I don’t want to close Women’s History month without acknowledging my history with women’s circles, to whom I owe enormous gratitude....
Aging
“No Time to Spare:” A Book Review
With my birthdays piling up I ordered Ursula LeGuin’s* new collection of essays, No Time to Spare, seeking enlightenment for my own aging journey. The book’s title was inspired by a Radcliffe alumni survey sent to LeGuin, class of 1951. She was dumbfounded by the question that asked how she spent her spare time. Her response: “What is [...]
Pat TaubHow Did Aging Become So Complicated?
Both of my grandmothers lived well into their 80’s, making an easy transition into old age. Neither one took mega doses of vitamins or exercised to stave off the Grim Reaper. Nor were they bombarded with advice on how to slow the aging process. They each continued to dress up almost every day. My paternal grandmother was rarely without [...]
Pat TaubParenting Adult Children
by Lisa Savage, Guest Blogger One of the rites of passage for an elder mom is when her children become full-fledged adults. Do they still need our nurturing? What’s the best way for a mom of adults to transition to offering support that both meets her need to nurture and her grown child’s need to be acknowledged as capable? Things have [...]
Pat TaubCelebrating the WOW Facebook Community
Today marks my 100th posting since launching WOW in August 2015. WOW came about when, looking for resources for my course “Women and Aging,” I goggled “blogs for older women.” To my dismay the vast majority consisted of advice on how to dress younger, lure a man, up your sex drive, cosmetic surgery and the like. In other words, how [...]
Pat TaubOLD HAIR, Guest Post by Lisa Savage
This year I took the plunge; just before turning 60, I gave in to old hair. I was inspired by Janet Weil whose essay on going gray was one of WOW’s most popular posts in 2016. My story is of course a bit different. A history of my hair would go something like this. Long braids with plaid bows tied to them lasted through kindergarten in Maine [...]
Pat TaubBook Review: Vivian Gornick, “The Odd Woman and the City” (An Older Woman’s Life Review)
This Christmas I received the new memoir by Vivian Gornick, The Odd Woman and the City. (The city in question is Manhattan.) It’s a book I’ve been eager to read, being a Gornick fan of many years. I read the young Gornick when she wrote for The Village Voice, documenting fiery protests of Second Wave Feminists. Later I read her mother-daughter [...]
Pat TaubWhat To Do When the Holiday Blues Strike
If you’re an older woman who lives alone; if your family is scattered far and wide; if you recently lost a partner or spouse; if you have limited mobility due to income or health concerns, you might dread the winter holidays, feeling like they’re a curse since they tend to magnify your isolation. To add to your holiday blues, you might [...]
Pat TaubDon’t Peg Me as Your Run-of-the-Mill Old Lady
In 2015 older women (and men) are redefining old age, embracing it as a complex, even rich period in our lives. We rail against the prevailing stereotypes of the bent-over elderly person hobbling along with a cane or a disgruntled old bag. We are a diverse group, reflecting a wide range of older adults. While I fit the cultural stereotype [...]
Pat TaubThe Trap of Being a Strong Woman
From time to time, I will publish a post for “Flashback Friday” from my prior blog. This post was first published in February, 2013. It remains relevant in that many older single women function well living solo. But when they experience loneliness, they feel unable to fess up to it because they are regarded as “strong,” [...]
Pat TaubHistory’s Mean Trick: From Wise Woman to Witch
For several hundred years during Europe’s Middle Ages old women played a central role. In village after village they were revered as healers, midwives, and caretakers to the dying. In the mid 1500’s as the Catholic Church sought to extend its power, the influential village wise women were a clear threat to a looming patriarchy. Church [...]
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