Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old: A Highly Judgmental, Unapologetically Honest Accounting of All the Things Our Elders Are Doing Wrong
About this ebook
Soon after his 50th birthday, Steven Petrow began assembling a list of “things I won’t do when I get old”—mostly a catalog of all the things he thought his then 70-something year old parents were doing wrong. That list, which included “You won’t have to shout at me that I’m deaf,” and “I won’t blame the family dog for my incontinence,” became the basis of this rousing collection of do’s and don’ts, wills and won’ts that is equal parts hilarious, honest, and practical.
The fact is, we don’t want to age the way previous generations did. “Old people” hoard. They bore relatives—and strangers—with tales of their aches and pains. They insist on driving long after they’ve become a danger to others (and themselves). They eat dinner at 4pm. They swear they don’t need a cane or walker (and guess what happens next). They never, ever apologize. But there is another way . . .
In Stupid Things I Won’t Do When I Get Old, Petrow candidly addresses the fears, frustrations, and stereotypes that accompany aging. He offers a blueprint for the new old age, and an understanding that aging and illness are not the same. As he writes, “I meant the list to serve as a pointed reminder—to me—to make different choices when I eventually cross the threshold to ‘old.’”
Getting older is a privilege. This essential guide reveals how to do it with grace, wisdom, humor, and hope. And without hoarding.
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About the author
STEVEN PETROW is an award-winning journalist and columnist for the Washington Post and USA Today, as well as a regular contributor to The New York Times. His essays on aging, health, and yes, civility, often appear on the “Most Read” lists, and you’ve likely heard him on NPR or one of your favorite—or least favorite—TV networks. His previous books include Steven Petrow’s Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners, The Lost Hamptons, and When Someone You Know Has AIDS (3rd edition), among others. His TED Talk, “3 Ways to Practice Civility,” has garnered nearly two million views, and he is a past president of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ journalists. Petrow lives in Hillborough, NC. Visit his website at: StevenPetrow.com, follow him on Twitter @stevenpetrow, and find him on Facebook: stevenpetrow.
