Welcome to Third Age

Reflections on the political and the personal for women in life’s third age.

Google “Third Age,” and you’ll learn that it began after the first downfall of Sauron, when he was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men following the downfall of Númenor.

With apologies to Tolkien, this newsletter isn’t about Middle Earth. Or even about middle age.

Rather, it’s about the stage of life that begins in late middle age and continues as long as health and energy allow. For many women – not all, to be sure – it’s a period when childrearing duties and paid employment may be reduced or even ending. If we’re lucky, it can be a time for reflection and for finding new purpose. It’s a time when we ask: What’s really important?

For many women I know, that has led to a new or renewed commitment to activism. For some, this stage of our lives coincided with the rise of Trump and profound threats to our democracy, and indeed many foot soldiers of the resistance are women over 50. Some of my best friends are women I’ve spent time with on the canvassing trail and in grassroots activist groups in and around DC. I’ll interview some of them, as they have fascinating perspectives to share.

Heading out to canvass in Virginia before the 2018 midterms.

I also want to talk with women outside my demographic – younger women and women of color, some of whom are leading the way in grassroots organizing. Like all writers, I write from a perspective shaped by my own life experiences, which in turn are influenced by race, class, geographic region, and a host of other circumstances. But I want to feature diverse voices, because the third age is not just one set of experiences; it’s many.

Equally important, I want to explore how caregiving – tending to the health of someone close to us, or dealing with our own health issues – affects our experiences of the third age.

For me, the personal and the political can’t be separated. So I’ll write about activism, but also about other issues that loom large in this stage of life: downsizing home and material possessions, finding the right balance of paid and volunteer work, and doing the emotional labor of coming to terms with the past, with its joys and regrets.

I hope you’ll join this conversation. Subscriptions are free, I’ll post by email about once a week, and there’s a comment option. Talk to you soon.