The Granny Who Stands on her Head: Reflections on Growing Older

The Granny Who Stands on her Head: Reflections on Growing Older

The first sentence of The Granny Who Stands on her Head is “Somewhere in the middle of my seventies, I realised that I liked being old”. That is why I wrote the book – and not surprisingly, what the book is about.  

Let me digress for a moment.  

I am 80 years old.  That sounds very old. I have a clear image in my head of what an 80-year-old woman looks like. She is crumpled and may be leaning on a cane. She is worn out by life. Her clothes are dark and unfashionable. There is little joy. Perhaps you have a similar image.

It is not me.

I walk upright – sometimes slowly, but sometimes quickly. I have a good sense of fun, which has an outing most days. I tend to wear blue jeans and bright coloured tee-shirts, as I have done all my life. And I stand on my head in my weekly yoga class.

As we all-too-quickly move from young to middle aged and from middle aged to something close to old, we often don’t notice. Life goes on, we do the things we always liked to do. Unless there is some crisis, it is all a bit of a blur.

Some events are inexorable as life marches on. Our children grow older, they marry.  And then there are grandchildren and they grow older, too.

And at some point in this process, we each may come to realise that well, yes, um, if it needs to be said at all, I guess I am what people call ‘old’. And this is a very liberating moment. We realise that we don’t care if our hair is grey. We can wear sensible shoes or very unsensible ones. We can do what we like.  

In fact, we always could, but it seems to take getting old to realise that fact.

So, back to my book.

I am not a Pollyanna and I wanted to declare from the outset that there are some things I don’t like about being old. Lacking energy for sure. Having a pathetic memory. Finding myself with a body that can politely be said to be not what it was.  The death of friends and thinking about my own death.

None of these is exactly positive.

But then, so much of our lives as older people is governed by the joys and challenges that we have lived with all these years. For me, pn the positive side, I love singing in a choir, I love doing yoga, I love eating out. Indeed, I love to write and continue to do so. And there is much else besides. On the negative side, I detest shopping, I get terribly cross when my computer doesn’t function and I continue to be a worrier. As I have been all my life. And there is, of course, more.

So much of everyday life goes on as before.

But this is not the whole of the story. There are all sorts of new things about being older which are delightfully positive. I can start with grandchildren, where our relationships are incredibly special and close.  And then, there are our long-standing friendships which deepen over the years, not to mention marriage where, if you are lucky, it remains the strong base for your well-being.  

Perhaps most important of all, we older women gain a new confidence, a willingness to be – and to do – whatever we want.  And there is a surprising sense of being comfortable in our own ageing skin. It is a period of unexpected liberation, like no other.

What’s not to like?

So that is why I wrote my book and what you will find there. Plus a few miscellaneous stories from my life, from the difficulties of my first meeting with my mother-in-law-to-be to my astonishing receipt of an honorary degree in my middle years.  From being present at the birth of my first grandson to the very recent experience of my husband having a stroke. All life is there.

My book emerged into the world in November 2021 and has been well received.  It is most liked by those who enjoy reflecting on the nature of an older life, including some touching stories, some reflections on our day-to-day existence and some thoughts on our mortality.

I am pleased that it has garnered a reasonable share of good reviews. Some give what I feel is a reasonable summation of my efforts. Here is one recent example: “An intelligent account of the experience of being older…original and perceptive, extremely well written and at times gently humorous.”  

And some saw things in the book that I hadn’t really seen myself. It has been called “a love letter to life”, “a celebration of life”, “a joyous commentary on life”. Yes, I understand why they write this, but such thoughts were not in my head.

But my favourite comment came from a fellow writer, with whom I share a Facebook group but I do not know at all.  “I loved your book,” she wrote, “Never stop writing”.
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Ann Richardson’s most recent book, The Granny Who Stands on her Head, comprises a series of reflections on growing older. She has written numerous other books, including three written in the words of people interviewed: one about the thoughts of people who provide hospice care, one about people with AIDS when they were dying from it and one about being a grandmother. Born in the US, Ann lives with her husband in London, England. 

Please visit her website: http://annrichardson.co.uk

Read her latest newsletter and subscribe https://arichardson.substack.com/p/turning-80

THE GRANNY WHO STANDS ON HER HEAD

“Somewhere in the middle of my seventies, I realised that I liked being old.”

So begins this set of engaging stories and thoughts on growing older by someone with a vast range of life experience to share.

Part memoir and part reflection on the joys and challenges of modern life, this book explores the nature of old age and how it compares to what came before. The author argues that being older does not have to be feared. Even better, it can be fun.

This kaleidoscopic book offers a refreshing – and often funny – look at a wide range of issues, Including the personal awkwardness of a loss of memory, a new take on the nature of ambition, and sex at the age of 90. It challenges head on many of the prevalent myths and taboos surrounding old age.

You may never look at old age in the same way again

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips