Caroline Paul has written an inspiring entertaining book about what it means to be a tough broad.She shares the feats of tough women and women who are learning to be brave to learn boogie boarding at an older age.This book is funny warm real no matter how tough you are or aspire to be no matter your age.#netgalley #bloomsbury

Caroline Paul's writing has muscles. Opening page - this is what it feels to be alive. Truly ALIVE. I want that kind of vibrancy for my life, at all ages, so I keep reading. This writing has a physicality and attention to detail and - it just immerses you. Vivid and truly what I needed - thank you!

I was afraid this was going to be one of those books about older women being physical super heroes, guilting those of us choosing not to jump out of airplanes or hike the Himalayas, but Ms. Paul managed to balance the adventurous women with others just deciding to brave learning to swim for the first time, or hop on a boogie board. I found myself laughing and nodding my head in parts, about the emotional and physical struggles we encounter as we age.
Very well done. I've already recommended it to my best friend over over 40 years who has been an avid cross country skier and cyclist for years, even after double hip-replacement surgeries.

I am so grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to this title the day after my 48th birthday. This is a perfectly-timed read for me as I approach the 5-decade mark.

This book spotlights the invisibility and/or lack of women (especially older women) in rarer outdoor sports and activities by interviewing at least one that participates in them.
In the very first chapter, I am inspired! I had to look up what a OneWheel is...and now I want one!
I like how each chapter is focused on a particular activity and a particular aging-related lesson and includes poetic descriptions of each activity. I enjoyed how the author writes of her own thoughts and experiences as a newbie as well as the experiences and advice of other participants during her research.
I love the inclusion of the viewpoints of BIPOC and LGBTQIA participants!
At first, I thought it was rather elitist that the activities discussed are either expensive or require expensive gear. But when I'd finished reading the book (which included simple and/or cheap activities as well) and absorbed the messaging, I realized that the basic message this book could offer is "if 50-98 year old women can do these spectacular things, you too can be daring even in milder ways; aging is not about the body crumbling to dust the moment you turn 60." I have been inspired to try new activities or to try modified versions to fit my physical/financial limitations.

Quote: "It's about claiming those aspects of physical vitality, novelty, exhilaration, agency, and adventure for ourselves, at this age, right now."

Most of all, this book is about letting go of what we've been taught about how the human body ages. Because old science was wrong and new science is proving that humans, especially females, can lead full and adventurous lives well into their elderly years!

And I've already pre-ordered my own copy!