Being vulnerable is generally defined as speaking and acting in a way that involves a risk where the outcome is unpredictable. For this reason, many take pains to avoid being vulnerable rather than chance receiving disapproval and rejection. This limited perspective overlooks the enormous benefits of being vulnerable. Abigail Thomas, the [...]
Pat Taub
The passing down of elder wisdom is an honored tradition among cultures like the Natives Americans and the Japanese where elders are sought out for their sage advice. Unfortunately, this intergenerational exchange rarely happens in America’s youth-obsessed culture, which devalues elders and their lived experiences. But as more Americans [...]
Pat Taub
When she turned 80, Jane Fonda told a Vanity Fair interviewer, “”I’ve closed up shop down there.” She was referring to her decision to forgo sex, elaborating that she had a full, contended single life without sexual relations. Fonda isn’t alone. Many older single women have joined her chorus of living into the sunset without [...]
Pat Taub
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day. These immortal words of Dylan Thomas are a suitable motto for Feisty Old Broads, older women who reject the stereotype of the accommodating old lady. The FOB’s are women who are fearless in their individuality. They speak truth to power, laugh a lot, have [...]
Pat Taub
This past weekend I hunkered down with treasured artist Maira Kalman’s latest book, Women Holding Things, a collection of playful drawings of women holding things accompanied by Kalman’s witty commentary. This delightful book prompted me to make a list of some of the things I hold along with those that will free me up if I stop holding [...]
Pat Taub
Birthday milestones are celebrated with fanfare until one reaches middle age and beyond when getting old carries a downside. A baby’s first birthday is a time when infancy moves into small personhood. Becoming a teen at 13 is seen as a beginning entry into adulthood. Other rites of passage are: obtaining a driver’s license at 16; earning [...]
Pat Taub
I don’t want to close Women’s History month without acknowledging my history with women’s circles, to whom I owe enormous gratitude. My sister circles supported me at the major crossroads in my life. I can’t imagine my life without them. In the ‘70’s there was the circle that accompanied the birth of my first child. David was [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by Dr. JENNIFER BEALL and Dr. LEIGH ANN HIGGINS Did you know that the leading cause of death for women is heart disease? A recent study revealed that 68% of Americans were not aware of this fact. For a long time, the medical community assumed that heart disease affected men and women similarly, but we have now discovered that heart [...]
Pat Taub
For Black History Month I want to honor some of the brilliant African American women writers that have left an indelible mark on me. I’m particularly indebted to Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Alice Walker, Angela Davis and Lucille Clifton. I read them in the pre-internet era of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s when face-to-face communication was [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by CATHIE WHITTENBURG The minute the dress code was done away with at school my fashion immediately became hippie casual. It’s basically stayed that way over the last fifty plus years. And while I have moved on from work boots and overalls, I still cling to comfort with the occasional splash of color. But here’s the thing, I [...]
Pat Taub