to make the right choice and in some cases their input ignored. In the end, I'm sure they still wonder "What if?"

The author also captures the invisibility of aging. You would think as we baby boomers age, we would take the attention with us, but it seems turning grey is akin to transparent. She captures that well.

IN SUMMARY:
In all it was a well written book. However I felt it did not have quite the familarity that I was expecting, possibly, due to the author and my significantly different life experiences. A certain percentage of the book was devoted to issues she personally dealt with that are somewhat unique and not necessarily just with aging. However, she is a very good writer and I found the book a pleasant and informative read.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hoped for more, November 11, 2010

By 

Gerald Shifrin (Colorado Springs, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity (Paperback)

This is a very personal collection of essays about the author's progress through the inevitable realization of old age, sickness and death interspersed with occasional bits and pieces of Buddhist wisdom from a variety of great teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh, Norman Fischer, and Dogen. It may just be my personal preference but I would have preferred more of the wisdom and a lot less of her personal history even though I can relate to the way that those experiences are what caused the teachings to become real.

The author writes with a nice style - nice imagery and very relevant teachings. I just hoped to get more out of it as I make my own journey through the process of aging.