While I’m an elder, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to dying, that is until my brother, who’s 20 months younger, announced in...
Pat Taub is a family therapist, writer and activist and life-long feminist. She hopes that WOW will start a conversation among other older women who are fed up with the ageism and sexism in our culture and are looking for cohorts to affirm their value as an older woman.
Becoming Resilient
In her new memoir, “A Life in Light,” popular author Mary Pipher offers life lessons on becoming resilient by moving into the light. For Pipher, light isn’t just a metaphor but a literal expression of how light restores her. Ever since she was a small child Pipher was drawn to the light. Her first memory is as an infant, lying on a blanket [...]
Pat Taub
Why Art Matters
“Viewing art is the closest we can get to the core of life . . . Art represents the essence of what it means to be alive. Art transforms us.” —Sarah Bouchard, Gallery Owner “Art makes my life better. I see art everywhere I look . . . not just in paintings but in food, in flowers. . . We have always needed art to make our lives [...]
Pat Taub
Spiritual Companionship
GUEST POST by JACOB WATSON At 80, I’ve come to appreciate that the most important component of life is the spiritual realm. I was awakened to this realization through my work with the late Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. She taught us that the spiritual quadrant is an equal part of the four quadrants (intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual) [...]
Pat Taub
Beach Bodies, A Great Read & Streaming Series, Elizabeth Strout & More!
Beach Bodies As summer heats up (at alarming temps), more and more older women are donning bathing suits as they take to the beach, swimming pools or lakes. While putting on a bathing suit can be daunting as our bodies age, the Spanish government has launched a campaign encouraging women of all ages and shapes to hit the beaches with the [...]
Pat Taub
Where Did Feminism Go?
Feminism has always been in my blood. Growing up I sensed something was wrong with the ways my mother easily succumbed to my father’s demands. In my college classes I had to endure the ridicule of male students when I uttered an insightful comment. I learned to stuff my anger to get along, until the women’s movement erupted, validating [...]
Pat Taub
Summer Reads that WOW
This year’s WOW summer book picks feature novelists who never fail to transport me, along with absorbing nonfiction selections on the climate crisis, racism, and mysticism. FICTION Oh William! Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel is short enough to complete on a plane or train ride. It’s the compelling tale of Lucy Barton’s ex-husband, [...]
Pat Taub
Rethinking Climate Change
GUEST POST by LINDA CREE Climate change is on everyone’s mind. The media, scientists, and policy-makers talk a great deal about it, and each day seems to bring a news story about melting glaciers or rising sea levels. Politicians are pushing solar, wind – even nuclear power – to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Addressing climate [...]
Pat Taub
July 4th, Katherine Bradford, Gun Violence, A Great Read & Netflix Series
Fourth of July My Chicago family, son David, daughter-in-law Mel, and grand teens, Jane and Max flew to Portland to spend the fourth with me. Jane, a funky art student, and I combed the local thrift stores and took in the Katherine Bradford exhibit at the Portland Art Museum, while Max and I binged on the Netflix detective series, Lupin. [...]
Pat Taub
Then The Line Went Dead
GUEST POST by MICHAEL STEINMAN A self-confessed dinosaur, I have always liked telephone conversations, especially the old-fashioned kind: two friends, one (me) on a landline, perhaps drinking tea, leisurely describing events but more endearingly, feelings. The telephone handset made possible the kinds of intimacy one might be shy of having [...]
Pat Taub
We Won’t Go Back!
Friday morning, I was driving with the car radio on, blissfully contemplating my summer weekend when my reverie was interrupted by a news flash that the Supreme Court had declared Roe v. Wade unconstitutional. I screamed in outrage before erupting into tears, crying for college friends who had back-alley abortions when abortions were illegal. [...]
Pat Taub