Destination Fabulous: Finding your way to the best you yet

by Anna Murphy

"What a joyful ride through territory that could be dismal and anything but joyful. Anna Murphy is wise and so very positive that reading her is like happiness itself."
- Geneen Roth, author of the # 1 New York Times bestseller Women Food and God

From the Fashion Director of the London Times comes a wise and entertaining guide to making the most of life as a grown-up woman.

We live in a society that seems to want us to be afraid of growing older. But imagine if getting older could be the greatest thing that ever happened to you.

At 50, Anna Murphy, Fashion Director at The Times , feels more visible than at any point in her life to date. Her new book, Destination Fabulous , is the toolkit you need to embrace your age and celebrate the wisdom and inner beauty that comes with it.

How do you lift and smooth your face naturally? Should you go grey, and, if so, how? How do you deal with the menopause? Anna combines her knowledge of conventional approaches with her openness to the alternative ways of thinking found in disciplines like yoga and Chinese medicine. For her natural is always best.

As for fashion, Anna knows better than anyone that this can be the ultimate route into surfacing the true you. She shares all her tricks for finding your way to a wardrobe that will transform not just the way you look but the way you feel. And she shares the highlights of her conversations over the years with super-stylish agers such as Iris Apfel and Miuccia Prada. How have they got it right?

Drawing on the wisdom of writers as diverse as Pema Chodron and Eckhart Tolle, Dorothy Rowe and Osho, Nora Ephron and Mary Oliver, she writes about saying goodbye to what doesn't serve you and welcoming what does; about forging relationships that work for you as well as others; and about finding your purpose, whether in your personal or professional life. Discover how the bumps on her road have helped her find her way to her true path. Her hope is that this book will help you to find yours, too.

Chapters include Embracing Your Face, Making Fashion Your Friend, True Romance, Your Body Beautiful, Finding Your Purpose and How to Live in Joy

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

Published May 30, 2023

Reviews

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a bit conflicted about this book. On the one hand, it is full of fantastic advice for women like myself in their fifties. There are so many positive messages about learning to love yourself and making life the best it can be for you. On the other hand, I felt a lot of the advice was idealistic and not achievable for everyone. Many women have challenges in their lives which mean they simply cannot put themselves first however much they might want to or cannot afford to follow some of the advice given in the book.

I can say that I have never written as many notes about a book as I have about this one! This is partly because my friend who chose this for us to read left little challenges or questions throughout the book for us to think about. For example, she encouraged us to think of something we could do together for fun and fitness, to reassess our wardrobes or think of a new hobby we might want to take up.

I totally agreed with the author on issues of growing older with no or minimal medical or cosmetic intervention. I would be too worried to have anything done to my face so I embrace my wrinkles! However, I wasn’t as interested in her fashion advice. I’ve never really been into fashion and a lot of the companies she mentioned have prices way outside the average women’s price range I felt. Many of the women she suggests that readers look up to see whose style inspires them are indeed very stylish whatever their age. But I couldn’t help but notice that they were all very slim. Perhaps it’s easier to be stylish if you are confident about your body shape and size. And on that note, I won’t be standing in front of a mirror with no clothes on to admire myself, thank you very much!

Destination Fabulous is a very readable book and it certainly made me think about many issues about being a woman in my fifties and growing older. I think a lot of the advice is maybe just not applicable to me at the present time but might be in the future. The overall message that women are all fabulous is an inspiring and positive one. The author’s thoughts and suggestions have given me plenty of food for thought.

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of ideas you can apply to your own life as you navigate the ageing process. Clearly aimed at older woman which is a shame as there is much wisdom younger women could apply to themselves.

[Tracey Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much a book by and for middle class (slimmish, able bodied, cis) white ladies - there are a few nods to diversity but little to acknowledge that, for instance, a working class woman might head into her fifties in a state of terror about future finances, or that a Black woman might have to deal with different body issues or social pressures due to the very different messages society tends to send about Black and white bodies. So it's definitely not a book for everyone. But if you approach it on its own limited terms there's a fair amount of decent advice on thriving in middle age, and it's a relatively fast and easy read.

[Pat Hawthorne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting book - I listened to it on my commutes. While I enjoyed it and learned a bit about a few topics, it is not super fascinating or particularly full of useful advice. It is clearly the perspective of the author and her journey to being comfortable with age which is also the general message of the book. It is aimed at women about to turn 50 or in that general age category. I am not sure it would appeal to those much younger or to those over 70. . The author knows a lot about fashion, but there is not a lot of specific fashion advice. Her mentions of women who dress well at 50 and up was interesting and I have looked up many of them to see images. If you are looking for more specific fashion and style advice, blogs and books are going to yield more valuable information for you.

[Nicola Wyllie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Destination Fabulous is a guide for woman getting older. I bought after listening to Anna Murphy on The Shift Podcast, (I recommend you seek it out), where I related to her approach to midlife and found it refreshing from a journalist that has worked in fashion. But this isn’t just about fashion, this is a guide to embracing ageing and all the benefits that age brings.

By sharing her journey and approach to ageing, from finding new purpose, to how to handle ageing hair, Anna provides lots of useful information and thought provoking ideas. It’s a book you can dip in and out of and I will certainly refer back to, to explore further some of products and ideas she recommends.

[Liz Bryne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but it didn’t hit the spot for me. It was too high level and full of references which clearly demonstrated the circles the author moves in but which didn’t resonate with me as an average middle-aged professional working woman. I liked the positivity and some of the ideas were readily adoptable but I wanted something much more practical.

[Helen Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

thought provoking and insightful

I’ve loved reading this book, it has something for everyone. Very inspirational, fascinating to dive deeper into past failed relationships and better understanding why, a path forwards into the unknown but without trepidation but more power to make better choices for today.

[Kerry Rhodes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting thoughts on living well, regardless of age but also aimed at the 50 + woman. A lot of referring to other authors. A bit of a text book style of writing. Not what I was expecting.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Drivel.

[Nathalie Larsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 rounded own because it really shouldn't have been a book - a blog at best, probably just a podcast.