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Doing Sixty & Seventy
Gloria Steinem became a spokesperson for issues about aging quite accidentally after declaring to a reporter on the occasion of her fortieth birthday, "This is what forty looks like. We've been lying for so long, who would know?" Because of this casual comment about her age and about the collective societal pressure to lie about our age she received an avalanche of thanks and support from other women facing age discrimination. This caused her to realize the far reaching dimensions of age oppression. In her inspiring essay, Doing Sixty, Steinem shares her views on age stereotyping, the unexpected liberation that comes with growing older, and defines what she perceives as the fact that women become more radical as they age. The essay also sheds light on the forces that shaped her life and for readers who have only heard bits and pieces about her the essay offers a primer on her bold and logical theories. In the essay, Steinem describes turning fifty as "leaving a much-loved and familiar country" and turning sixty "as arriving at the border of a new one" in which she looked forward to "trading moderation for excess, defiance for openness, and planning for the unknown." In the Preface, Doing Seventy, written when Steinem is just past seventy and twelve years after the essay was first published, Steinem explains the development of her precious sense of mortality and time. Elders Academy Press is proud to have published Ms. Steinem's enlightening and thought-provoking essay thus allowing it to appear for the first time as an independent volume.
72 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2006
133 people are currently reading
557 people want to read
About the author
Gloria Steinem
118 books3,254 followersGloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. A prominent writer and key counterculture era political figure, Steinem has founded many organizations and projects and has been the recipient of many awards and honors. She was a columnist for New York magazine and co-founded Ms. magazine. In 1969, she published an article, " After Black Power, Women's Liberation", which, along with her early support of abortion rights, catapulted her to national fame as a feminist leader.
In 2005, Steinem worked alongside Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan to co-found the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. Steinem currently serves on the board of the organization. She continues to involve herself in politics and media affairs as a commentator, writer, lecturer, and organizer, campaigning for candidates and reforms and publishing books and articles.
In 2005, Steinem worked alongside Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan to co-found the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. Steinem currently serves on the board of the organization. She continues to involve herself in politics and media affairs as a commentator, writer, lecturer, and organizer, campaigning for candidates and reforms and publishing books and articles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 20, 2011
The only reason I didn't give this five stars is because I wanted more. It is more of an essay than anything.
"Aging feels like a process of the body, the concrete, the comparable, the mind. Making death real for even a millisecond feels like a mystery of the heart.
The older I get, the more intensely I feel the world around me; the more connected I feel to nature; the poignancy I find not only in very old people but also in children; the more likely I am to feel rage when people are rendered invisible, and also my own place; the more I risk saying "no" even if "yes" means approval; and most of all the more able I am to use my own voice, to know what I fell and say what I think.
I used to take pleasure going to the feminist seder. Lately I've been wondering: Why start with anything that must be so changed, so fought against? Why not begin with the occasions of our own lives and create ceremonies we need for births or marriages, adopting friends as chosen family or setting off on a new adventure, recognizing divorce as a life passage, or a new home as a symbol of a changing self?"
Gloria Steinem didn't break the mold, she made an entirely new one.
"Aging feels like a process of the body, the concrete, the comparable, the mind. Making death real for even a millisecond feels like a mystery of the heart.
The older I get, the more intensely I feel the world around me; the more connected I feel to nature; the poignancy I find not only in very old people but also in children; the more likely I am to feel rage when people are rendered invisible, and also my own place; the more I risk saying "no" even if "yes" means approval; and most of all the more able I am to use my own voice, to know what I fell and say what I think.
I used to take pleasure going to the feminist seder. Lately I've been wondering: Why start with anything that must be so changed, so fought against? Why not begin with the occasions of our own lives and create ceremonies we need for births or marriages, adopting friends as chosen family or setting off on a new adventure, recognizing divorce as a life passage, or a new home as a symbol of a changing self?"
Gloria Steinem didn't break the mold, she made an entirely new one.
October 5, 2020
A lot less about being 60 and 70 than looking back at her younger life from 60 and 70.
June 5, 2017
I've long admired Gloria Steinem. Her personification of modern feminism during the late 1960s and 1970s influenced my views and aspirations as a young woman. I still have a copy of the first edition of MS Magazine, the one with Wonder Woman on the cover, the publication that Steinem co-founded in 1971. Yet, oddly, Doing Sixty and Seventy was the first of her books that I'd ever read.
I knew something of Steinem’s evolving views on feminism and its intersection with aging from articles based on interviews with her, but as I found myself approaching the end of my own 6th decade, it seemed appropriate to delve more fully into her insights on these topics.
Reading this book made me conscious that that I have sometimes concealed my age to avoid the stereotyping (or overt discrimination) that frequently follows the sharing of that information. Steinem for a time fell into that trap but came to realize that “falsifying this one fact about my life made me feel phony, ridiculous, complicit and worst of all, undermined by my own hand.” She went on to describe her now-famous, off-the-cuff retort to a reporter who commented that she “didn't look forty,” meant as a compliment. She responded, “This is what forty looks like. We’ve been lying so long, who would know?” She wrote, “If all women now pressured to lie were to tell their ages, our ideas of what fifty-five or sixty or seventy-five looks like would change overnight.”
For people who have found themselves conforming or hedging in order to avoid criticism, Steinem’s words inspire courage. She wrote, “When someone judges me…I ask, Compared to what?….When I fear conflict or condemnation for acting a certain way, I think: What peace or praise would I get if I didn’t??” She goes on to conclude, “once we realize there is no such thing as adequacy or perfection, it sets us free to say: We might as well be who we really are.”
In this work, Steinem eloquently shares a personal journey that required her to embrace a broadened approach to life, to activism and to feminism itself. I wish I had read it sooner.
I knew something of Steinem’s evolving views on feminism and its intersection with aging from articles based on interviews with her, but as I found myself approaching the end of my own 6th decade, it seemed appropriate to delve more fully into her insights on these topics.
Reading this book made me conscious that that I have sometimes concealed my age to avoid the stereotyping (or overt discrimination) that frequently follows the sharing of that information. Steinem for a time fell into that trap but came to realize that “falsifying this one fact about my life made me feel phony, ridiculous, complicit and worst of all, undermined by my own hand.” She went on to describe her now-famous, off-the-cuff retort to a reporter who commented that she “didn't look forty,” meant as a compliment. She responded, “This is what forty looks like. We’ve been lying so long, who would know?” She wrote, “If all women now pressured to lie were to tell their ages, our ideas of what fifty-five or sixty or seventy-five looks like would change overnight.”
For people who have found themselves conforming or hedging in order to avoid criticism, Steinem’s words inspire courage. She wrote, “When someone judges me…I ask, Compared to what?….When I fear conflict or condemnation for acting a certain way, I think: What peace or praise would I get if I didn’t??” She goes on to conclude, “once we realize there is no such thing as adequacy or perfection, it sets us free to say: We might as well be who we really are.”
In this work, Steinem eloquently shares a personal journey that required her to embrace a broadened approach to life, to activism and to feminism itself. I wish I had read it sooner.
January 8, 2013
2 things: I just turned 60 last month and I met Gloria Steinem in November. She is awesome. This book is like being in her head from her youth to now. She is a wonderful writer and I loved how affirming her ideas are as I look back at so many of my own struggles throughout my life (and those to come). From page 22, Gloria writes, "In other words, I'm becoming more radical with age. I don't know why I'm surprised by this. When I was forty-five, I wrote an essay describing the female journey as the reverse of the male one. Men tend to rebel when young and become more conservative with age, but women tend to be more conservative when young and become rebellious as we grow older."
Highly recommended for women over 40 :-)
Highly recommended for women over 40 :-)
April 16, 2014
A long essay celebrating the wisdom and freedom of aging. A reminder that there is no growth in wanting to do at fifty what you did at thirty and forty. A call to continue to embrace change and do new things to make us feel like we’ve lived longer lives. A plea to stop lying about or hiding our ages to educate others on how vibrant the post-50 set can be. And a celebration of older role models to show us how to continue to live absorbing lives on our own terms. As I approach 50, I am motivated by all the fabulous women I know over 50 who are fascinating and full of juice. May we all defy the societal expectations of an invisible, fossilized old age and continue to embrace adventure and vitality.
August 5, 2017
She sparked my mind as a young woman with Ms. Magazine and she has always been someone I have looked up to as a forthright example for women and men alike. As it turns out, she continues sharing her insight and wisdom as I get older. Gloria resonates truth, compassion and a fluidity that continues through all aspects of our lives. Thank you, Gloria!
