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The Astonishing Lives of Older Women: How to Create Pleasure Over Peril in Peak Longevity
216 pages, Paperback
Published April 7, 2026
About the author
Moira Welsh
3 books6 followersMoira Welsh is an investigative journalist with the Toronto Star, Moira has co-authored investigations that have won three National Newspaper Awards and a Michener Award for Public Service Journalism. She was a finalist for the Justicia Award for Legal Reporting and the Canadian Hillman Prize. She started as a breaking news reporter and soon joined the investigative team where she has written on social justice, the environment, and the lives of people living in seniors’ homes. Moira lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 17, 2025
A Canadian journalist presents an eye-opening look at the lives of senior women who are impacted by financial constraints in old age. Would love to see a similar analysis done in the U.S. Harrowing!
May 11, 2026
This review of the challenges that are faced by older women in our society is short on statistics and long on 'anecdotal evidence.' I don't doubt her thesis that older women face financial challenges as I have known many personal examples, but the lack of hard data lessens the impact of her book. Welsh's argument of gender based discrimination revolves around what she calls the 'pension gap' which results from the pay gap between men and women, and is made worse by the childbearing years when women are out of the workforce, taking care of family. The pay gap results in women not being able to save as much as men; the pension gap results in not receiving comparable pension payments after retirement.
Welsh does not really quantify the extent of this issue, however, she does provide three stories of women who are facing difficulties: Susan lives in her car, Pat found herself on hard times when her partner died, and Elizabeth lives a super frugal life to make the dollars stretch. Although their situations are tricky, none of these women are even close to worst-case scenarios. They are all middle class women who went down in the world, but still have resourceful personalities to make it through. (Pat particularly earned my respect as she founded a non-profit to partner up older women as roommates to save money). There are plenty of women who did not even start from the same point as Susan, Pat and Elizabeth, and have fallen from lower class status.
I think Welsh 's book is a good start to a long-overdue conversation on how society treats the women who devoted their lives to non-paying or low-paying caretaker roles and then got abandoned when their services were no longer required. (Welsh also deals with loneliness and sexuality, which deserves much more space). But there is more to be said, much more to be researched, and more to be done for the women who took care of people for years, only to find that no one was willing to take care of them.
Welsh does not really quantify the extent of this issue, however, she does provide three stories of women who are facing difficulties: Susan lives in her car, Pat found herself on hard times when her partner died, and Elizabeth lives a super frugal life to make the dollars stretch. Although their situations are tricky, none of these women are even close to worst-case scenarios. They are all middle class women who went down in the world, but still have resourceful personalities to make it through. (Pat particularly earned my respect as she founded a non-profit to partner up older women as roommates to save money). There are plenty of women who did not even start from the same point as Susan, Pat and Elizabeth, and have fallen from lower class status.
I think Welsh 's book is a good start to a long-overdue conversation on how society treats the women who devoted their lives to non-paying or low-paying caretaker roles and then got abandoned when their services were no longer required. (Welsh also deals with loneliness and sexuality, which deserves much more space). But there is more to be said, much more to be researched, and more to be done for the women who took care of people for years, only to find that no one was willing to take care of them.
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April 15, 2026I had a friend who often said “old age is not for sissies.” There is truth in that statement, and in the act of becoming older in today’s world. People are living longer than ever, and with age comes challenges and resilience, as it is not easy to navigate on the road we call life.
In this most important book, THE ASTONISHING LIVES OF OLDER WOMEN, Moira Welsh has created a very telling story about women and longevity. It is more than eye-opening, one that you will have you not only thinking about it, but likely discussing it with others. The author focuses on three women who have encountered varying degrees of difficulty in their senior years. They certainly are not exceptions to the rule, but are part of the elderly segment of society that is trying their best to live out their final years with dignity and respect.
The book focuses for the most part on these three women, Susan, Pat, and Elizabeth. Each story is unique, but they still resonate with the same barriers that women of their age groups experience. Susan is a woman who has been living out of her car. Many of us think this is a phenomenon affecting much younger people, but it appears this is becoming more common for those in their senior years. She could not afford her apartment and was forced often to wash herself in restrooms of fast food establishments. Pat is still looking for love, but knows it becomes more difficult when older men sometimes seek out younger women. Elizabeth wonders if the money she has left will keep her being self-sufficient in the years ahead.
