I was not initially familiar with the story of Englishwoman Lady Isabella Lucy Bird, so I didn’t know what to expect when I began reading Linda Ballou’s newest book, Embrace of the Wild: Inspired by Equestrian Explorer Isabella Bird. However I was lucky enough to read it just days after publication, and am pleased to tell you a little bit about the book. Right up front, let me say I was gifted this copy because Linda Ballou, an adventure travel writer, is NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate, and writes a regular column about her travels for the National Association of Baby Boomer Women. Her... Continue Reading
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Being originally from Wisconsin, which boasts being The Dairy State, I have alway loved cooking, baking and eating foods made with real butter. (I’m actually a butter snob, truth be told.) So when this sunny looking, smallish paperback came across my desk, touting that life is better with butter, I just had to pick it up and start reading. Of her reasons for writing the book, author Heidi Herman says, “This book was inspired by my other, who lived her life to the fullest. After my mom’s recovery from a stroke in 2016 at the age of 92, my mom began promoting the message of living life with... Continue Reading
If you’re a home-owning Baby Boomer looking for a profitable side hustle, this book is for you. You’ll be especially interested if, going forward, your personal housing preference is not to move to a Retirement community, but to stay in the family homestead – or at lest the home you currently live in – and “age in place;” yet you’ve realized that the kids don’t have time to come visit very often, which means the family homestead, as it currently stands, is really too big for your current needs. This situation not only describes the experience of Art Barry, author of “The Downsize... Continue Reading
As author Ralph Mroz states in the first sentence of this book, we’re all going to die. But, he says, the more important question is, how hard is dealing with your death going to be – both for you and for the people you leave behind? Obviously, your family and the other people who are tasked with handling your estate, are going to grieve your loss, whether or not it’s timing comes as a surprise. But how much work will they have ahead of them, finalizing your estate? Most of us, he points out, would prefer to minimize their work, and have a say in our endgame. That’s why this book exists. While... Continue Reading
Against My Father’s Will: A Memoir By Jane Morgan Barry Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne Holmes If you’re a Baby Boomer woman, you grew up in the late 50s, the 60s and 70s, a time of great change and civil unrest. We had Martin Luther King, Jr. leading the cause for racial equality, the strong anti-war movement that grew out of the Vietnam conflict, and, of course, Betty Friedan, the feminist writer and activist who sparked the fight for women’s liberation. As was demonstrated at dinner tables all over the country, and well-portrayed in Norman Lear’s iconic must-watch 70’s era sitcoms... Continue Reading
Perhaps all of us have moments when one of our more mundane thoughts crystalizes and remains frozen in our memory forever, though we don’t know why. I’ve had many of these over my lifetime. For example, during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, I recall listening to the news on the radio in my mother’s kitchen, while I baked a cake which was destined to be that night’s dessert. I remember wondering whether or not Russian housewives had access to boxed cake mixes. And deciding they probably didn’t. In an earlier memory – I couldn’t have been more than three or four – I remember lying... Continue Reading
NOTE: I was lucky enough to be invited to read a pre-publication copy of this book. As a result of that early reading, and my subsequent positive impression, I am honored to tell you that you’ll find a brief quote from me – along with the thoughts of dozens of other authors, coaches and medical experts – at the front of the book and on the front and back covers. Now, given that disclaimer, here’s my totally honest opinion of this book in a single sentence: If there’s a man in your life that you care about, you owe it to yourself and to him to buy this book. Heck, while you’re at... Continue Reading
In-Laws Can Be Murder: Every Wife Has a Story (A Baby Boomer Mystery Book 8) By Susan Santangelo http://babyboomermysteries.com Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne Holmes Carol and Jim Andrews are back again in this eighth installment of author Santangelo’s “Every Wife Has a Story” Carol and Jim Andrews Baby Boomer Mystery series. This one entitled “In-Laws Can Be Murder.” A bit of time has passed since daughter Jenny married Mark Anderson, her best buddy since grade school days, who’s now a detective on the Fairport, Connecticut police force. In fact, as the book opens, Jenny and Mark are... Continue Reading
Title: Chronologically Gifted: Aging with Gusto: A Practical Guide for Healthy Living to Age 123 Available in Kindle and Paperback formats Author: Dr. Erica Miller Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne L. Holmes In the very first chapter, Dr. Erica Miller tells readers she is convinced that a huge part of why aging seems to come upon us so suddenly and so overwhelmingly is because we don’t take steps now to give ourselves the best possible chance to live long, healthy and meaningful lives. She also tells us two key things about herself: She is “a spry eighty-something dynamo, actively and... Continue Reading
Title:Lost Angel in Paradise: Outdoor Days from L.A. to the Lost Coast of California (Lost Angel Adventures) Available in Kindle format (with free app) Author: Linda Ballou Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne L. Holmes Now you can delight in day tripping adventures along with adventure travel writer Linda Ballou, who’s long been known for her enticing articles about her power-packed outdoor days along the sun-splashed California coast from Malibu to Mendocino. For years, Linda’s many friends have asked her if they could come with her on these adventures, and she’s always declined. Not... Continue Reading