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.
Mask Wars in Portland, Maine I was sickened to read in today’s Portland Press Herald that the vociferous mask wars have heated up in my hometown of Portland, Maine. This week the City Council passed a resolution requiring masks in all public places. The councilman, Andrew Zarro, who sponsored the ordinance has received death threats, [...]
Pat Taub
Last week I polled women on the WOW Facebook page asking them to share their 2022 New Year’s resolutions. Their responses surprised me. I anticipated that the vast majority would offer the typical resolutions to diet and exercise, but these answers were in the minority. Most of the women, while concerned with self-improvement, highlighted [...]
Pat Taub
JANUARY Mary Catherine Bateson, 81 Bateson was born to two famous parents, Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. She is remembered for her 1989 feminist classic, Composing A Life: eye-opening interviews of five women who describe the challenges of being a modern woman, balancing work and family. Cicely Tyson, 96 This beloved actress lay the groundwork [...]
Pat Taub
Being A Christmas Orphan The surging Omicron virus had me scuttling my holiday plans to fly to Chicago to spend Christmas with my oldest son and his family. It was a hard decision, but it feels like a case of “Better safe than sorry.” Like many families, who are separated this year due to Covid, we will Zoom or FaceTime on Christmas [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by MICHAEL STEINMAN I did not grow up in the tradition of angels, except as tropes in comic books and cartoons. Harps and wings, no no. I did not watch Touched by Angel or the Hallmark Channel. Frank Capra’s Clarence was all right because he was a homespun mortal, sweetly goofy. Later, I encountered angels aplenty in [...]
Pat Taub
This week I’m offering book suggestions for holiday giving. They include gripping plots by acclaimed writers; a brilliant thesis on climate change; an inspiring bio; and recommendations from my wonderful book nerdy friends. FICTION TO TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY Oh William! This is Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel, which I read in one day. [...]
Pat Taub
Aging has brought a renewed interest in the spiritual questions I grappled with during my late-night college bull sessions. Is there a God? Can prayer make a difference? What is my spiritual path? In my middle years I was too busy raising children and building a career to grapple with meaning of life questions with the intensity of my [...]
Pat Taub
Abortion Nightmare! This week the Supreme Court held a hearing on a challenge to Mississippi’s draconian abortion law, which bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Court’s conservative majority indicated a willingness to uphold the Mississippi law. In a very “A Handmaid’s Tale” moment, Justice Amy Cone Barrett suggested [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by JANET WEIL Like probably everyone reading this, I have been flooded with catalogs lately. After my father-in-law died, I handled his mail, including many catalogs as he enjoyed this kind of shopping for family gifts, and I started the mail order madness. Now I’m struggling to get off their lists. That made me think about what [...]
Pat Taub
For several years I taught the course, “Women and Aging” at Portland, Maine’s senior college. Without fail, every time we came to the segment on sex, previously verbal classes suddenly shut down. Their discomfort was palpable. Why are so many older women, among both married and single women, uncomfortable discussing sex? I [...]
Pat Taub