This is [B]old Age and I’m Debbie, “the queen of elderstack” who writes it.

By subscribing to [B]old Age, you can expect to challenge your beliefs about old age, from ambition to self-acceptance to purpose.

If you’re curious about what it’s really like to get old, from the blessings to the bullshit, you’ll be especially welcome and in good company here.

It's a blessing to get older, wiser, and more at ease. And it's bullshit for me or anyone else to deny the realities and the hardships.

Maybe you’re filled with questions about old age (sex, health, finances/retirement?), or maybe your experience is better—or worse—than you expected. (It’s both, for me.) This is where I explore the still-foreign land of the old, with beginner’s mind and with vulnerability.

I write curiously, non-judgmentally, and a little [b]oldly, and with you, the reader, in mind. I really want to know what you’re thinking.

I write about surprises

At 73, I find myself most interested in the aspects of aging that no one prepared me for. Things like:

• AMBITION: the complexities of ambition as you get older

• ACCEPTANCE: still needing acceptance & approval

• SEX: what sex is like with my long-time husband

• SELF-DOUBT: depression & self-loathing

• COMPLICATED GRIEF: the complicated grief of losing parents who didn’t accept me but I still long for

• UNEXPECTED INJURIES: I fell smack on my face

I ask a lot of questions

About things such as:

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

• How to practice radical self-acceptance (it’s not too late)

• Defying ageist stereotypes you may be holding yourself

• Redefining your purpose, if you are of retirement age

You’re invited to reflect on your own aging here, too… no matter how old you are. Through open-forum discussions and Q&As with select and esteemed [b]old women writers, my Comment sections are filled with personal shares that consistently 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

Free subscribers to [B]old Age get:

• Selected personal essays examining what it’s like to grow [b]older

• The latest Q&A with a [B]old Woman

• [B]oldChat, an open discussion community for [b]old women: 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s+ (40s and 50s welcome!)

Paid subscribers to [B]old Age get:

• All personal essays, including my most revealing essays, like this one

• Full access to all Q&A’s with [B]old Women about their lives and their writing, like this hugely popular one with Abigail Thomas

• Ask Debbie, an advice column where I answer readers’ practical and existential questions about [b]old age such as, “What if I get Alzheimer’s?”

• A regular invitation to [B]oldChat

I publish once a week, on Fridays. Occasionally I take a week off.

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, 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!" -

“I absolutely love your writing!!” -

Isabel Cowles Murphy

Thank you so much for modeling how to live a great third act that is both forward looking and fully present." - Julie J.

… and 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 more.

After 30+ years in DC, I live on the Maine coast and in New Haven, CT with my husband of 52 years,

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. And thanks to