… three cheers for this selection of mini-essays, showcasing such eminences as Gloria Steinem, Penelope Lively, Hilary Mantel, Charles Handy, Paulina Porizkova, Diana Athill, Ursula Le Guin… as they dip their pens into either the honey or the vinegar (or some cocktail thereof) produced by their ageing selves. The compositions are categorised by age, ie from authors currently in their 50s right the way through to even their 90s – them that see it coming, them that are in its hands, them that are in its throes. The editorial conceit is “informed aging,” sharing lessons about the personal adjustments necessary to each new phase, down the declension of the decades, down – as one writer puts it – “that long beige corridor”.
from review by British forecaster James Murphy