You're Old, I'm Old... Get Used to It!: Twenty Reasons Why Growing Old Is Great - Tapa dura

Wry essays about the advantages and indulgences of aging.

No matter what they say, sixty will never be the new forty. But sixty- five-year-old British writer Virginia Ironside is determined to convince people that getting old is not so bad-even for a Baby Boomer who interviewed the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix early in her career. In her first nonfiction book published in the United States, Ironside explores the many unsung benefits of aging. There are ailments, but there are also fabulous meds. There are grandchildren- your reward for not killing your children. And then there's "wisdom," the random accumulated knowledge you can label as such precisely because you are old. You're Old, I'm Old . . . Get Used to It! celebrates scattered memory, frequent naps, and mercifully lowered expectations.

Ironside, an "agony aunt" with a plainspoken wit, is a convincing spokesperson for the advanced years. The book's easy-to-browse format, clever line drawings, and self-deprecating charm make this a fantastic read for fans of Judith Viorst, Nora Ephron, and anyone who can appreciate the humor in longevity.

Virginia Ironside has been a writer since 1964, and currently pens an advice column for The Independent in London. Her book No! I Don't Want to Join a Bookclub was published by Viking in 2007. You're Old, I'm Old . . . Get Used to It! debuted as a stage show, The Virginia Monologues, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2009 and is now touring the U.K.