As they turned 70, the authors of 70Candles! Women Thriving in Their 8th Decade set out to investigate how women their age and older were living their lives. They sought role models for themselves and messages for the droves of baby boomers on their heels. They were curious about the challenges and joys of their age-mates, their work and retirement status, living arrangements, family and social connections, and more. These septuagenarians knew they were not like their own grandmothers who sat in rocking chairs knitting. But what is the new normal? This book, informative and inspirational, describes what they found in their reading, their ongoing 70candles.com blog, and 70candles conversation groups held in various parts of the U.S. Although they have taken somewhat different paths, the authors agree that turning 70 and entering their eighth decade has, indeed, been momentous. "Welcome to old age." They and their peers have found this new era exciting, sometimes scary, but full of opportunity. As developmental psychologists speak of life's stages and phases and rites of passage, the purpose of this book is the recognition that 70 is something important, part of an intriguing new stage of life, not just a birthday like any other. 70Candles! is aimed at all women approaching 70 and in their 70's and those interested in this journey - men, women, family and friends. About the Authors: Jane Giddan, M.A.,CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist and educator, is a fellow of the American Speech Language and Hearing Association and professor emerita of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo Health Sciences Center. She has specialized in language development and disorders, has spoken internationally about autism, and is co-author of numerous articles and books regarding autism and communication in child mental health. Still a clinician, but also mother of two and engaged grandmother of three, she has recently written some children's books with her husband, Norman. From her home in Dallas Texas, she continues to write, and blogs with Ellen Cole at 70Candles.com and Huff/Post50 as she composes her semi-retirement life. Ellen Cole, PhD, is a psychologist who has specialized in women's mental health and human sexuality. She is professor of psychology emerita at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage and currently holds the position of Professor of Psychology at the Sage Colleges in Albany and Troy, NY. At age 70 she earned a second master's degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and so began her interest in "positive aging." Ellen is former editor of the journal Women and Therapy, a fellow of the American Psychological Association, and past president of the Alaska Psychological Association and APA's Society for the Psychology of Women. Her most recent book (co-edited with Mary Gergen) is Retiring But Not Shy: Feminist Psychologists Create Their Post-Careers. Married to Doug North, and living in Albany, New York, she is mother of four and grandmother of ten.
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