The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Midlife and Beyond

by Pamela D. Blair PhD

Overview

New edition being published in April 2014 as Getting Older Better

IS THERE LIFE AFTER HOT FLASHES?

Yes! According to Pamela Blair, psychotherapist and author of The Next Fifty Years! That person in the mirror is you and now is the time to understand and accept the external changes while making some internal changes. Make peace with yourself, embrace aspects of yourself that have been unexplored, and dive passionately into what you love!

There has never been a better time to be a woman over fifty. Embracing the celebratory essence of The Red Hat Society and Red Hot Mamas—while at the same time moving beyond them—The Next Fifty Years offers solutions and support. Included is a group study guide with outlines for creating a meaningful forum for thoughts, concerns, joys, frustrations, and—fun with your friends and peers.

Today's woman is recognized as being far more complex and multidimensional than previous generations, fulfilling many roles in today's society. More than 150 short essays cover topics specific to women and aging, including:

• self-image
• mind
• emotions
• fears
• relationships
• spiritual self
• creative self
• finances
• health

Also included is journaling space for you to write your own thoughts and feelings. Intended both as a personal journal and guide to the best years of your life, The Next Fifty Years can become a written legacy between generations of women—past, present, and to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571744395
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	08/30/2005
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Blair, PhD, is a holistic psychotherapist, spiritual counselor, and personal coach with a private practice. She has written for numerous magazines, appeared on radio and television talk shows, and co-authored a bestselling book on grief entitled I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye. She lives in Shelburne, VT. Visit her online at www.pamblair.com.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgements	xi
	Introduction	xiii
	How to Use This Book	xix
Part I
1	Thoughts, Cultural Attitudes, and Myths about Women Aging	3
	When They Were Our Age
	Myths to Not Live By
	Living in the Present
	Changing Tempo
	Being Vulnerable
	Aging Can Be Fun?
	Accepting Change
	Age Grief
	Ages and Stages
	Aging Is Another Country
	An Attitude of Gratitude
	An Attitude of Solitude
	Birthdays
	Saying What I Mean
	The Decision
	Waiting
Part II
2	Our Self-Image	31
	Becoming Invisible
	You Don't Look Like a Grandma!
	Who Is That Old Woman?
	Sagging Faces and Liver Spots
	High Maintenance
	Feeling Young Inside
	Old Bodies, New Again
	Proud of Our Wrinkles
	Looking Good
	Now Who Am I?
	Strong in a Youth-Obsessed World
3	Our Minds	49
	Your Brain Is a Muscle
	Senior Moments
	Mind/Body Connection
	Losing Things
	Is It Menopause or Mental Pause?
	Memory, What Memory?
	Continued Learning
	Brain Growth
4	Our Emotions	62
	Bad Moods
	Is It Sadness or Depression?
	How Not to Stress Out in One Easy Lesson
	Living with Loss
	Happiness, Optimism, and Longevity
	Winter Sunrise
	Yielding
5	Our Fears	74
	Fear of Aging
	Alone, Alive, and Worried
	Fear of Being a Burden
	Fear of Pain
	Fear of Losing Control
	Oh No, Not Public Transportation!
	Fear of Dying
	Fear of Abuse
	Fear of Being a Bag Lady
	Fear of Asking for Help
	Fear of the Future
6	Our Love Lives and Relationships	93
	Get Hugged!
	Expressing Your Sexual Self
	When Husbands Die
	Long Married
	When the One You Love Is Ill
	Divorce after 50
	Trusting Yourself in Relationship
	Dating after 50
	Choosing Commitment after 50
7	Our Spiritual Self	114
	Spirituality and Health
	Spirit in the Silence
	Obituaries and Inspiration
	Journaling the Days
	Intuition and Wisdom
	Finding Peace
	Choosing to Be Authentic
	Are You a Goddess?
	Liberation from Material Things
8	Our Creative Self	132
	It's Never Too Late to Create!
	Claiming the Creative Self
	Creativity and Health
	Dancing from a Wheelchair
	Put It on Paper!
	Creativity and Longevity
	Write a Poem
	Write a Book?
9	Our Health	145
	Consider the Source
	Yoga and Yogurt
	Food Is My Friend
	The Longevity Test
	Why Should I Exercise!?
	Where Are My Glasses!?
	What You Don't "No" Can Hurt You
	What Did You Say?
	Uteruses and Vaginas
	Sleeping
	Physical Disability
	Heart Health
	Healing Pets
	Don't Fall Down!
	Coffee and the Pee-Pee Dance
	Chew on This
	Breasts
	Medical Directives
Part III
10	Our Living Spaces	177
	Thoughts on Aunt Grace
	Staying in Your Home
	Gardening and Growing
	Color Your World (Feng Shui)
	Soulful Living Space
	Simplifying
	Paint and Wallpaper
	Selling Your House
	Retirement Living Spaces
	Downsizing: Preparing a Move to a Smaller, More Manageable Home
	Living Alone and Liking It
	Empty Nests with Silver Linings
	Clutter: You Can't Take It with You!
	Leaving Home
11	Our Families	201
	An Easy-to-Visit Elder
	Moving to the Circumference
	New Grandma
	Grandmothering 101
	Distance Grandparenting
	Caregiving Grandchildren
	Caregiving Our Parents
	Parenting "Old" Children
	Changing Places: Moving in with Your Kids
	Robotic Romeo
	Unfinished Family Business
	Creating a Family History
12	Our Friends	224
	What Matters
	The Company of Other Women
	Companions on the Journey
	Making New Friends and Cleaning Out the Old
	When Friends Die
	Where Is Everybody?
	Class Reunions
	The Yeah-Yeah Sisterhood
13	Our Play	238
	Are We Having Fun Yet?
	Laughing Out Loud
	A Sense of Humor
	Challenges and Possibilities
	Wonder Years
	Traveling Adventures
	Juicy Curiosity
	Our Inner Child Never Grows Old
14	Our Work	251
	Reactivate Your Dream
	Doing What You Love
	Do You Have a Calling?
	The Entrepreneurial Spirit
	Working Retirement
	Too Young to Retire
	Too Old to Get a Job?
	What Now?
15	Our Finances	267
	Getting Advice
	Giving to Your Kids While You're Still Alive
	Helping Your Aging Parents
	Living Well on Less
	Money and Stuff
	Planning Retirement
	Wealth and Happiness
Part IV
16	Looking Forward	283
	Future Dreams
	The Freedom to Change
	Feeling New Again
	Doors and Windows
	Becoming Human
	Harvesting the Past
	Get on with Living
	Starting Over
	A Support for the Young
	Living Forever
	Leaving a Legacy
	For Future Generations
	Study Guide	309
	Bibliography	321

Editorial Reviews

"This is a wonderful book—filled with useful exercises and spirit." —Sue Bender, author of Stretching Lessons, Plain and Simple, and Everyday Sacred

Reviews

"This is a wonderful book—filled with useful exercises and spirit." —Sue Bender, author of Stretching Lessons, Plain and Simple, and Everyday Sacred

This is a wonderful book—filled with useful exercises and spirit. —Sue Bender, author of Stretching Lessons, Plain and Simple, and Everyday Sacred

From the Publisher