Gifts of Age: Portraits and Essays of 32 Remarkable Women

by Charlotte Painter, Pamela Valois (Photographer)

Writer Charlotte Painter and artist/photographer Pamela Valois have combined their impressive talents to present these intimate glimpses into the lives of thirty-two remarkable women, each of whom has discovered in maturity the opportunity of exploring new and exciting challenges. These are the Gifts of the time, the freedom, and hopefully the wisdom to develop creative new images of oneself and one's place in the complexities of a long life. All of the women in this book are more than sixty-five years of age, and included are such well-known personalities as Julia Child, M.F.K. Fisher, Joan Baez Senior, and Louise M. Davies. No two have followed the same path, but each has been successful in achieving some new, frequently unanticipated distinction in her latter years. Gifts of Age is a fascinating insight into just how productive one's extended life can be, and inspiration for anyone who believes that the creative talent for living need not diminish with the passage of years.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

150 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1985

Reviews

[Carol]

Browsing my bookshelves to find a book to read in honor of Women's History Month, March 2023, I couldn't have picked a better book than Gifts of Age: Portraits and Essays of 32 Remarkable Women; Text by Charlotte Painter, Photography by Pamela Valois.

This book has been sitting on my shelves for years. I bought it at a used bookstore as the cover photo and title caught my eye. I paid a very small price for something I knew was a bargain. And then it sat, and sat, like a wall flower, wondering when it would be chosen. I think most members, and certainly my friends here on GoodReads, understand how a book gets lost in the shuffle of picking and choosing.

Gifts of Age seems to be out of print so I was very lucky to have picked it up when I did. I couldn't afford its price today. In addition to being over my budget, I'd call it priceless today. I was fully engrossed in each of these women's stories. Each woman, over sixty-five, through their few paged bios, their age, imparts some tidbit of wisdom of how to do so beautifully, with purpose and hope. Some start from early beginnings of marriage, childbearing and rearing, some have never married, some struggled to find their niche in life and how to continue this throughout. Many have some connection with Berkeley College and/or locale, but this is not their only commonality. There are many known personalities which I enjoyed hearing more about their lives, but also there were women I had never heard of that made my day, found me seeking more information about them, sharing their spirit and gave me pause to think.

This is a beautiful keepsake of what it is to be a woman, our choices, our goals, our ownzest for life, really, no matter the age. Each reader will have a favorite story and take away something different. Our commonality will be the women we are, readers, one and all.

”Old age is ten years beyond your own chronological age.” ~Kay Seidell
I couldn't agree more.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading Gifts of Age for the second time. I read it when I was in my 40s and am repeating in now, years later. I'm hoping to do another reread in my 80s. Currently out of print, but well worth hunting down a used copy. Definitely a GREAT read!

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are very short biographies of women of different cultures and lifestyles who have contributed their time and energies to different causes and how they were raised etc. I enjoyed reading about them all.

[Wallis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful portraits of inspiring women. Highly recommend.

[Abbie Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aging is not fading, but deepening. Not loss, but a fuller becoming.

[Jean Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful book. The amazing stories and wonderful black and white photos of thirty-two inspirational women over the ages is great to pick up and read one now and then. I recommend it.