Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age

by Caroline Paul

From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Gutsy Girl, a funny, inspiring, deeply researched exploration into the science and psychology of the outdoors and our place in it as we age.

Caroline Paul has always filled her life with adventure: From mountain biking in the Bolivian Andes to pitching a tent, mid-blizzard, on Denali, she has never been a stranger to the exhilaration the outdoors can hold. Yet through it all, she has long wondered, Why aren't women, like men, encouraged to keep adventuring into old age?

Tough Broad is her quest to understand not just how to live a dynamic life in a changing body, but why we must. She dives deep into the current research on aging, and highlights the results with the stories of women like 93-year-old hiker Dot Fisher-Smith, 80-year-old SCUBA diver Louise Wholey, 52-year-old BASE jumper Drew Brooks, 64-year-old birdwatcher Virginia Rose, and the many septuagenarian Wave Catchers who boogie board together in the San Diego surf. These women aren't experts. But their experiences and the scientific studies that back them up offer important insight into our own physical and emotional health as we age, showing that growing older is no reason for women to sell themselves short. Tough Broad is a high-spirited call for women to embrace the outdoors, not back away from it, in our fifties, sixties, seventies, and beyond, casting our own futures in a new and dazzling light.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Nature, Adventure, Memoir, Self Help, Biography

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2024

About the author

Caroline Paul is an American writer of fiction and nonfiction. Trained as a journalist and documentary filmmaker at Stanford University, she instead pursued a career as a firefighter, as one of the first women hired by the San Francisco Fire department. She worked most of her career on Rescue 2, where she and her crew were responsible for search and rescue in fires. Rescue 2 members were also trained and sent on scuba dive searches, rope and rapelling rescues, surf rescues, confined space rescues, all hazardous material calls, and the most severe train and car wrecks.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caroline Paul's book, Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age, is a fabulous adventure book that inspired me to think bigger and bolder about my next outdoor challenges.

The opening quote by Barbara Hillary, a retired nurse who skied to the North Pole at age 75 grabbed me, "At every phase of your life, look at your options. Please, don't pick the boring ones."

Caroline meets with phenomenal women who are between 50 and 80 years old who are pursuing unique outdoor challenges such as wing walking on planes, completing illegal BASE jumps at Yosemite, scuba diving, bird watching, surfing, BMX bicycling, and awe walking.

In addition to meeting daring women, Caroline shares research about adventure, longevity, and health. Some of the most memorable passages include:

* There is a statistical correlation between those who think of aging as infirmity and the fulfillment of those views. The opposite is also true. Those who don't think positively about aging have twice the chance of a fatal heart attack. Those who hold positive views about aging have 30% better memory scores.

* One's perspective on aging is the most significant factor of their health.

* Research has shown that those with positive views live seven years longer.

* Our later years should be a time of exploration, adventure, and joy.

* It's about claiming aspects of physical vitality, novelty, exhilaration, agency, and adventure for ourselves, right now.

* Nature is vital for our health. Chemicals released by trees strengthen our immune system and lower our blood pressure. Sounds of the wind, flowing water, and whispering leaves calms and relaxes us.

* Outdoor adventures are filled with uncertainties that help our brain grow.

* Our brain continually grows, changes, and adapts. By learning and experiencing new things, we create new neural pathways in our brain.

* Research shows that an enriched older brain leads to a longer life, better health, and sharper cognition.

The best advice in the book: First, never give up. Second, you are never too old to chase your dreams.

[Martha Schniepp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m an adventurer by nature, but always assumed I’d eventually slow down (voluntarily or involuntarily) as I got older. This book changed that notion for me. Not only did it give me new ideas for exploring, but it made me realize that so many of my best years are ahead. I pay more attention now to women in my own community who are showing us what’s possible with age. This book really lit me up, I recommended it to multiple people, and my brain is abuzz with ideas for my upcoming decades- how exciting.

[Sue Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an encouraging read! I’ve always suspected and experienced that outdoor adventures bring life and joy and through anecdotal and scientific evidence the author corroborates the long-term benefits of adventuring outdoors. Chapters profile individual women into their 90s who prioritize being active outside with such sports as swimming, biking, kayaking, and even wing-walking. Keep on keeping on, gals!

