If you live alone, if your family is scattered far and wide, if you recently lost a partner or spouse, if you can’t afford the plane...
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.
The Yellow Coat : A short story by Pat Taub
The yellow coat was an odd choice for Mother because she usually went along with what her friends wore, but no one else had anything that even closely resembled mother’s yellow coat. It was made of thick cashmere in a deep canary color with red buttons and a red lining. It had a swing back, typical of ‘50’s glamour, and a seductive [...]
Pat Taub
My Picks of Videos Featuring Strong Older Women
It’s a rainy night or one where you just want to stay in and kick back with a good video, but finding one you like can be a little daunting given the wide array of choices. To help you along, I’ve compiled a list of my favorites with older female protagonists. Most of them are BBC series. I find the British portrayals of older women more [...]
Pat Taub
Meaningful Aging
Guest post by Dr. Tami Yaguri (This is an excerpt from an upcoming talk on aging to be delivered in Dusseldorf on July 8, 2016.) “When do we get there?” Kids ask their parents the minute they get in the car for a long drive. The kids do not know yet how to appreciate the view outside the window, the road, and the sense of togetherness [...]
Pat Taub
Flashback Friday: Where Have All the Feminists Gone?
This is a post I published in February, 2014. Since we’re on the threshold of nominating a woman to be the Democratic Presidential candidate, who identifies as a Feminist, I think it’s important to examine what Feminism represents in 2016: who it serves and who it doesn’t serve. Having come of age during the second wave [...]
Pat Taub
Recommended Summer Reads
For me, good summer reads are books driven by immensely likeable characters and a great story. In this vein, I’m offering some of my recommendations for books you may find so engrossing that you’ll take them into the shower, before you realize what you’ve done! At the top of my list is A Manuel for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin. This [...]
Pat Taub
Liberate Yourself from Past Hurts: Practice Forgiveness
I’m writing about forgiveness this week after participating in a rich conversation on the WOW Facebook page following a posting advocating forgiveness. This conversation put my brain in overdrive, compelling me to elaborate on forgiveness, as I understand it. Forgiveness can be especially meaningful late in life. This is the time to wipe [...]
Pat Taub
The Education of a Grandmother
There’s nothing quite like the first time you hold a grandchild, experiencing the miracle of your son or daughter now having his or her own child. The baby looking back at you seems like a divine gift. And it is, but as time goes on and you settle into being a grandmother, the relationship gets more complicated. You watch your adult child [...]
Pat Taub
“Mary Page Marlowe”: Making Peace With Our Past Selves
This past weekend I visited family in Chicago, home of the famed Steppenwolf Theater, which has birthed numerous Broadway plays. My daughter-in-law treated me to a Steppenwolf matinee to see the trial opening of Tracey Letts’ new play, Mary Page Marlowe. It depicts the major events in an older women’s life: collegiate dreams to visit [...]
Pat Taub
Talking to Connie and Adelaide–Part 2
The conversation continues and gets a bit more serious as Connie and Adelaide discuss death, making preparations to remain in their own homes, while offering more examples of the gifts of aging. Pat: Continuing on the theme of mystery, death strikes me as full of mystery. How do you conceive of death? Adelaide: My image of death [...]
Pat Taub
Talking to Two Remarkable Wise Women: Connie and Adelaide–Part 1
We talk all the time: to our neighbors as we pass them in the morning, on the phone to family members at long distance, or over a meal with friends. Most of our conversations are pleasant, but rarely do they jar us, make us see the world differently and touch our souls. But every now and then, if we’re lucky, we have the chance to engage [...]
Pat Taub