Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Wild Space

Part One: Fall
1 Epiphany
2 The Elf
3 Self-Image
4 Just Lucky
5 Fame
6 Deepak Wrote My Book
7 Ten Legs
8 Close Encounters
9 Prayer Shawl

Part Two: Winter
10 Ice Storm 
11 Best Friend
12 Facebook
13 Message from Cancun
14 Maggie’s Yearbook
15 My Special Day
16 Witness to a Life
17 Old friend
18 Last Course
19 Dis-Robed
20 Journey by Flashlight 
21 The Exploding Fish                                                                                                                               
22 Boiled Chicken
23 Snow Booties 
24 Skype 
25 The End of the Story                                                                                                                                    
26 Ordinary Happiness
27 Evolution
28 Budgeting
29 Unhinged
30 At the Borderline
31 Whack-a-Mole
32 Keen Insights
33 Maggie’s Visit
34 Debrief 
35 Withdrawal 
36 If Only
37 Something
38 A Strange Being
39 Slipping Down the Pyramid
40 The Dance

Part Three: Spring
41 The Last Cappuccino
42 Revised Numbers
43 Clarity
44 The Promised Land
45 Smote
46 Giving Notice
47 Pinch My Thigh
48 The Clue
49 Stripped
50 The Portrait
51 The Last Time
52 Reckoning
53 Mea Still Culpa
54 Fierce With Reality
55 The Party Next Door
56 Fiercer Still
57 Freedom Revisited
58 120 Years Old

Part Four: Summer
59 Just Make One Dog Happy
60 Spiritual Training
61 Skele-Elf   
62 Bone Mountain
63 Bear Me Away
64 Flashlight On
65 Forty Years
66 Story Time
67 Our Last Walk in Brooklyn
68 The Alter
69 Ready to Move
70 Turning toward the Future

Carol’s Prayer
Appendices
11 Things I Learned about Aging
Sources
Q&A

About the Author

Carol Orsborn is the bestselling author of over twenty books and co-author of "Boom" and "Vibrant Nation." An internationally recognized authority on marketing to the Boomer woman, Orsborn serves as Founder and Editor-in-chief of Fierce with Age, the Online Digest of Boomer Wisdom, Inspiration, and Spirituality (FiercewithAge.com). She writes for "Huffington Post, "PBS's "Next Avenue, " and "Beliefnet, "splitting her time between Los Angeles and Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, Dan, and her dog, Lucky.

Reviews

From Publishers Weekly:
In this ""journey to the wild side of midlife,"" prolific author Orsborn (Vibrant Nation: What Women 50+ Know, Think, Do, and Buy) takes aging personally. Drawing from one-year diary she kept in her early sixties, Orsborn reveals the slow dawning that she, like her baby boomer brethren, ""had become old."" While Orsborn writes of becoming ""fierce"" with age, her musings lean more toward acquiescence than aggression. With gentle, self-effacing humor, for instance, she tells of losing her online writing berth, giving her time for walks in the park with her Maltese terrier mix, Lucky. She toys with turning Lucky's squirrel-chasing antics into a book of life lessons, only to discover to her chagrin that Deepak Chopra beat her to it. Short chapters—some less than a page long—maintain the spontaneous feeling of a diary, although every passage includes apt anecdotes and rich descriptions that keep this from being pure navel-gazing. Orsborn's year peaks with her development of guiding principles she calls the ""11 Spiritual Truths of Aging."" While it's a pivotal moment for the author, readers may recognize themselves more in the everyday vignettes that show how Orsborn came to accept the ""unexpected onset of growing older."" (May)

“A thought-provoking, brave, and courageous look at aging. Carol Orsborn tackles both the shadow and promise of transitioning beyond midlife, showing us aging as the opportunity to grow whole, rather than just grow old."" —Ken and Maddy Dychtwald, bestselling authors, co-founders of Age Wave

""I've not read anything as honest and revealing as the tale of Carol Orsborn's personal journey into becoming Fierce with Age. Through searching deeply and having the courage to share the experience, she offers us all insights and validation of who we can become in mid-life and the years beyond."" —Connie Goldman, author of Who Am I . . . Now That I'm Not Who I Was

""In a youth-centric society, Boomer women have understandably resisted the notion of growing old, but there comes a time in every life when denial of aging cracks. This is a time ripe for a book like Fierce with Age."" —Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women and PrimeTime Women