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saw this in my local bookstore and had no idea that two of the chapters were set in my town, so that was a fun surprise. I really enjoyed this book and the message of doing things while we're physically able, even if that means picking up a new outdoor hobby in our 60s or 70s. I hope I get to live that long to continue to experience the world and have fun along the way.

[Rhonda Lomazow]

Caroline Paul has written an inspiring entertaining book about what it means to be a tough broad.She shares the feats of tough women and women who are learning to be brave to learn boogie boarding at an older age.This book is funny warm real no matter how tough you are or aspire to be no matter your age.#netgalley #bloomsbury

[cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book full of BADASS women who are aging with a very different attitude about adventure and physical daredevil can-do.

[Christie Bane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already believe that age is, if not irrelevant, certainly not something that automatically means you shouldn’t stay active and try new things, so this book didn’t change my beliefs; it validated them. It’s full of stories about women who either took up new outdoor hobbies at what society considers an advanced age, or else refused to slow down as they got older. In case anyone hasn’t gotten this message, they should read this book. Very well-written and inspirational if not QUITE as inspirational as The Long Run (which I just read) or Nyad (which I just watched).

[ML Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a woman who is growing older (and aren't we all?) and if you are active or would like to be more active, this is a fun read. It's an easy-to-pick up and read a chapter now and then and inspire yourself. The author's writing style is soft and tender and very human as she describes these tough broads. Her admiration for each individual or group shines through. You may never think the same about bird watching.
Thanks for my daughter-in-law who was inspired to send me this book. Good call!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The inspiration found in this book is fantastic, as a woman getting older and missing the adventures of outside, it was a great reminder of all that I can still do.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

You’re never too old;)

[Elaine Herzog · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am inspired by the women in this book- stories of women who at an older age still find ways to weave in adventure. The writing is good and the stories are compelling.

[Ginna · Rating 4 out of 5]

So glad I read this now, will remember these lessons going forward!

[Melanie Chatten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! It was so fun, funny, and inspiring. I listened to the audio, it was great!
Aaaand now I think I want to sky dive, hahaha

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I consider this an adventure book about women who are 50 years old and older who are pursuing brave and interesting outdoor activities. BMX bicycling, wing walking, scuba diving and more. I think I enjoyed the bird watching and awe walking chapters the best, primarily because it doesn’t cost anything and it a relaxing activity and still gets you into nature. That’s not to say that I don’t admire and appreciate older women who are doing daring and adventurous things. Many of these activities require an adequate financial status; consequently, they don’t apply to everyone and might even be a “put off” to some who read this. Equipment, clothing and lessons all cost something.

Her research about longevity and health is not something new to me since I know it’s important to stay active no matter how old you are, but particularly as you age. We all need role models, and these women are an inspiration. The book is professionally written, but I must say I almost put it down at the beginning when the author meets up with BASE jumpers at Yosemite National Park who plan to jump from El Capitan. It’s not only against the law, but it also seems wildly crazy that anyone would attempt this.

[Marc Stephenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't seem to be in the target audience for this book, but I think that it is fair to say that the structure of the book directly led to its unevenness. The book is basically structured as a series of stories of different older women engaged in various outdoor activities that people might not normally associate with older women. Maybe I was looking for some more personal insight from the author or maybe I just missed it, but it fell a bit flat to me. As each chapter was about a different person in a different activity, it was naturally uneven in terms of how interesting I found it at any particular point. Not bad at all, and I could certainly see it as inspiring to some, but it was a bit of a slog for me.

[Bonnie Ferguson Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great literary work but interesting subject matter covering older women doing fascinating activities. A good lesson in no letting age slow you down.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that spoke to my soul. Caroline's other book "Gutsy Girl" is a book I bought each of my girls their one copy and we read out loud together when they were young. I want my girls to grow up excited about adventures. This book though-- it spoke to my soul about my self-proclaimed calling in life! I want to get women out and moving and adventuring because I truly believe it's life changing. Below are the quotes I loved- more for me to remember/keep.

"I love my late fifties, finding in them a solidity of self, a peace of mind, a true happiness unbuffeted by the insecurities and tumult of earlier years—youth’s abject self-consciousness, hapless communication skills, and angst about everything ranging from appearance to sex to what everyone else is thinking."

"At some age—it probably lies within a range—many women start believing that they can’t, or shouldn’t, be out there. Out there, as in the out-of-doors. Out there, as in a little bit unruly, a little off the beaten path. Out there, as in learning something new (my friend John took up flying ultralights in his mid-sixties), out there as in pushing physical comfort zones (Andy, at seventy-two, still paddles his surfboard into frigid and heavy winter swells). I’m not speaking about freaky, hair-raising danger, or overwhelming physical stress. I’m talking about a version of outdoor adventure that fits the realities of our age but doesn’t succumb to the falsehoods—that as older women we are fragile, possibly mentally dotty, certainly not qualified to do anything but take constant precautions."

"The real peril for us as we age is a sedentary life that lacks pizzazz and challenge. And I’m a lifelong adventurer: surely, I can continue to defy societal messaging while also gracefully accepting the very real fact that my body is changing, that I am weaker, slower, creakier. Ultimately, I’m my best self in the outdoors—curious, brave, and present. That in turn gives me confidence and optimism. All these seem like character traits I should hold on to as I age."

"What is adventure, anyway? You’re on an adventure when you’re reaching for a goal you’ve set, feeling physically and mentally engaged, maybe learning something new. It’s when you’re pushing your comfort zone, and experiencing exhilaration. And having fun. Always fun. Adventure, I believe, is within the reach of almost everyone, in spite of the differences in our physical, fiscal, and social situations."

"This is not a book about adrenaline, it is a book about exhilaration. It is not about bravado, it is about bravery. It is not about athleticism, it is about health. It is not about exclusivity, it is about inclusion. Finally, it is about fulfillment—a paean not just to outdoor adventure, but to your outdoor adventure."

"I was also interested in how older women came to Shawn to help them change their bodies into sleek, younger machines. Instead, Shawn has made it clear that it’s not enough to cut fat and add a few muscles—that it is adventure that many of us crave."

"When it comes to longevity, one’s perspective is not just a significant factor, it is the most significant factor. It matters even more than variables like one’s physical health, education, or financial situation."

"Look, life doesn’t end at forty or fifty,” she says. “And you have a choice. You can be a couch potato, or you can decide that whatever ails you is insignificant.”

"Go outside, often, sometimes in wild places. Bring friends or not. Breathe. —FLORENCE WILLIAMS, AGE FIFTY-FIVE, AUTHOR, THE NATURE FIX"

"Studies prove over and over that older people who exercise are rewarded with lower blood pressure, increased muscle strength, improved heart health, and a plethora of new brain cells, facilitating learning and memory. But Dot also insists on being outside when she walks, and this, it turns out, may be the more important reason for her crackling energy and ageless pizzazz."

"Fifteen to forty-five minutes in a natural setting of any sort increases well-being; five hours a month is the prescription for ongoing emotional and physical restoration. More is better, though, and the wilder and more remote the green space, the better it is for you."

"There is a strong suggestion from the data that you will simply live longer if you move more."

"We all have issues. The secret to successful aging is to recognize one’s issues and adapt accordingly. —JANE BRODY, AGE EIGHTY, FORMER NEW YORK TIMES HEALTH COLUMNIST"

“How to live your best life is to make sure you’re exploring.”

"Do not think your greatest accomplishments are going to happen in your comfort zone,”

"It’s just so sad when people say, oh, I’m fifty, I can’t … fill in the blank. Try it anyway! Who cares! You might be surprised. —DIEDRE WOLOWNICK, WHO BEGAN CLIMBING IN HER SIXTIES AND SUMMITED EL CAPITAN AT AGE SEVENTY"

"What I’m experiencing, I later realize, is textbook awe. The awe state is an emotion, the psychologist and author Dacher Keltner explains, “in the upper reaches of pleasure and on the boundary of fear.”1 Dread (yes), expansiveness, veneration, a sense of mystery—these are also all awe traits, “elicited when in the presence of vast things2 not immediately understood,” as a recent study states on the matter. This is a clunky explanation, but that is apt—awe is often beyond the reach of suitable words, even for academics and scientists. Suffice it to say that awe, once only associated with religious epiphanies, is shown to be triggered by any novel experience."

