The cartoonist, Lynda Barry, contends that most adults suffer from “play amnesia.” Living in these dark times, many overlook play...
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.
Winter Reads that Wow!
My favorite part of winter in New England is the forced hibernation because it offers the perfect excuse to lose myself in a good book while snuggled into an oversized sweater, flannel sweats and slipper moccasins. This winter the escape into reading has taken on new meaning— I think you know why. I loved Zade Smith’s Swing Time. I’ve [...]
Pat Taub
Be An Older Woman Warrior
Who’s the older woman warrior? She’s the woman who, into her old age, continues to carry the torch for change because she sees this as central to aging meaningfully. She cares deeply about the world her children and grandchildren will inherit. She takes a stand for what she believes in. She’s not afraid to be controversial. She figures [...]
Pat Taub
Women’s Sacred Circles
GUEST POST by Zoe FitzGerald-Beckett Throughout the years of my spiritual journey, in good times and bad, I have often needed solitude in order to be open to all that Spirit represents for me – love and hope, healing and joy, and the opportunity it provides to tap into a source of wisdom beyond my own conscious thinking. At other times, [...]
Pat Taub
Why A Blog for Older Women?
WOW is now 18 months old, but I’m still asked: “Do we really need another blog? Let alone one for older women.” If the world is rushing off the cliff, shouldn’t older women try to enjoy their golden years and not get distracted by the Trump White House? The very fact that Trumpism is taking over speaks to the need for the voices of [...]
Pat Taub
REKINDLING SEXUAL DESIRE Guest Post by Walker Thornton
When a woman tells me that her sexual desire has decreased I want to know more. What’s behind that statement? What’s going on in her life, or her body that causes her to feel little interest in sex? I don’t believe you wake up one day to find that sexual desire has suddenly disappeared. It happens gradually. Some of the factors that [...]
Pat Taub
I WAS THERE! WASHINGTON, DC, 1/21/17
I was on my feet for seven hours; almost half of that time was standing in place waiting for the march to start. The massive crowd made it impossible to move in one direction or another. This was a small price to pay for being among the 500,000 marchers who had come to Washington to send a message to President Trump on his first day in office. [...]
Pat Taub
WHY THE SUFFRAGETTES MATTER
Women all over the country are knitting pink hats, retrieving their best walking shoes and making signs in preparation for Saturday’s march for women’s rights and social justice, but it will not be the first time a huge mobilization of women has marched at a Presidential inauguration. A little over a 100 years ago, on March 3, 1913, the [...]
Pat Taub
WHY CAN’T I ASK FOR HELP?
In my 7th decade I’ve overcome some significant hurdles; I’ve become braver and more confident, but when it comes to asking for help, I freeze. Two summers ago I developed pneumonia. My strength was sapped, but rather than call a friend to pick up my meds or do a grocery run, I pushed myself to the limit. It took all the energy I could [...]
Pat Taub
OLD 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 Taub
Salvaging Hope in Messy Times
It’s getting closer and closer! Trump’s occupancy of 1800 Pennsylvania Avenue is less than a month away! Many of us are worrying ourselves sick over a nation under President Trump. A friend offers this perspective: “We are at an existential moment in our evolution as a species. “We’re in between stories: while one story is old and [...]
Pat Taub