When she started to clock up the years in earnest, everyone tried not to mention it. But now Virginia Ironside is actually sixty-five she can't see what all the fuss was about. It's great to be old.Growing ancient is not a loss but a gain. You're more confident, and if your memory's going, at least you forget the bad times, like all those ghastly men you slept with in the other sixties. And isn't now the time to take lots of drugs, and not just the ones prescribed by the doctor (which are, now you're old, completely free)?There's nothing more fun than comparing your various ailments with other oldies ('I take so many fish oils I'm thinking of joining an aquarium'), curtain-twitching, complaining or (Virginia's preference) just mooching about.From Grandchildren ('The reward for not killing your children'), and Being a Bore ('You're in your anecdotage, so nobody can complain') to Sex ('I don't know about you, but I've had enough sex to last me a lifetime'), Virginia...

It's time to stop hiding that birth certificate! Virginia Ironside wants you to know that getting old is a good thing-and not in that dreadful "sixty is the new forty" way. At sixty- five, she has no interest in pretending to be young and neither should you. Virginia celebrates all the "issues" that she and her fellow oldies embrace, including: Talking about ailments (and the fabulous meds that come with them)Grandchildren (the reward you get for not killing your children)Wisdom (random disorganized knowledge you get to put a fancy label on because you're old)No-nonsense, wryly self-deprecating, and totally persuasive, You're Old, I'm Old . . . Get Used to It! unabashedly exalts the virtues of aging.

RetailA screamingly funny and poignant story about embracing life beyond middle age Marie Sharp is heading toward sixty and is just fine with it. She’s already had plenty of excitement in her life: sex and drugs in the freewheeling sixties, career and children, marriage and divorce. Now she’s ready to settle into a quiet, blissfully boring routine. No Italian classes or gym memberships or bicycle trips across Europe, thank you very much! Marie just wants to put her feet up and “start doing old things.” She’s even sworn off men! But as it turns out, life still has some surprises in store, the biggest of which is a new grandson on the way. What’s more, Archie, her old childhood crush, suddenly reenters her life, and her closest friend falls seriously ill. Armed with a biting sense of humor, Marie wrestles with a life that refuses to follow her plans—and may still offer more possibilities than she realizes. **