"Research on awe has exploded recently, because awe is not only, well, awesome, it is also good for you. In her book The Extended Mind, Annie Murphy Paul says that when we are awestruck, “we become more curious and openminded. And we become more willing to update … the templates we use to understand ourselves and the world.” Paul points out that as a culture we are badly in need of awe. Our technologies have brought most uncertainty to heel, and even our phone is an anti-awe device, its small screen size training us to think small, while it “enlarges and aggrandizes our sense of self.”4 Conversely, the process of awe “makes us feel tiny, even as it opens wide our sense of the possible.”

"There may be many ways to induce awe—music, poetry, the leap of a ballet dancer—but nature’s vastness—what Paul calls “the unfathomable scale of the ocean, of the mountains, of the night sky”—is a surefire awe trigger. “Our everyday experience does not prepare us to assimilate the gaping hugeness of the Grand Canyon or the crashing grandeur of Niagara Falls … we have no response at the ready; our usual frames of reference don’t fit … [which is why] the experience of awe has been called a ‘reset button’ for the human brain.”

"Behold, says the Christian Bible, over and over. Behold. What is “behold” but a directive to look closely and be amazed? Religion has long taught its faithful to be open to awe."

"An enriched older brain,5 studies show, leads overwhelmingly to longer life, better health, and sharper cognition. So how do we prod our neurons to keep firing with enthusiasm? Research points to self-care like sleep, exercise, companionship, and reduced stress, of course. But also: “Novelty, focused attention and challenge.”6 The more we push our neural pathways to confront new questions and conundrums, the more we keep our cognitive functions spry. In other words, when we learn something new, we nurture and energize our brain, and we live longer, healthier lives."

"Free of the insecurity and brainless swagger of youth, success looks different. It’s not acing a test in record time, it’s actually learning the material so it is of use later. On this go-round, I give everything more attention. No wonder learning feels harder."

“If you aren’t having fun every day, you’re wasting your life.”

"To be at play, researcher Stuart Brown says, is to embrace “apparent purposelessness.”1 It is participating in an activity with no clear function, just for the immediate pleasure of it, inviting improvisation, triggering happiness, and experiencing a “suspension of a sense of time.” Because of its surface frivolity, play is routinely undervalued by adults, Brown adds; it is dismissed as a luxury, a sign of immaturity, something relegated mostly to childhood. But this attitude is a mistake. “Nothing lights up the brain like play,”

"“The opposite of play is not work,”3 Brown says. “It’s depression.”

“What I would give to be sixty again.” That sentence is, I realize, why I am writing this book. There is a melancholy tinge to it, of course. Being old is full of hardship, it says. But it also says something else. My mother isn’t yearning to be young. She is yearning to be sixty. Who thought that this later stage could be such a time of promise! Certainly, that’s not the message we receive from the world around us. Our older years are a time to curl up, give up, they say. Yet the women I have talked to beg to differ. Many have insisted unprompted that this time has been the most rewarding yet. So I look at my mother, as I have looked at all the women I’ve spoken with, and I am reminded to do it now, before I can’t. Because why not? It is now crystal clear to me that this final stage can and should be magnificent, thrilling, full of growth and learning and human connection. I am also reminded how beautiful aging can be. My mother blossomed at this later stage. She is still out there, walking, even if it is slowly, looking, exclaiming, feeling, living."

"I am deeply convinced, from the studies that prove that a positive outlook on aging is the most significant indicator of health and longevity to the research that proves that Mother Nature offers physical and mental health relief."

[Sarah Ewald · Rating 4 out of 5]

If ever there was a book to inspire a person, older, perhaps younger too, to get up off their butt and explore the outdoors, this is the one..
It starts out with the author meeting some BASE jumpers at Yosemite National Park to jump from El Capitan. Although she doesn't jump, she does act as a look out in the landing zone. Being against the law to BASE jump, they are trespassing to do so, and they do spend a night in jail.