The book in general talks about the bias that older women receive as opposed to men. Society it seems turns a blind eye to the plight of many senior women, who are still an important part of society, almost invisible sometimes. Welsh talks of the sexual aspect as well, as just because someone turns a certain age, it does not turn off the tap of pleasure. Women in their eighties and nineties as noted, are sexually active either with a partner or with themselves.
The pensions plans seniors have as they turn 65, are sometimes not sufficient and the guaranteed supplements do not also offers a standard of living where people do not have to worry about every dollar spent. The book is our wake-up call in many ways to never turn a blind eye to maturity, especially to the plight of older women, and hopefully will offer dialogue of a most positive nature now and in the future.
In this most important book, THE ASTONISHING LIVES OF OLDER WOMEN, Moira Welsh has created a very telling story about women and longevity. It is more than eye-opening, one that you will have you not only thinking about it, but likely discussing it with others. The author focuses on three women who have encountered varying degrees of difficulty in their senior years. They certainly are not exceptions to the rule, but are part of the elderly segment of society that is trying their best to live out their final years with dignity and respect.
The book focuses for the most part on these three women, Susan, Pat, and Elizabeth. Each story is unique, but they still resonate with the same barriers that women of their age groups experience. Susan is a woman who has been living out of her car. Many of us think this is a phenomenon affecting much younger people, but it appears this is becoming more common for those in their senior years. She could not afford her apartment and was forced often to wash herself in restrooms of fast food establishments. Pat is still looking for love, but knows it becomes more difficult when older men sometimes seek out younger women. Elizabeth wonders if the money she has left will keep her being self-sufficient in the years ahead.
The book in general talks about the bias that older women receive as opposed to men. Society it seems turns a blind eye to the plight of many senior women, who are still an important part of society, almost invisible sometimes. Welsh talks of the sexual aspect as well, as just because someone turns a certain age, it does not turn off the tap of pleasure. Women in their eighties and nineties as noted, are sexually active either with a partner or with themselves.
The pensions plans seniors have as they turn 65, are sometimes not sufficient and the guaranteed supplements do not also offers a standard of living where people do not have to worry about every dollar spent. The book is our wake-up call in many ways to never turn a blind eye to maturity, especially to the plight of older women, and hopefully will offer dialogue of a most positive nature now and in the future.
May 2, 2026
Before I retired, I worked in the group retirement industry, meeting with clients to help them save and invest for their future. Over the years, I spoke with women of all ages and in many cases, they weren’t on track to be financially ready for retirement. So that's why this book caught my eye.
This book looks at what life is actually like for women as we get older, especially now we are living longer than ever before. The book mixes real-life stories (with a focus on Susan, Pat and Elizabeth), reporting and expert input to show both the challenges and realities older women face. It covers things like ageism, gaps in healthcare, financial struggles, lack of relationships and intimacies and issues in affordable housing. Welsh talks to a wide range of women and professionals to show what aging can look like across different situations.
For the most part, I liked the writing style ... I liked it more when the focus was on the personal stories. It's an eye opener for women and the choices we have made throughout our lives and careers that effects our retirement savings such as taking time out to have and raise children, being a single mother, leaving an abusive relationship, etc.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2026/05...
This book looks at what life is actually like for women as we get older, especially now we are living longer than ever before. The book mixes real-life stories (with a focus on Susan, Pat and Elizabeth), reporting and expert input to show both the challenges and realities older women face. It covers things like ageism, gaps in healthcare, financial struggles, lack of relationships and intimacies and issues in affordable housing. Welsh talks to a wide range of women and professionals to show what aging can look like across different situations.
For the most part, I liked the writing style ... I liked it more when the focus was on the personal stories. It's an eye opener for women and the choices we have made throughout our lives and careers that effects our retirement savings such as taking time out to have and raise children, being a single mother, leaving an abusive relationship, etc.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2026/05...
April 13, 2026
This book should come with an alarm that sounds if you are in its vicinity, are past age 50 or so & haven't yet read it. There is so much eye-opening information about the current state of older women's finances & housing, but it isn't a dry, boring read. These are the stories of real people, people who are probably your neighbours/relatives/friends. Everything is backed up with statistics and numbers, no fear, but they presented in an integrated way. And best of all? It's Canadian people and statistics.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews