Old Love
is the title of the initial chapter of this hold-in-your-heart book from first-time author, Sharon Johnson. Her captivating essays help the reader re-visit the best of the aging spirit and the joy of tender reminiscence.
My Mother's . . . Day.
If my mother was still alive I would take her out to an after-church brunch today. She would be wearing that sandy-colored, linen jacket she thought camouflaged her rounded, osteoporotic back. When you hugged her, there would be the hint of lavender sachet.
By the time you get to the essay in the book on
Sexy Aging,
you are smitten with the breezy, personal style of Johnson's prose. She introduces provocative, well-packaged, previously published newspaper columns masquerading as short stories. She speaks intimately about her own 70 years of living and does it with humor and insight; there is a twist at the end of each tale.
A few years ago I was asked to speak to a group of older adult men with an average age of seventy-two. The presentation they wanted was on sexuality and aging. Without hesitation, I agreed. I actually agreed. Am I nuts?
The essay titled
Rules of Engagement
takes you on a cross-country honeymoon with middle-aged couple, three reluctant pre-adolescents and a spitting-angry cat.
As many premarital challenges as we had surmounted and as many obstacles as we would assuredly face with our newly-constructed family, this business of political differences had the greatest potential to unsettle me.
Cousins Counted
is a reminder to gather up all the children of your various aunts and uncles and account for them before it is too late to do that.
Shopping with Sydney
supports what you already know--the only way out of a retail establishment with a teenaged granddaughter is through the cash register.
This is a book you can have fun with. Gift it to a friend. Read it aloud to your mother or an aging neighbor. Use it to prompt your own stories.