We all need positive role models, and this doesn’t change when we start to notice gray hair and permanent laugh lines in the mirror. Perhaps it becomes even more true. The later years of life can be a time for the pursuit of new activities and dreams.
This was the case for Nell Irvin Painter, an acclaimed history professor and author, who could have considered such a successful career enough accomplishment for one lifetime. But upon retiring from Princeton, she pursued an entirely different path, as described in her engaging and witty memoir, “Old in Art School.” Painter talks of training her brain to look at the world in entirely new ways as she earned first a BA and then an MFA alongside much younger classmates. In graduate school, she was not just the oldest, but also the only Black student in her class, meaning she came to the work from a completely different perspective. Nonetheless, she found her own style and experienced personal growth in the process.
“Young @ Heart,” a 2007 documentary, follows the Young at Heart Chorus, composed of
members with an average age of 81, as they prepare for a concert. These musicians don’t go for sentimental ballads. They stretch themselves with high-energy performances of songs by The Clash, Bruce Springsteen and James Brown, to name a few. At times, the group experiences difficulty getting everyone together at the same time to rehearse, while working around medical appointments and whatnot. But they manage to pull it all together, mastering the pieces and giving an exuberant performance for their audience. Special shout out for the cover art on the DVD.
Mo Rocca and Jonathan Greenberg cover a wide range of golden achievers in their book “Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks and Triumphs.” Diana Nyad swam from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64. Brian May aspired to be an astrophysicist, but was sidetracked by a little gig as lead guitarist for Queen. He went back to school at 60 to pursue his original dream, finally earning a PhD. Harland “Colonel” Sanders opened the first KFC when he was 62. And in her eighties, civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell was leading lunch counter sit-ins. Rocca sums it up. “One thing everyone in this book has in common: a belief that late life is no time to surrender.”
I don’t know if I can aspire to the level any of those folks reached. But I
know I would like to stay meaningfully engaged in the life as long as I’m living it. No advanced degree or feat of physical strength required for that. Perhaps I can let Judith Viorst be my guide with her recent memoir. Her trademark gentle wit and wisdom shine through in the title itself, “Making the Best of What’s Left: When We’re Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered.” She states she’s writing for those in the “final fifth,” the ages between 80 and 100. Viorst is realistic about the challenges, including diminishing abilities and the stacking of losses. But she also encourages readers to believe they can adapt to the changes and find new ways to thrive.
To find even more role models, see our catalog list, “Older and Bolder, Nonfiction.”