August 7, 2023
30 Books in 30 Days / Book #7
June 11, 2023
Steinem describes the societal pressure and ageism for women in our 60s and 70s very well. she has several inspiring stories of older women who have rejected societal constraints and been very active in starting a wide range of initiatives to help others. This essay is just about 75 pages. I’d love to see more discussion of what life is like for this generation of women.
July 4, 2025
HER THOUGHTS AND MUSINGS UPON PASSING AN AGE THRESHOLD
Gloria Marie Steinem (born 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who was a columnist for New York magazine and co-founded Ms. magazine. She also co-founded the Women's Media Center, and serves on its board. She was married for three years to David Bale, before his death.
[Steinem’s 1994 book ‘Moving Beyond Words’ contained an essay, ‘Doing Sixty.’ This 2006 book is an updated/expanded version of this essay.]
She wrote in the Preface, “Updating ‘Doing Sixty’ almost a dozen years later is a way of talking with a previous self… it’s also a chance to give a nudge to the future. I wish I’d taken stock this way at a younger age… but this feels especially crucial now that I know more everyday, yet come ever closer to the unknown… Well into my fifties, I had ignored aging in a way that was great for activism. At sixty, I was thinking about [it] again and leaving the center of life. At just past seventy, I’m conscious of the time I have before leaving it altogether…” (Pg. xi)
She continues, “In retrospect, I realize that I, too, was in the Olympics of denial, yet some part of me needed to know the stages of life. Perhaps because I switched roles early and became the caretaker of my loving and sad mother, or because I didn’t measure time by the usual periods of marriage, parenthood and the kind of career you retire from… My state of mind in ‘Doing Sixty’ was … free and on a level at last… It had taken a lot of living… plus seeking out role models of great old women, plus realizing that my body knew how to age even if I didn’t, to realize that the ‘endless’ central years of life were over. A whole new and unimagined country lay beyond.” (Pg. xii, xv)
She adds, “Now, I owe a precious sense of mortality and time, and also a reminder of the unpredictability of everything, including my own decisions, to David, the friend I married six years after ‘Doing Sixty.’ Nothing could have been less expected or intended by either one of us, who were living quite happily on our own… He was a man living so much in the present that he wandered the world with few possessions, and would stop his car on the most dangerous freeway to rescue a wounded animal, or to set aside the body of a lifeless one with a few words of respect. A big gruff bear of a man, he would nonetheless pause on the beach to pick up a tiny ladybug off the sand, and put it back on a leaf… Though he was younger than I, he died of an unexpected illness only a little more than three years later. Despite the shortness, despite the suffering of watching him suffer, I would not have missed or changed a thing. We both planted and grew in years that are supposed to be only those of harvest. He pushed and nudged and inspired and loved me out of old ruts and patterns and choices.” (Pg. xx-xxi)
In the ‘Doing Sixty’ essay, she observes, “Age is supposed to create more serenity, calm and detachment from the world, right? Well, I’m finding just the reverse. The older I get, the more intensely I feel about the world around me, the more connected I feel to nature… the more poignancy I find not only in very old people, but also in children… and most of all, the more able I am to use my own voice, to know what I feel and say what I think. I can finally EXPRESS without also having to PERSUADE … Who would have imagined, that I, once among the most externalized of people, would now think of meditation as a tool of revolution[?]… Or consider inner space more important to explore than outer space?” (Pg. 3-4)
She suggests, “If all the women now pressured to lie were to tell their ages, our ideas of what fifty-five or sixty or seventy-five looks like would change overnight… women telling the truth without fear would be a joyous ‘coming out.’ Yet, as with lesbian women and gay men who have given the culture this paradigm of honesty, only people who freely choose to ‘come out’ can diminish the fear that others feel.” (Pg. 10)
She wonders, “‘Revolution from Within,’ the book that resulted from this exploring that began a few years after I turned fifty… helped me to know with certainty that our inner selves are no more important than outer realities---but no less important either. Could I have learned this earlier?... Certainly I would have been a more effective activist if I had. I would have been better able to stand up to conflict and criticism, to focus on what I could uniquely do instead of trying to do everything, and to waste less time confusing motion with action.” (Pg. 18-19)