“In an age where America creates elder ghettos, a brave woman comes out swinging. Her chronicle of a woman’s life after 50 is an inspiration for countless other women (and men) to bust through the stereotypes of aging.“ —Justine Willis Toms, co-founder of New Dimensions Radio and author of Small Pleasures: Finding Grace in a Chaotic World

“Through lyrically written pages of her memoir, Fierce with Age, Dr. Carol Orsborn conveys today’s vital challenge for the Baby Boomer generation: to understand and accept aging and all the ramifications. This book is a poignant invitation for Boomers to try on the liberating possibilities of aging, freed from denial and dodging. Through Orsborn’s lucid spiritual lens, coupled with the sophisticated nuances of a Boomer generation marketing expert, readers witness wisdom, wit, and wrath of a well-considered journey. Her memoir shares insightful stories, reflections and advice that can help Boomers discard illusions and illegitimacies of youth obsession, revealing instead the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual paths toward acceptance of the aging process, fiercely.” —Brent Green, author of Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers and Generation Reinvention
 
“Dr. Carol Orsborn confronts aging—not gracefully, but fiercely—inviting us on her journey of unflinching honesty and tender revelation. Her diary of growing older may inspire your own.” —Mary Lou Quinlan, author of The God Box

 “By telling us her story of struggle and transformation, Carol gives us hope that we, too, can be 'fierce with age' and, so, live fully with the fire for life.” —Robert L. Weber, Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry

“This is a rich, intimate, and hard-to-put-down read that reminds me aging may not be for sissies, but it can be for seers, adventurers, and a few lucky squirrels. Carol Orsborn takes me there."" —Leah Komaiko, author of Am I Old Yet?
 
“Carol Orsborn bravely invites us to accompany her as she wanders in the wilderness of doubt and confusion after her job and identity are stripped away, and as she gradually claims new dreams and renewed faith. Orsborn’s searingly honest and ultimately hopeful account of turning toward aging offers invaluable inspiration to all of us who are, or will be, on the journey of later life.” —Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman, MSW, MAJCS, BCC, author of Jewish Visions for Aging

""[Orsborn's] book will deeply resonate with those who are transitioning beyond the identity that is tied up in a business card. It is a moving, honest, hard-to-put-down account of that transitional year that is filled with loss, discovery, and renewal and the gamut of emotions that made up her experience. Carol wants us to know that we are not alone in our process of transitioning from a 'doing' state, which is all tied up with our titles, accomplishments, and successes, to that of simply 'being.'"" —Kathy Sporre, Program Supervisor, Fergus Falls Senior Citizens Program, Inc.

""Many will identify with [Orsborn's] struggle to find meaning in the second half of life. Unlike many other fine authors on the positive aspects of aging, Orsborn writes of her personal journey. She dwells in her dark despair until a seed of possibility sprouts and grows."" —Judith Helburn, Story Circle Book Reviews

""This is a fascinating book, and it not only resonates with me, but it keeps coming back to me during the day as I go about my normal activities. . . . A thought-provoking book."" —Anne L. Holmes, APR, ""Boomer in Chief,"" National Association of Baby Boomer Women

""Carol Orsborn’s new book is her memoir about discovering, adjusting to, and eventually celebrating the shock of being old. Orsborn, who holds a masters of theological studies and a doctorate in the history and critical theory of religion from Vanderbilt University, delves into her spiritual challenges of aging with honesty and a strong dose of humor."" —Paul Kleyman, editor, Generation Beat Online

""This honest and revealing book is one of the most thought-provoking volumes I have read on how our culture discards us as we age, and how best to respond to this affront to our value as a human being."" —Laura Lee Carter, midlifecrisisqueen.com

""Don’t miss Carol Orsborn’s generational memoir!"" —Andrea Gallagher, SoCal Member and Life Planning Network President 

""Orsborn doesn't romanticize aging or its challenges, and she describes the unique opportunities that later life offers in a way that makes sense. . . . A very engaging memoir."" —Gaea Yudron, Sage's Play

""If you’re wondering how a highly successful and accomplished woman, spiritual writer and corporate consultant experienced the initiation of age, I highly recommend her story. It may illuminate your own story as well."" —John Robinson, PH.D., D.MIN.

""Sometimes a book comes along at just the right time. That's the case with Fierce with Age."" —Miriam Downey, The Cyberlibrarian

"Thank you, Carol, for writing one more book--the one unlike all the others--the one that was personal and gave insight into the passage many of us are yet to take." --Chris Bradshaw, Principal, BOOMbox Network