By Elinor Miller Greenberg and Fay Wadsworth Whitney
(Reviewed by Susan Hindman)

[amazon cover 1555916449]
A Time of Our Own is an apt title to describe the gift that the “third third” of life has become. The kind of freedom experienced today by women over 60 is a first in history. This book is meant to help women in this age group embark on a journey to make these years as creative and meaningful as possible.

Authors Elinor Greenberg and Fay Whitney interviewed 40 women, ages 59½ to 94, as well as a group of men and women who met regularly on health issues. They were asked their thoughts about redefining and reinventing life after 60, changing roles and relationships, money, work, health, losses, gains, and regrets. The authors used the information they received to clearly identify and describe the challenges and affirm the new sense of freedom of this evolving time in women’s lives.

In addition to issues of individual development, the authors assert that history made a difference in shaping their lives. Major events of the 20th century occurred during their lifetimes: the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the civil rights movement, and the women’s movement. The women interviewed were often at the forefront of these events and movements, and set the pace for major changes in their own communities. Their self-images are often those of pioneers. They were the women who learned how to juggle work and family, who returned to school in midlife, and were often the first of their gender in a particular profession or business.