Okay, so that story doesn't exactly inspire me to take to the skies, but it opens the book to a myriad of ladies who take to the outdoors to do all sorts of things, wing walking, parachuting, BMX cycling, boogie boarding, surfing, and yes, some as sedate as birdwatching, and just walking and taking in nature. It is inspirational to hear the stories of older women who pooh-pooh the image of the stereotypical older woman.
From her chapter of her walk down into the Grand Canyon, she meets an atypical hiker:

"We arrived at the place where were staying, a rustic camp of old cabins and areas to place tents. There we met an older woman who I guessed to be in her late 70s at the time, but now I think it was more likely that she was in her early 60s. I remember vividly how thrilled she was to be there. She rhapsodized about the towering cliff faces, the wildlife, this once in a lifetime opportunity. 'The Grand Canyon!' she kept on saying, as if she couldn't believe she was standing on its golden soil, peering at its majestic shoulders. I was tickled by her lit-up face, her spilling-over enthusiasm. But I was also puzzled. She used a cane, limped, and was quickly out of breath when she walked. How had she arrived? The were not roads, no cars. Had she come in by mule? 'Oh, no,' she said. 'I walked the trail.' She relayed this to me with pride, And I could see why. The walk had been long and my legs were tired. And to do this with a cane? I was agog.
She talked about how her journey down went with her hiking companion. They had met a ranger who had cautioned them about being on the trail at night. But they were caught in the dark and spent a freezing night on the side of the trail. They had little to no water.
"So she spent a long and freezing night on the trail. Imagined the many miserable hours of no sleep and half sleep, barely protected from he cold desert environment, Then the many hours the next day of continuing descent, Yet here she was, beatific. She was offered the option of a mule to take her back up.
"The ranger offered her that, too, she said, but no she wanted to walk it."
Yes, she was woefully unprepared for the hike but she was taking it all in.

Then there was the story of Diane Espaldon, age 59, who was chasing a dream, that was also her nightmare. She was trying to learn how to swim, her biggest fear. Not across the Atlantic (like Diana Nyad), Just across this pool-that would do for now. She was facing her fears. We learn that she hesitates with her lessons, but later in the book we learn that she succeeded and was snorkeling in the ocean with her grandchildren.

The author meets with a group of aging women boogieboarders, who come from all walks of life. From that meeting:
"Aging is a lonely business, we are told, yet here at the Newcomers Club, Wave Chaser division, that isn't evident at all; everyone is milling around, ready to go have coffee now that the session is over. Lorine notes that, even more than a whole string of discoveries--that she loves the ocean, that she can actually embrace the cold, that she now comes to the beach 3 times a week just for the thrill of a wave--she was most completely bowled over by how much the community aspect of boogie boarding came to mean to her. After she began the sport in earnest she decided to venture into the surf on her own, and it was fine enough, she tells me, but she was struck by how it was missing an extra zing, some increased delight. There is something about going out in the water with like-minded enthusiasts, she explains. 'I've looked down the wave and the are 10 people on it, and everyone is giving a little scream with with smiles. We are all experiencing the same emotion at the same time. I love that.'

So many inspiring stories in the book, that you will feel guilty for not getting up off the sofa.
(In reading my book from the library, I found that there were pages inserted that were duplicates. Maybe my copy was an outlier, but just noted for all.)

[Marie Corbitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good! And so fascinating. I love reading books about women, especially older women, defying expectations. And doing so with so much awe and joy.

Some things I'd like to remember:

We need to see our possible selves in someone else's grand exploits. "You cannot be what you cannot see" said the civil rights activist Marian Wright Edelman, and she is correct.

"If I see something, I stop. If the grass is inviting, I sit down," she says, shrugging. She explains this less as whimsy and more as beshert, a Hebrew word that means "destiny," and a guiding principle in her life. On her walks, beshert callsher to follow what the universe is offering, and, though she may not know conciously, what is being offered is not just the physical health mentioned above, but measurable cognitive rewards, often by calming the activity in our brain.

When over a hundred million trees died through an insect infestation of the emerald ash borer, there was a correlating increase in cardiovascular and resperatory human deaths in the area. A shocking fifteen thousand more people died of heart problems. Six thousand more over the norm died of respiratory illness. Trees are filters, inhalers of polluting CO2, givers of oxygen, regulators of air temperature. On the most basic, physiological level - breath itself - trees are life-giving for us.

When I go outside
Every tree and blade of grass
Tells me I'm alive

"Birding is a gateway drug" to peering more closely at tree species and insects and flowers.