She notes, “I’m becoming more radical with age. I don’t know why I’m surprised by this… I realized that most women in their teens and twenties hadn’t yet experienced one or more of the great radicalizing events of a woman’s life: marrying and discovering it isn’t yet an equal (or even nonviolent) institution; getting into the paid labor force and experiencing its limits… and, finally, aging, still the most impoverishing and disempowering event for women of every race and so the most radicalizing.” (Pg. 22-23)
She recounts, “The fall after graduating from college, I went to India on a year’s fellowship. (Remember my tactic of delaying marriage?) Well, India was not only a place I’d always wanted to go, but an escape from a very kind and tempting man to whom I was engaged and knew I shouldn’t marry. To my surprise, I found that I felt more at home and involved in India than I ever had in other countries not my own…. I was also befriended by a group of gentle activists and intellectuals known as Radical Humanists. From listening to their energetic analyzing of world events, I learned that ‘radical’ didn’t have to mean violent, extremist, or crazy.. It could mean exactly that the dictionary said: going to the root.” (Pg. 26-27)
She explains, “Though I was old enough to be part of the ‘Feminine Mystique’ generation, I wasn’t living in the suburbs, wondering why I wasn’t using my college degree. I had ended up in the workforce many of these other women were longing to enter… I shared the reaction of many working-class women and women of color to this early reformist feminism: ‘I support women who want to get out of the suburbs and into jobs,’ I thought to myself, ‘but I’m already in the workforce and getting screwed. The women’s movement isn’t for me.’ … I also had another revelation: ‘Sure, women should get a fair share of the pie wherever we are, but what we really need is a new world pie.’” (Pg. 36)
She observes, “I’m not sure feminism should require an adjective… But if I had to choose only one adjective, I still would opt for ‘radical feminist.’ … ‘radical’ seems an honest indication of the fundamental change we have in mind: the false division of human nature into ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ is the root of all other divisions… the beginning of hierarchy… digging out the ‘masculine/feminine’ paradigm undermines all birth-based hierarchies, and alters our view of human nature, the natural world, and the cosmos itself.” (Pg. 38-39)
She concludes, “The blessing of what I think of as the last third of life … is that these past and future tracks have gradually dimmed until they are rarely heard. More and more, there is only the full, glorious, alive-in-the-moment, don’t-give-a-damn-yet-caring-for-everything sense of the right now.” (Pg 60-61)
More “personal” than most of her other books, this book will be of great interest to those interested in Steinem, and the evolution of the feminist movement she led.
Gloria Marie Steinem (born 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who was a columnist for New York magazine and co-founded Ms. magazine. She also co-founded the Women's Media Center, and serves on its board. She was married for three years to David Bale, before his death.
[Steinem’s 1994 book ‘Moving Beyond Words’ contained an essay, ‘Doing Sixty.’ This 2006 book is an updated/expanded version of this essay.]
She wrote in the Preface, “Updating ‘Doing Sixty’ almost a dozen years later is a way of talking with a previous self… it’s also a chance to give a nudge to the future. I wish I’d taken stock this way at a younger age… but this feels especially crucial now that I know more everyday, yet come ever closer to the unknown… Well into my fifties, I had ignored aging in a way that was great for activism. At sixty, I was thinking about [it] again and leaving the center of life. At just past seventy, I’m conscious of the time I have before leaving it altogether…” (Pg. xi)
She continues, “In retrospect, I realize that I, too, was in the Olympics of denial, yet some part of me needed to know the stages of life. Perhaps because I switched roles early and became the caretaker of my loving and sad mother, or because I didn’t measure time by the usual periods of marriage, parenthood and the kind of career you retire from… My state of mind in ‘Doing Sixty’ was … free and on a level at last… It had taken a lot of living… plus seeking out role models of great old women, plus realizing that my body knew how to age even if I didn’t, to realize that the ‘endless’ central years of life were over. A whole new and unimagined country lay beyond.” (Pg. xii, xv)
She adds, “Now, I owe a precious sense of mortality and time, and also a reminder of the unpredictability of everything, including my own decisions, to David, the friend I married six years after ‘Doing Sixty.’ Nothing could have been less expected or intended by either one of us, who were living quite happily on our own… He was a man living so much in the present that he wandered the world with few possessions, and would stop his car on the most dangerous freeway to rescue a wounded animal, or to set aside the body of a lifeless one with a few words of respect. A big gruff bear of a man, he would nonetheless pause on the beach to pick up a tiny ladybug off the sand, and put it back on a leaf… Though he was younger than I, he died of an unexpected illness only a little more than three years later. Despite the shortness, despite the suffering of watching him suffer, I would not have missed or changed a thing. We both planted and grew in years that are supposed to be only those of harvest. He pushed and nudged and inspired and loved me out of old ruts and patterns and choices.” (Pg. xx-xxi)
