Old age — and how to deal with it
READER Bobbie Jo writes to say she loves it when I recommend books, so she asks for more. You can often keep up with my reading from the quotations I choose for the top of this page (last week, A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles).
I devour books — I left my Kindle on a train and have never replaced it — and always have a book of fiction and non-fiction on the go, not to mention poetry. Books have always been my life.
Publishers send me titles they think I’ll like — and I have a good one for you here. It’s called Getting Old: Deal With It, by Lee Janogly.
As a woman of a certain age (ahem), I’ve read many books on ageing, but this one is refreshing, tough-minded and refuses to take itself too seriously. The title says it all — ‘Deal With It’! What else can we do?
The author is an inspiring 80year-old, who has seen it all, it seems. She’s a diet and exercise counsellor who’s earned the right to tell it how it is when it comes to food and fitness.
Her tone is bracing (‘Some people shouldn’t write diet books’), yet warm and encouraging (‘You can go out looking like that’), and there’s something funny, wise and uplifting on almost every page.
Her chapter on bereavement (‘Grief is love unwilling to let go’) is deeply moving as she talks about life after the death of her husband Mo — and will strike a chord with anyone who mourns a beloved partner.
Lee Janogly’s book made me stop and think how I feel about ageing. Yes, none too keen!
But with parents of 98 and 95, who sometimes struggle, yet are still able to feel gratitude, enjoy good memories and love the family, I have very good role models.
Now, Lee Janogly is my guru, too. She writes: ‘Decide on your spirit age. Imagine yourself being young, slim and fit, but with the added knowledge and intelligence you have accumulated over the years.’
That’s excellent advice. I’m Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman!
BEL answers readers’ questions on emotional and relationship problems each week. Write to Bel Mooney, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, or email bel.mooney@dailymail.co.uk. Names are changed to protect identities. Bel reads all letters but regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence.