SELF- INVENTION – The Bond Among Women of All Generations
By Suzanne Braun Levine
One thing about being an older mother is that you are constantly reminded of the truism that age doesn’t really describe the shape of a person’s life. Nor does our place on the family tree, the generation we are assigned to at birth. When my daughter was born I was 44, old enough to be her grandmother. When she went to school, I was old enough to be her teachers’ (and her friends parents’) mother. At the same time my contemporaries had long since forgotten about coping with babies and young children – they were on to the joys of grandchildren. My most meaningful cohort was other women with children my children’s age, but not my age themselves.
GETTING FIRED TURNED OUT TO BE THE BEST THING!
Change, Fear and Taking the Plunge
By Suzanne Braun Levine
I’m not big on change. Most of us aren’t. That becomes a bigger problem the more choices we have and the more restless we feel. Second Adulthood is about choices and restlessness and trying something new, but that means change, and many of us get stuck at the edge of the diving board.
“NEED A WOMAN OVER FIFTY FEEL OLD?”
An Editorial by Jane Addams, 1914
Introduction by Louise W. Knight, author
“Jane Addams: Spirit in Action”
By now it should come as no surprise that our foremothers did know a thing or two, but it is always stunning to come upon words of wisdom that are totally relevant today.
My friend Louise Knight, who has written the definitive biography of the reformer Jane Addams recently passed along the essay below. What is stunning here is how these words written almost a century ago speak to the current conversation about Second Adulthood or the Encore stage of life (just check out www.encore.com) in which we have an opportunity turn the wisdom, expertise, and confidence of our pre-fifty years – what Addams calls “moral energy”- to making our world a better place.
— Suzanne Braun Levine
“TELL YOUR DEMONS TO SHUT UP.”
We All Have Personal Demons…
By Suzanne Braun Levine,
FIFTY IS THE NEW FIFTY
10 Life Lessons for Women
In Second Adulthood
FEAR!!!!
We each have our personal demons that show up in the middle of the night shrieking a litany of worst-case scenarios: What if I don’t have enough money to support myself? What if that nagging ache is something really serious? What if I can’t figure out what to do next? What’s wrong with meeeeeee?
“Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes”
Where Do You Want/Need to Be?
By Suzanne Braun Levine,
FIFTY IS THE NEW FIFTY,
10 Life Lessons for Women
In Second Adulthood
Second Adulthood is all about change…the changes that befall us and those we generate. The first without the second creates a miasma of disappointment. The second, if it doesn’t incorporate the first, is frustrating and discouraging…
SECOND WEDDING: Hope Springs Eternal
By Joyce Ellen Weinstein
During the late 1960’s and into the 70’s I was a commercial textile designer working in the garment center in New York City to support myself and two children.
My boss at that time, the woman in white, was getting married for the second time.
THIS IS WHAT “70” LOOKS LIKE…
Celebrating Robin Morgan’s 70th Birthday…
This wonderful photo of Gloria Steinem, Robin Morgan and me was taken by Jenny Warburg at a party we and her son Blake Morgan threw for Robin’s seventieth birthday at Bob’s and my apartment….
“50 IS THE NEW FIFTY” CONTEST! Tell Us How You Celebrated the New 50, 60 or 70 to Win an Autographed Copy of the Book.
SHARE YOUR BIRTHDAY STORY WITH OTHER WOMEN & WIN A BOOK!
We’re celebrating “50 Is the New Fifty,” with a Contest for Women in Second Adulthood. Tell us how you celebrated the New 50, 60 or 70? The first 10 women to share their birthday stories will receive an autographed copy of 50 Is the New Fifty – 10 Life Lessons for Women In Second Adulthood.
IS IT TIME TO START YOUR OWN BLOG? THINK ABOUT IT… THE INTERNET IS THERE FOR YOU!
By Karin Lippert
Media Consultant
Yes, women are on Facebook™ and Twitter™. But, many of us want to take the conversation to the next step – create a community of our own or support a cause. This insight often comes after we’ve shared photos of the kids and grandkids – many, many times!
“BEST AFTER 60” – OUR LIVES ARE NOT OUR MOTHERS’ LIVES!
When I wrote, “Fifty Is the New Fifty. Sixty, I hasten to add, is also the new sixty, and seventy the new seventy. And the women who are the new fifty, sixty, and seventy wouldn’t want it to be anything else…” I knew that we are a different generation than our mothers.
And, we are pioneering change for women in a new stage of life…