In the ‘Doing Sixty’ essay, she observes, “Age is supposed to create more serenity, calm and detachment from the world, right? Well, I’m finding just the reverse. The older I get, the more intensely I feel about the world around me, the more connected I feel to nature… the more poignancy I find not only in very old people, but also in children… and most of all, the more able I am to use my own voice, to know what I feel and say what I think. I can finally EXPRESS without also having to PERSUADE … Who would have imagined, that I, once among the most externalized of people, would now think of meditation as a tool of revolution[?]… Or consider inner space more important to explore than outer space?” (Pg. 3-4)
She suggests, “If all the women now pressured to lie were to tell their ages, our ideas of what fifty-five or sixty or seventy-five looks like would change overnight… women telling the truth without fear would be a joyous ‘coming out.’ Yet, as with lesbian women and gay men who have given the culture this paradigm of honesty, only people who freely choose to ‘come out’ can diminish the fear that others feel.” (Pg. 10)
She wonders, “‘Revolution from Within,’ the book that resulted from this exploring that began a few years after I turned fifty… helped me to know with certainty that our inner selves are no more important than outer realities---but no less important either. Could I have learned this earlier?... Certainly I would have been a more effective activist if I had. I would have been better able to stand up to conflict and criticism, to focus on what I could uniquely do instead of trying to do everything, and to waste less time confusing motion with action.” (Pg. 18-19)
She notes, “I’m becoming more radical with age. I don’t know why I’m surprised by this… I realized that most women in their teens and twenties hadn’t yet experienced one or more of the great radicalizing events of a woman’s life: marrying and discovering it isn’t yet an equal (or even nonviolent) institution; getting into the paid labor force and experiencing its limits… and, finally, aging, still the most impoverishing and disempowering event for women of every race and so the most radicalizing.” (Pg. 22-23)
She recounts, “The fall after graduating from college, I went to India on a year’s fellowship. (Remember my tactic of delaying marriage?) Well, India was not only a place I’d always wanted to go, but an escape from a very kind and tempting man to whom I was engaged and knew I shouldn’t marry. To my surprise, I found that I felt more at home and involved in India than I ever had in other countries not my own…. I was also befriended by a group of gentle activists and intellectuals known as Radical Humanists. From listening to their energetic analyzing of world events, I learned that ‘radical’ didn’t have to mean violent, extremist, or crazy.. It could mean exactly that the dictionary said: going to the root.” (Pg. 26-27)
She explains, “Though I was old enough to be part of the ‘Feminine Mystique’ generation, I wasn’t living in the suburbs, wondering why I wasn’t using my college degree. I had ended up in the workforce many of these other women were longing to enter… I shared the reaction of many working-class women and women of color to this early reformist feminism: ‘I support women who want to get out of the suburbs and into jobs,’ I thought to myself, ‘but I’m already in the workforce and getting screwed. The women’s movement isn’t for me.’ … I also had another revelation: ‘Sure, women should get a fair share of the pie wherever we are, but what we really need is a new world pie.’” (Pg. 36)
She observes, “I’m not sure feminism should require an adjective… But if I had to choose only one adjective, I still would opt for ‘radical feminist.’ … ‘radical’ seems an honest indication of the fundamental change we have in mind: the false division of human nature into ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ is the root of all other divisions… the beginning of hierarchy… digging out the ‘masculine/feminine’ paradigm undermines all birth-based hierarchies, and alters our view of human nature, the natural world, and the cosmos itself.” (Pg. 38-39)
She concludes, “The blessing of what I think of as the last third of life … is that these past and future tracks have gradually dimmed until they are rarely heard. More and more, there is only the full, glorious, alive-in-the-moment, don’t-give-a-damn-yet-caring-for-everything sense of the right now.” (Pg 60-61)
More “personal” than most of her other books, this book will be of great interest to those interested in Steinem, and the evolution of the feminist movement she led.
