This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Humor and Dignity

Description

Inspiring lessons on growing older with grace and laughter, from a Zen teacher and writer who is "like a Buddhist Anne Lamott" (New York Journal of Books) Being a woman over sixty can sometimes be confusing, sometimes poignant, and sometimes hilarious. In this intimate and funny collection of essays, Zen Buddhist and writer Susan Moon maintains her sense of humor as she provides thoughtful insights on getting older. In This Is Getting Old, Moon touches on both the ups and downs of aging- Her bones are weakening, but she still feels her inner tomboy. She finds herself both an orphan and a matriarch following the death of her mother. She admits to sometimes regretting pieces of her past and to being afraid of loneliness. These musings, written with Moon's signature wit and grace, are a touching exploration and celebration of life, age, and our "senior moments"-plus a powerful reminder to be in the here and now.

Susan Moon is a writer and longtime Zen Buddhist who teaches popular writing workshops, mostly in California. She is the former editor of Turning Wheel- The Journal of Socially Engaged Buddhism. She lives in Berkeley, California.

"Moon is like a Buddhist Anne Lamott-confronting her life bravely and unapologetically. Reading as a man in his mid-sixties, [I] welcomed her honest ambivalence about aging. Her style is conversational yet often beautifully vivid and clear." -New York Journal of Books "A funny, honest, and deeply personal book. This collection of confessional essays makes for absorbing reading." -Mandala "Refreshingly honest and enlightening. In this sterling collection of essays, Susan Moon looks at the rewards, blessings, drawbacks, and challenges of aging. We are so grateful that Moon has written this insightful book in which she passes on what all this has meant to her." -Spirituality & Practice "Gentle essays . . . long on dignity. Moon uses detail vividly in her determination to make peace with the many failures of brain and body (from forgetting her Social Security number to wondering if she'll ever have sex again). Her best writing occurs when memory, emotion, and spirit coalesce as she recovers parts of herself left behind in childhood or comes to terms with solitude." -Publishers Weekly "Aging is the biggest issue facing me and everyone I know. This book is poignant, funny, and spot-on, and I am tremendously grateful to Susan Moon for writing it. I love this book!" -Sylvia Boorstein, author of Happiness Is an Inside Job "This Is Getting Old is a sweet, mellow, funny, wise, sad, and deeply affecting book. Susan Moon's essays are so disarmingly honest, so personal and plain, that they will make you forget what an astonishingly rare and profound achievement this is." -Norman Fischer, author of Sailing Home and Taking Our Places "[Moon] does not shy away from any aspect of aging, from sore knees to foggy memory, but also maintains a sassy sense of humor. Perhaps if more people were as open about aging as Moon is, we shouldn't all be so uncomfortable with the idea. This is a great read for anyone pondering the future." -Sacramento Book Review