Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old by Steven Petrow tapped into all of my emotions. This is a highly personal, yet relatable, look at the aging process, and it is as honest and unfiltered as it is witty and sharp. The author delves into an inevitable experience of the human condition, that of aging. We cannot help but laugh at his shrewd observations of a process that is familiar in each of our own lives, either as something we are experiencing ourselves, or have witnessed in those we hold dear. While the early essays seem, for the most part, to offer lighthearted perspective, they gradually move to a much darker place, reflecting on the finite nature of our time with our parents, and the crippling fear of growing old alone.

While I expected a witty take on the aged, Mr Petrow also leaves us pondering our own mortality.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for an ARC.

Everything one ever thought about an older person - mostly the negative stuff is portrayed here in this book. It was useful to read as it pointed a way to become a better person before you have descended into a typical "old" person. I'm sorry, I thnk I just put two spaces after that period. Old habits die hard but if one could be aware of some of the ones that drive people buggy, maybe we could all change are ways as we age.Certainly may of them hit home for me.

I was highly interested in this book because I remember my grandmother always told me to "never get old," so this book seemed to relate to that. I love the list that was created by Petrow and it overall made growing older seem less scary for me. I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone!

3.5 stars

Shortly after his 50th birthday, the author began assembling a list of “things I won’t do when I get old“. A lot of these are based on his observations of his aging parents and/or friends. The list ranges from not blaming the dog for my incontinence and not getting offended when someone says “OK boomer“, to more serious topics like knowing when to stop driving and telling people that you love them before it’s too late.

The book is well written, as you would expect from a journalist with decades of experience and prior books under his belt. I am in my 40s, and I will admit that I do several of the things on this list already, like eating dinner at 5 PM and the “organ recital“ (this is reciting all your aches and pains with friends). But I was a bit disappointed to find that the book is really not as humorous as it was proposed to be. Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly some funny bits. But I would say the majority of the book is actually fairly serious, and frankly I am now depressed about my future.

Thank you to NetGalley & Kensington Books for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is an exceptionally insightful book about what we all do, which is grow older. It is well worth reading and I plan to read it again. The author, whose work I am previously totally unfamiliar with, discussed aging by, essentially, creating a list of stupid things his parents do that he swears he will not do when he gets older. Of course, life has its very own curious meanderings and plot twists and we sometimes become our parents. Not always, of course. The stupid things our parents do is not a way of bad mouthing our parents. Rather, the book is a meditation on who we are, how we change, how we don't change, how we impact others, how they impact us, how illness changes us (even as young people), how technology intrudes, and other issues, some existential, and some dealing with manners and perhaps trivial topics like adding too many spaces after a period ending a sentence. Space, space. By the way, the trivial topics are rather important also. This book is well worth your reading time, and the author is very moving. I found especially moving the sections dealing with male bonding, sexuality, and father-son dynamics (three very different topics, of course, but with some central themes). Do yourself a favor, read this book. I've recommended it to my wife, that's a big deal for me. Congratulations to Mr. Petrow. Thank you for sharing. Your book means a lot to me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book; I literally read it in one sitting. And, as I read it I kept thinking “How true.” or “ I have to remember that for the future.” Mr Petrow writes with much insight gleaned from observing family members (especially his parents) and many friends age. The book not only points out things that are not a given of aging and how we can avoid these preconceived notions but also gives many explanations of why we act this way. Whether it's eating dinner earlier (hello Early bird special), refusing to use a walker or a hearing aid or many other situations we deal with as we and our our parents age. There is also a considerable part of the book dealing with how to live the life we truly want, how not to waste the time we have on this earth and how to plan for our eventual old age. I was fortunate to receive an e- copy of this book to review, I have already ordered a copy of this book to reread and use for future reference.

A fun and easy read! Short chapters with a smile and laugh in each one. This book is easily the best and most fun book I've read in a long time. Buy it and read it!