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50 Ways to Leave Your 40s
Sheila Key and Peggy Spencer, M.D.
New World Library
ISBN: 978-1-57731-545-2
Non-Fiction, Personal Growth
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

It wasn’t so very long ago, when 50 was deemed the beginning of the end. Soon you’d retire and then wait to die. Fortunately, times are changing. Better health care options mean that we are not only living longer but our so called golden years can now be spent doing what we want to do.

50 Ways to Leave Your 40s is essentially about celebrating a new phase of life and making the most of it. Perhaps, this is something we should do at every stage of life. Just take a moment to celebrate and look to the gifts that each age brings. Still, for many, 50 is the start of a whole new way of thinking and being. They’ve spent there entire lives focused on making money, getting ahead, succeeding in their careers, and taking care of family. Suddenly, all of those things seem to take on a different hue. It becomes more important to take care of oneself and have a little fun. Sometimes, it can be a very difficult transition. 50 Ways to Leave Your 40s provides the reader with 50 ways to celebrate, enjoy, and explore this new existence.

Book Review

From Boomerful: Beauty and Being for the Best Years of Life:

50 Ways to Leave Your 40s

A book review by New Product Editor Mary Kellenberger

----------------

50 Ways to Leave Your 40s

by Sheila Key & Peggy Spencer, MD
Publisher, New World Library

My first thought when picking up this tidy little book was "what a great title!" Maybe this help-make-getting-older-not-quite-so-depressing collection of advice will be better than most of the articles I've read in those check-out counter magazines whose cover titles scream "Help! I'm old and I can't get up ... or get down ... or this is how we can help you get up and get down." I'm not saying they offer bad advice. Mostly, it's good advice, poorly packaged.

So, I was delighted from nearly the first page of "50 Ways to Leave Your 40s"! In fact, this book is just fun-filled great advice! In line with its delightful title that immediately tuned Paul Simon into my brain, Sheila Key and Dr. Peggy Spencer kept the beat going with music/memory-evoking chapter titles such as "Take a Load Off Fanny" and "Break on Through to the Other Side". Great music with the right advice to go along with these wonderful songs in my head. The Band and Jim Morrison probably never saw it coming!

I must admit, though, that I haven't finished the book yet. There are lots of wonderful sidebars in each chapter:

* "Cool Moves" - lots of simple exercise moves to tone, strengthen and even alleviate pain.

* "Things to Try at Least Once" - just what it says and I love what I've seen, so far.

* "Doc in the Box" - good advice on subjects from stinky feet to bad breath - head to toe coverage, so to speak.

* "Scribbles & Doodles" - to get us on the road to the healing and joyful habit of journaling.

This is truly a primer on how to feel good about living longer and better. But, it's also more than that. It's a great, laugh-out-loud (and at yourself) read. I may always keep it near as a refresher on living right and right now.

Chicago Tribune Mention

Published in last Sunday's Chicago Tribune Q section, under "5 Things We Learned From..."

50 Ways to Leave Your 40s:
Living It Up in Life’s Second Half

By Sheila Key and Peggy Spencer, MD (New
World Library, $14.95 paper)

Five million people turn 50 each year—
more than 12,500 every day—and must
come to grips with that milestone.
Whether it marks the start of the decline
or the beginning of a new life is up to the
birthday boy or girl, say the authors, who challenge readers
to consider aging in new ways.


1
Our metabolisms slow as we age. Use your 50th birthday to
prompt you to increase exercise, which, in addition to
myriad other benefits, boosts metabolism.


2
It is natural to acquire more stuff throughout our lives,
but crucial to know when to empty the closet. Purge! “How
gratifying to move into life’s second half without a ton of
dead weight from the first.”


3
Sometimes it’s better to act your shoe size, not your age.


4
“Musical memory is stored in the brain differently than
other types of data.” So sing. It strengthens the brain in
ways other forms of stimuli cannot.


5
While we can grow rigid with age, it is important to “be
open-minded, openhearted, physically unblocked, and
earnestly open to serving the common good.”

—Chris McNamara

Review on Longevity: About.Com

The Bottom Line

50 Ways to Leave Your 40s provides a seemingly endless list of ideas and things to do that can make 50 and beyond more exciting. If you are looking for a way to shake things up, this book will have it.

Pros

• Tons of ideas, tips and advice
• Fun style

Cons

• Some ideas are trite or impractical [author's comment: sometimes trite and impractical are FUN!]

Guide Review - Book Review: 50 Ways to Leave Your 40s, by Sheila Key and Peggy Spencer

From rethinking aging to offering advice about eating, 50 Ways to Leave Your 40s provides tons of ideas and tips for making the second 50 years of life better than the first. As you read through each section, you'll notice that some of the advice is familiar, though some of it does bridge new territory (often drawing on New Age approaches).

As each section ("Way") begins, there is often a story or cultural reference presented to ground the section. Examples of "Ways" include: "Just Keep Breathing," "Spurn Your Bra," "Go With the Flow," "Act Ageless," and "Touch and Glow." Each section seeks to inspire the reader to rethink aging and take action.

The book incorporates a good deal of New Age and alternative approaches -- which may be a turn off or a turn on, depending on the reader. The style of the book, too, may be a love-it-or-hate-it characteristic. It is quick and a bit choppy and at times, making it hard to follow, but it is also funny, fast-paced and surprising.

For the reader looking for a quick read and lots of ideas, this book is great. If only a couple of the ideas jump off the page and into the reader's life, this book would be worth it.

link to webpage with this review

Endorsements for 50/40

Dear Fans,

The book is going to the printer this Friday! We are very excited. Meanwhile, our wonderful publisher has collected some awesome endorsements for us. Check them out:

"Good, juicy, inspiring words and ways to live as a gloriously aging soul."
--- SARK author and artist of Fabulous Friendship Festival


What a treasure trove! 50 Ways To Leave Your Forties is a joyful, irreverent (and at the same time, very reverent) enthusiastic, and incredibly informative book. The authors present their suggestions for zestful and meaningful living in wonderfully inviting ways. I loved it!

--Sue Patton Thoele, author of Freedoms After 50, The Courage To Be Yourself, and The Mindful Woman


"So far, the statistics are convincing: everyone ages. How we age, however, is largely a choice. In 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR 40s, Sheila Key and Dr. Peggy Spencer serve up a delectable recipe for healthy aging that is both delicious and joyful."

--Larry Dossey, MD, author of The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things

Dipping into this treasure trove of a book makes me want to go back in time so I can leave my 40s again. 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR 40s offers so many creative ideas, so much thoughtful information and is so darn much fun, I’m sure I’d do it more gracefully, heathfully, and happily the second time. Congratulations and thanks to Sheila Key and Peggy Spencer for giving all of us a life-affirming map to follow no matter what our age.

-- Judy Reeves, author of A Writer’s Book of Days

"Sheila Key and Peggy Spencer know that a new decade of life is the beginning, not the end, of something great. With generous helpings of wisdom and wit, 50 Ways to Leave Your 40s is a recipe for joy during what comes next."

-David Niven, PhD, author of The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People and The
100 Simple Secrets of the Best Half of Life

Not only that, but you can already buy the book on Amazon! See HERE.