We have been taught to approach age with such dread and loathing
(“Well, it’s better than the alternative!”)
that many of us are
surprised to discover that this time of life can be rich and
exciting
for us, and that we wouldn’t be 30 again for anything.
We’re more
likely to make this discovery if we can discount or actively
confront the ageism of others and our own internalized ageism.
| I like growing old.
I say it to myself with surprise. |
| — Barbara Macdonald,
author, activist, 65 |
| |
| It’s taken
63 years, but now I know who I am. |
| — Madeline Albright,
former Secretary of State, 63 |
| |
| I am more myself
than I have ever been. |
| — May Sarton,
poet, novelist, 75 |
| |
| It has taken all
the time I’ve had to become myself. |
| —Florida Scott-Maxwell,
psychotherapist, author, 80 |
| |
I feel there have
been all these roots underground
and they only came up at 60. |
| — Jane Fonda,
film actress |
| |
It’s wonderful
to be 60. You see how everything is related.
And now you can take the risk. |
| — Isabel Allende,
novelist, 61 |
| |
After all, I’m
81 — I’m experiencing an increased indifference
to people’s opinions — I’m not so scared
anymore. |
| — Olga Bloom,
musical director of Bargemusic, NYC, 81 |
| |
It’s a terrible
thing in women’s culture that you’re supposed
to be dead after menopause in our culture. You’re
not
beautiful any more, nothing. Since I was 60, I’ve
written
more and had better energy than I ever had in my life. |
| — Meridel Le
Sueur, poet, social activist, 86 |
| |
| This is the best
time of my life. |
| — Raquel Welch,
film actress, 60 |
|