"We are all temporarily able-bodied," she told a birding organization, referring to the fact that even if you are lucky enough to never injure yourself, there is still the inevitable slowing that comes for all of us with age. In fact, I am here today to see how bird-watching accommodates those physical limitations and allows access to an outdoor adventure. But what I find instead is that the gifts are more than that - that bird-watching allows access to the terrain of the present moment and a mindset of complete absorption, free of negative messaging, internal back talk, judgment. It is just all about the bird. And birds are available wherever your particular body needs to be: your window, your stoop, a nearby park.

You must never stop being whimsical. And you must not, even, give anyone else responsibility for your life. --Mary Oliver

"The opposite of play is not work," Brown says. "It's depression."

***"There's no sage on the stage, just a guide on the side, as I tell my kids."

[PJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to this title the day after my 48th birthday. This is a perfectly-timed read for me as I approach the 5-decade mark.

This book spotlights the invisibility and/or lack of women (especially older women) in rarer outdoor sports and activities by interviewing at least one that participates in them.
In the very first chapter, I am inspired! I had to look up what a OneWheel is...and now I want one!
I like how each chapter is focused on a particular activity and a particular aging-related lesson and includes poetic descriptions of each activity. I enjoyed how the author writes of her own thoughts and experiences as a newbie as well as the experiences and advice of other participants during her research.
I love the inclusion of the viewpoints of BIPOC and LGBTQIA participants!
At first, I thought it was rather elitist that the activities discussed are either expensive or require expensive gear. But when I'd finished reading the book (which included simple and/or cheap activities as well) and absorbed the messaging, I realized that the basic message this book could offer is "if 50-98 year old women can do these spectacular things, you too can be daring even in milder ways; aging is not about the body crumbling to dust the moment you turn 60." I have been inspired to try new activities or to try modified versions to fit my physical/financial limitations.

Quote: "It's about claiming those aspects of physical vitality, novelty, exhilaration, agency, and adventure for ourselves, at this age, right now."

Most of all, this book is about letting go of what we've been taught about how the human body ages. Because old science was wrong and new science is proving that humans, especially females, can lead full and adventurous lives well into their elderly years!

And I've already pre-ordered my own copy!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't know if this is true of every copy of the book, but in the one I got from the library there is a segment of about 25 pages in the second half that is simply reprinted back-to-back. Not sure if this was intended as a test of whether I was reading closely enough to notice, but if so I passed.

That oddity aside......most of it was just alright. Certainly agree with the main messages -- positive attitude toward aging is helpful; nature is awesome; physical activity in nature is good for you at any age. Being very (VERY) afraid of heights, I don't think I'll be emulating the wing walkers or skydivers she profiles, but much respect to those willing to take risks in pursuit of adventure.

The structure got a bit tedious for me after a while. Each chapter seemed about the same -- author either participates in or observes, depending on her own skill/willingness, a middle-aged or older woman doing something counterstereotypical (BMX bike racing, BASE jumping........), quotes the person's go-for-it attitude, cites supportive research on aging, and closes with an encouraging summary statement about how you can do it too.

Major exception to this sense of being in a bit of a rut was late chapter on her own Mom. I suppose knowing the backstory helped bring that profile to life more, but her journey from overprotective, worry-prone Mom of young twins (author and her sister) to late-life long-distance bike racer was inspiring.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Do not think your greatest accomplishments are going to happen in your comfort zone." - Virginia Rose, founder of Birdability

This one hits a sweet spot for me - a book about women exploring the outdoors in all kinds of ways - seeking out and taking advantage of adventure in all it's forms and looking at the ways this connection with the natural world impacts the aging process. In Tough Broads, Caroline Paul explores the way women over 50 are embracing adventure and the outdoors in everything from base jumping, to paddle boarding, to bird watching. She speaks to the way the outdoors and physical activity improves the aging process, the way tackling new adventures challenges the brain and our perceptions about how we interact with the world, and the way these activities can forge social connections among people with a similar life view. While wing walking and base jumping are not going to make my list of outdoor adventure - they didn't when I was 20 and they don't now, there is so much in here about ways to keep life exciting and keep yourself open to the joy of new experiences that it felt like such a perfect read for me. I really appreciated the diversity of the activities and women profiled in here and the way she shows that adventure and the outdoor world have a place in everyone's life.

