“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