March 6, 2014
I received this as an early read via NetGalley. I came of age in the 80's and tried for years to relate to the articles in Ms. Magazine (I subscribed for years and years). I came from a small, remote town in AK and just couldn't relate to the women and issues addressed in the magazine. The women in my sphere worked side by side with the men in our lives and also handled traditional feminine roles, it was all part of a whole. Glass ceilings weren't an issue as most everyone was working jobs like bank secretary and bookeeper at the propane company, traveling to India or marching on Washington was what people in another WORLD did. As it turns out, I'm still a middle class woman, living in middle america, I didn't find any epiphanies or insights in this book. I WANTED to, I really did! Women still haven't achieved equal status in our society and the need for spokespeople and leaders hasn't lessened in the least. But - there really needs to be someone to represent the women who get up every day and do whatever is needed.
July 2, 2017
I grew up reading Gloria Steinem and while I didn't agree with all of her ideas and causes I could relate to much of what she had to say and write. Until now. I found nothing encouraging or helpful at all about being in my 60's or even what GS really felt about being in her 60's. I guess I expected some sage advice and on the last few pages there was a small amount that was interesting and even a sentence that I have saved, but overall I'd take a pass on this book if you're looking for wisdom and encouragement to get you thru the beginning of old age.
Close followers of the feminist movement will most likely recognize some of the women mentioned in the book and perhaps will have a better appreciation for their continued accomplishments, some well into their 80's but even this failed to inspire me to know what to do with my life now that I'm in my 60's.
Close followers of the feminist movement will most likely recognize some of the women mentioned in the book and perhaps will have a better appreciation for their continued accomplishments, some well into their 80's but even this failed to inspire me to know what to do with my life now that I'm in my 60's.
March 2, 2014
fans of Gloria Steinem will love this short book. I'm not sure I want to call it a book, it's less than 70 pages.
I was excited to read this, as I've never read anything by Gloria Steinem before.
I was disappointed. The book didn't speak to me or grab me. I didn't find the content "revolutionary" or life changing, which are things I expected based on other reviews about Gloria Steinem and her writing.
I was excited to read this, as I've never read anything by Gloria Steinem before.
I was disappointed. The book didn't speak to me or grab me. I didn't find the content "revolutionary" or life changing, which are things I expected based on other reviews about Gloria Steinem and her writing.
February 22, 2014
Meditating on her own experience working for peoples' rights, especially concentrating on women's rights, as well as her experience in her sixties and now seventies, Gloria Steinen
proposes how we can perhaps best use our lives in these decades to feel fully complete, our selves, and relish life.
proposes how we can perhaps best use our lives in these decades to feel fully complete, our selves, and relish life.
February 27, 2016
This is what 70 looks like
Gloria said something similar when she turned 40 reminding us to be whatever age we were. She is still showing us to be ok with ourselves and includes her own path to okay ness.
Gloria said something similar when she turned 40 reminding us to be whatever age we were. She is still showing us to be ok with ourselves and includes her own path to okay ness.
February 5, 2015
At 63 I feel light, as if I have grown wings and I am ready to fly. Doing 60 is fabulous, literally. And so is the book by Gloria.
October 13, 2017
It wasn't what I thought it would be but interesting.
November 16, 2019
I enjoyed being reacquainted with this icon whom I heard speak during my college years. I bought this book because I wanted to hear her take on our latter years. She spoke of approaching older age and how she too struggled with coming close to the end of her journey. She arrived at the conclusion that most notable women and history-makers did their best work when they were in their 60's and 70's. They had raised their children and their marriages were either intact or over. She added that at one point, women should stop giving and nurturing others and save enough for themselves. So, at this season in her life, she is reveling in her accomplishments, resting on her laurels and learning to live in the present moment as she takes life as it comes. I will revisit this work and jot down some of her pearls of wisdom!
December 19, 2020
Ms Gloria Steinem eloquently takes on the subject of aging as members of female gender in society. Issues are weaved into stories, with perspective from past, present and future struggles, personal and societal. Mentors and friendships are revealed as the stabilizers in one's journey. Ms Steinem offers personal insight into her persistence to be Activist for all Human Rights.
As I read this, December 2020, in the week surrounding my own 60th birthday, I did receive the desired effect for myself: I was surrounded by the familiar voice of Gloria, and all my sisters, hearing wisdom and guidance, empathy and strength-I am taking their words as encouragement, in trying times.
As I read this, December 2020, in the week surrounding my own 60th birthday, I did receive the desired effect for myself: I was surrounded by the familiar voice of Gloria, and all my sisters, hearing wisdom and guidance, empathy and strength-I am taking their words as encouragement, in trying times.