"At every phase of your life. Look at your options. Please, don't pick the boring ones." - Barbara Hillary. Retired nurse who skied to the North Pole at 75

[Genna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Yes, old age is about loss...But it can also be about gains—taking full advantage of what we have until we don't have it anymore."

Not sure anything hits quite like the mental image of a large group of women aged 70+ regularly getting together to go boogie boarding. Novelty, adventure, and embracing the inevitability of looking stupid while trying something new seem to be some of the keys to happiness and a youthful demeanor, as Caroline Paul so eloquently demonstrates in Tough Broad. Base jumping, BMX racing, scuba diving, and wing walking are among some of the adventurous and athletic pursuits that Paul highlights being undertaken by a selection of intrepid and passionate women who have firmly embraced the mindset that life doesn't have to end or even diminish after the age of 50. Alternatively, it's the ideal time for it to begin. Tough Broad is inspiring, invigorating, and heartening for women of all ages, particularly those who have dwelled on the thought of or experienced the implications of aging and the possibility/reality of a loss of vitality. Embrace the aging process, persevere, say yes even when you're scared, and raise hell.

"I am reminded to do it now, before I can't. Because why not?"

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been on my radar for a while, but with no plans to actually pick it up. However, for my Tacoma Library’s 2025 Extreme Reader Challenge, I needed a book with wheels on the cover. This plane has wheels!

I thought it would be about cool women doing tough, but out of touch things. But it is about older women specifically getting outside and doing cool things… along with studies on aging and how important it is to get outside and shake up their lives.

Each chapter profiled a woman doing cool things along with the author’s take on it. The woman on the cover with the plane, her story was particularly interesting. She took lessons to Airplane Wing Walk at the only US location to teach such skills: a place one hour from my house! I texted my adrenaline junkie friend with an idea for her next great adventure! She decided I was trying to get her killed. And she googled. The FDA shut that place down last year over safety concerns. Sorry, friend.

The story also follows a woman of color who was going to BASE jump of El Capitan. Um, that’s illegal! And it followed her story and eventual arrest.

It also followed less extreme people who were learning to swim at an older age to drive home the point of being lifelong learners and to push past comfort zones. I was pleasantly surprised by this read!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring and fun read! There are a few too many clunky paragraphs about whatever social psychology concept the author is weaving into the chapters. The degree to which this annoys me might just indicate I read too much of this kind of non-fiction, in which authors fall back on summarizing each other's TED Talks. (If I never read another reference to forest bathing or flow or growth mindset, it'll be too soon.)

But this is a minor gripe relative to how much I gained from the stories of women who refuse to limit themselves after age 50. My favorites are the woman who learned to swim at age 70 and Miss Kittie, a 74 year old retired school principal in Iowa who is also a BMX racer.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author interviews and goes on adventures with a number of middle-aged and older women of different backgrounds and abilities, and tells their stories in a straightforward and engaging way. She also cites studies that support her thesis that getting outdoors and out of one's comfort zone can improve many aspects of your life at any age. While inspiring, I found many of the activities--wing walking!?-- beyond my ambitions, but she also describes the physical and mental benefits of less demanding activities such as birding.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caroline Paul confirmed much of what I already knew but I appreciated the way she wove in the research to back it up in a very fluid way. Each chapter features a woman who is finding her own way to adventure physically in nature. It was inspiring and made me excited to get more serious about my outdoor life. I am not an adrenaline seeker but an awe-seeker and it was so reassuring to know that it’s awe that holds the benefits.

[meeshee1011 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to hear Caroline Paul talk about this book and the wonderful women and adventures she experiences as she was writing it. I savoured each chapter, reading them sporadically, over the last six months. If you pick up this book, don't be put off by the super extreme activities in the first chapter- keep reading- you won't regret it. My take away was go outside, move your body anyway you can, and find a community in those spaces.

[Judith Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are over 50 woman, outdoorsy, like adventure and excellent writing with some great reflections on life, you will love this book. Even if you are not over 50, you will still like it. I love the personal stories and great insights on what it means to age and still feel vital. Love this book!

[M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to a podcast interview with author, Caroline Paul, and I could not wait to read this book. I loved hearing her perspective on aging, and staying active and adventurous. However, the book is all potatoes, no meat. Also, no butter and no salt on those potatoes. It just wasn't as inspiring as I expected. After the first few chapters, the stories flagged.