This is not another newsletter by an old woman who embraces every facet of old age… who no longer gives a shit about trying to impress, who crows about her reinvention, or who celebrates the “many joys” of growing old.

This newsletter is a little different. I’m pro-aging and optimistic, sure, but I write about the strange contradiction of old age: it’s wonderful… and it also sucks. I’m radically honest about the blessings and the bullshit of growing old. I’m obsessed with the bittersweet.

My point of view, as I turn 75: it takes bravery to meet old age head on, with neither despair nor delusion; that’s what I’m [b]oldly practicing here.

After 50 years as a reporter, editor, author, and podcaster, this is my moment, and my place, to confront big questions, about identity, purpose, ambition, grief, and more. Come explore with me!

I write about everything from how sex is different in your 70s, to the ways my self-identity is changing, to how to grieve my parents’ deaths, to learning the best ways to love my adult children.

I write about the nuances of my own experience, as well as the reality of old age in the U.S. and elsewhere.

And as I come up on three years of publishing, I’m still writing about Getting old in real-time.

I love everything you’re doing - and how you’re doing it. You both inspire and inform in a beautiful way.” - Karen Salmansohn

Please join me as I write vulnerably and [b]oldly about growing old.

I write about surprises

I find myself most interested in the aspects of aging that no one prepared me for. Things like:

• Living through today’s political chaoes: does [B]old Age even matter right now?

• Ambition: the complexities of ambition as you get older

• Sex: what sex can be like in your 70s and 80s

• Self-doubt: wrestling with a lifetime of occasional depression and self-loathing

• Complicated grief: the grief of losing parents who didn’t quite accept me but I still long for

• Unexpected injuries: I fell smack on my face

• A writing crush: my writing crush on a younger man

I ask a lot of questions

About things such as:

• Learning to love yourself, if you’ve had a lifetime of self-doubt

• Defying ageist stereotypes you may be holding yourself

• Redefining your purpose, if you are of “retirement” age (a quaint concept, I know)

You’re invited to reflect on your own aging here, too… no matter how old you are. Through [B]oldWomen discussions and Q&As with esteemed [B]old Women writers, my Comment sections are consistently filled with personal shares that remind me how valuable a conversation is AND why I publish this newsletter.

“You are always asking the big questions, seeking how we can best live with vitality and wisdom. Whether it’s sharing your own story or bringing us amazing interviews I always learn something.” - Donna McArthur

Paid subscribers to [B]old Age get:

• 🤓 My revealing Personal Essays, like this one about my late mother and this one on grieving

• 😳 My in-depth essays answering questions such as, What if I get Alzheimer’s? and How will I cope if my husband (partner) dies?

• 📚 Membership in the NEW No-Guilt [B]old Women Book Club, a live discussion where we chat with [b]old women who are the authors of bestselling or well-known memoirs; you have access to the Zoom replays

• ASK DEBBIE: send me your questions about AI, book publishing, good writing, anything; I will answer you personally

• Q&As with [B]old Women about age, ambition, life, and writing

• Access to frank [B]oldWomen discussions

• Access to my complete archive of 100+ articles about topics related to growing old (what it means, its contradictions, and how to make the most of it)

Free subscribers get Q&A’s and discussion posts and my invitation to upgrade anytime via the current low rate of $40/year.

I publish once a week, on Fridays. Several times a year, I take time off to regenerate and to work on longer essays.

What subscribers are saying

I think our ability to be honest with ourselves about the personal shifts and adjustments we need to make is the definition of your Stack: BOLD. It's courageous to grieve what once was. - Paulette Bodeman

Debbie, thank you so much for this superb interview with me! Your questions brought out some new ideas that I’d never thought about before. Thank you for the warm and gentle nudging when you wanted more… I love this interview and your editorial comments. - Joan Price

“I absolutely love your writing!!” - Isabel Cowles Murphy

“Debbie, I love what you’re doing for those of us in our 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond! Our bodies might be aging, but you’re a great example of who we can be when we remain curious, creative and open to new ideas. Thank you for being [B]Old!” - Karen Sommerville

I support your work because you’re awesome. 😁 - Erika Andersen

“I care about your work because I’m getting older, too, but so are many of my contemporaries who are struggling. New insights and advice for supporting them are always welcome.” - Barbara McNichol

"I think you are doing a great job of opening up the topic of ageing. And you do it with panache." - Jeffrey Streeter

"I love Debbie's writing and her humorous, honest, thoughtful and wise perspective on aging [B]oldly, the same way I wish to age, now, in my 64th year.” - Amy Brown

“You really speak honestly and brighten my day.” - Elizabeth Lasted

Who is Debbie? She’s been called the “Queen of Elderstack”

I’m a 70-something podcaster, writer, author (I wrote one of the first books on business blogging for Penguin), editor (a nonfiction book coach), storytelling director (I founded a multigenerational women’s storytelling event), former reporter, Web pioneer (I coded my first website in 1996), nonprofit volunteer, wife, mother, grandmother and, well, a person who probably overthinks things.

After 30+ years in DC, I live on the Maine coast and in New Haven, CT with my husband of 53 years, Sam Harrington. We have three children in their 40s and six grandchildren. I’ve been called the Queen of Elderstack.1

For honest dispatches from a badass [b]old lady, subscribe to [B]OLD AGE. Omg, did I just call myself badass?? More about that here.