July 31, 2021
A joy to read Finding a life companion I didn’t know I had
Gloria Steinem writes her story, her thoughts, experiences and inner realizations. I read so much of my own life in her words and am grateful she could articulate aspects of my own life I hadn’t expressed, even to myself. I feel inspired, confirmed, validated and so appreciative of women here and throughout the world. This was truly a joy to read.
Gloria Steinem writes her story, her thoughts, experiences and inner realizations. I read so much of my own life in her words and am grateful she could articulate aspects of my own life I hadn’t expressed, even to myself. I feel inspired, confirmed, validated and so appreciative of women here and throughout the world. This was truly a joy to read.
October 30, 2022
It was refreshing to read Gloria Steinem again, albeit a very short read. She is a great role model for women and older women. She refers to many other feminist leaders and writers, always excellent reminders of the struggles for equality. Her historical path of rebellion is inspiring and necessary - "lest we forget."
June 25, 2025
This is a nice short book with some insightful thoughts about aging and some very interesting reflections by Gloria Steinem on the two years she spent in India after college. Basically, Steinem’s suggestion for aging is - live for the moment and do not spend a lot of time thinking about the past.
June 30, 2018
I love Gloria Steinem. This book is an inspiration and a reminder that our intellectual life doesn't end as we grow older. I feel better about turning 70 after reading this book. Go, Gloria!
My blog:
The Interstitial Reader
https//theinterstialreader.wordpress.com
My blog:
The Interstitial Reader
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August 29, 2022
To be honest, I found this disappointing. Firstly, it is incredibly short - a mere 60 or so pages of primary text with notes - more of an article which has been filled out to fit the brief, than the book I was expecting. Maybe I didn't read the sales blurb carefully enough. More fundamentally, it felt rather stale and performative. Steinem's primary thesis is that age enables women, or should enable women, to become bolder in their choices and better able to live radically with the wisdom of age and a release from societal expectations. But she harps on continually about experiences in her youth, not middle or older age - specifically her two years in India as a very young woman - as the jumping board of her theories. She also writes, very unconvincingly given I have watched and heard her eloquent public speaking for decades, of finding her voice and confidence as a speaker only with age. The most inspiring part of the pamphlet was her referencing of older role models, some well in their 80's and often women of colour, who achieved great things for others post 60, but overall I was left unsure of what Gloria is or isn't doing at 60 and 70 (apart from sex which she delicately does hint happens less or differently) which is any alteration from previous decades of her adulthood.
June 27, 2024
This book is just about her career
Thought this would give insight on aging but seems its just history of women's rights
Wish there had been more reflection for the common woman not just activists.
Thought this would give insight on aging but seems its just history of women's rights
Wish there had been more reflection for the common woman not just activists.
July 25, 2025
Time is relative. Doing new things makes us lose track of time.
Women and men are living longer and healthier longer. Staying involved and seeking new outlets will make our lives more interesting and fulfilling. Not a new concept!
Women and men are living longer and healthier longer. Staying involved and seeking new outlets will make our lives more interesting and fulfilling. Not a new concept!
November 28, 2019
Interesting....
September 14, 2021
Some good quotes and resources. Nothing earth shattering. I’m still looking for that perfect book that helps me age well and respectfully.
October 24, 2023
Short and sweet and filled with the type of wisdom I expect from Gloria. Not as good as some of her others but inspiring nonetheless
March 6, 2014
This would make a wonderful gift for women of all ages. I can also see it being a springboard for a fantastic history lesson. It's a short but not a quick read. It's the kind of thing I want to read and reread, to digest and discuss. It would make a great book club discussion subject. Contained within is Ms. Steinem's essay on turning 60 and all that entailed, as well as an introduction detailing her thoughts on 70! The prose is beautiful, the ideas provocative and the overall impact great.
*I was lucky enough to request and receive my copy from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
*I was lucky enough to request and receive my copy from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
January 6, 2016
First time I've read anything by Gloria Steinem . Since I fall into the age demographics referenced in the title, I thought I might learn something. I did not learn anything because her style of writing is very hard to follow. I could read a passage several times and have no idea as what she was talking about. I consider myself an educated. Intelligent person and I couldn't follow her. The purpose of writing is to communicate your thoughts on a subject. "Communicate" is the operative term. I know her to be an intelligent person, but she did not do a good job of communicating in this instance. I am not giving up on her and plan to read her most recent book.
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