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Amazing Grays: A Woman's Guide to Making the Next 50 the Best 50 *Regardless of your hair color!
Balanced somewhere between a memoir and a how-to, AMAZING GRAYS is a uniquely refreshing and candid look at midlife for those unwilling to become feeble old women with boobs in their laps, dreams on the shelf, and Memory Lane their only destination.
As a leading edge boomer, Maggie uses her own journey through midlife to shatter stereotypes about aging. At the core of her message, she exposes the fears and anxieties that often haunt maturing women and reveals how to mindfully navigate the turbulence with wisdom, perspective and practice. She encourages women to relish their roles as Amazing Grays and not waste time and energy trying to hang on to the past. For women who are entertaining the possibility of life without hair dye, Maggie shares her story of going gray. She outlines several strategies to take you from colored to natural and includes photos and stories of women who have taken the plunge. Hers is not an anti-aging message. This book is a little about going gray and a lot about aging mindfully and joyously (with a healthy dose of kicking and screaming) from an everyday woman s perspective.
As a leading edge boomer, Maggie uses her own journey through midlife to shatter stereotypes about aging. At the core of her message, she exposes the fears and anxieties that often haunt maturing women and reveals how to mindfully navigate the turbulence with wisdom, perspective and practice. She encourages women to relish their roles as Amazing Grays and not waste time and energy trying to hang on to the past. For women who are entertaining the possibility of life without hair dye, Maggie shares her story of going gray. She outlines several strategies to take you from colored to natural and includes photos and stories of women who have taken the plunge. Hers is not an anti-aging message. This book is a little about going gray and a lot about aging mindfully and joyously (with a healthy dose of kicking and screaming) from an everyday woman s perspective.
281 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2008
About the author
Maggie Rose Crane
3 books4 followersPrior to publishing her book, AMAZING GRAYS, Maggie Rose Crane spent a decade crisscrossing the country, conducting leadership and life-skills workshops for women. Born on the leading edge of the Baby Boom generation, she has experienced many life passages common to her peers: college, marriage, divorce, single motherhood, career changes, and creating a blended family. At the core of her message, shared through writing, speeches and workshops, Maggie exposes the fears and anxieties that haunt many midlife women – and reveals how to mindfully navigate the turbulence with wisdom, perspective and practice. She also serves as a guest editor for the Dove Real Women/Real Beauty Campaign website. (www.dove.com) Born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, Maggie now resides in San Diego, CA.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 25, 2009
Although this book was written more for my mother's generation than mine, I truly enjoyed it. Too many people feel that the way they look defines them as a person. We panic over every gray hair and laugh line. This book reminds us that what is really important is being happy with yourself, and enjoying life.
July 21, 2009
I won this from Goodreads monthly contest.
As someone who decided to bite the bullet, and allow my hair color to grow out, and embrace my silver hair, I have come to wonder why is it that our hair color, much more than many other aspects of our lives, defines our age? Why are we as women, so fearful of seeing those white hairs staring back at us in the mirror?
so, it is with interest, if not simpatico, that I begin reading Ms. Crane's book.
As a "late boomer" - someone born at the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation (more Iran-Contra than Camelot), I am very much a woman of my time in that I don't wonder "what if" as much as some of my elder boomer sisters do. (I have an older sister who is horrified that I've decided to go gray. I'm sure she'll be coloring her hair for years to come!) That defining thought process was clear throughout this book. It's not "what if" I grow my gray out, so much as "why not" and "who says" I shouldn't? While our elder boomer sisters paved the way for each liberating step that American women take, there is much less angst for those of my age bracket. Or, at least for this woman. Although I share the physical symptoms of many of the interviewed women in this book (changing body shape, loss of energy, gray hair, not to mention fluctuating hormones), I found myself to be in a better (more positive) state of mind than perhaps some women would be. I don't mean that unkindly. But the absence of...concern (for lack of a better word) as to how others will see me as I age is not "how young can I still look", but "how vivacious" can I be? As the mother of two teen age boys, I'd rather have them think "gee, Mom was always taking a bite out of life", rather than have them think I was desperately trying to reclaim some magic number that passed me by, ala Bette Davis in "Whatever happened to Baby Jane."
Now, having said that, I don't want to give the impression that this book was of no value. Ms. Crane hits squarely on the head many of the thought processes and physical changes that occur to women as they hit their middle years. I laughed out loud when I read the section by Suzanne Sommers where she says that George Clooney could be in bed with her, and she'd still be thinking, "really? I'd rather have a smoothie."
Clearly, no matter who you are, someone else shares your thoughts and emotions on what it is to be a middle aged woman. And that's a good thing. We should never think that we're alone on these journeys. Chances are your friends are going through the same things you are - or they soon will be.
Tempered with practical advice for we 21st century women (eat healthy, exercise), Ms. Crane's over all plea for "amazing grays" (regardless of hair color) is to continue to seek out ways to make life enjoyable and interesting. For many, it's easier now than it was decades ago. No children to raise (or, just about to have them fly the coop), more settled in our personal lives (wherever we may be - single/married/divorced/widowed), women over 50 (although I would bump this down to 40) start to realize the freedom of being your own person. With that freedom comes the confidence to face life at this new juncture; and a confident woman is the sexiest woman out there.
As someone who decided to bite the bullet, and allow my hair color to grow out, and embrace my silver hair, I have come to wonder why is it that our hair color, much more than many other aspects of our lives, defines our age? Why are we as women, so fearful of seeing those white hairs staring back at us in the mirror?
so, it is with interest, if not simpatico, that I begin reading Ms. Crane's book.
As a "late boomer" - someone born at the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation (more Iran-Contra than Camelot), I am very much a woman of my time in that I don't wonder "what if" as much as some of my elder boomer sisters do. (I have an older sister who is horrified that I've decided to go gray. I'm sure she'll be coloring her hair for years to come!) That defining thought process was clear throughout this book. It's not "what if" I grow my gray out, so much as "why not" and "who says" I shouldn't? While our elder boomer sisters paved the way for each liberating step that American women take, there is much less angst for those of my age bracket. Or, at least for this woman. Although I share the physical symptoms of many of the interviewed women in this book (changing body shape, loss of energy, gray hair, not to mention fluctuating hormones), I found myself to be in a better (more positive) state of mind than perhaps some women would be. I don't mean that unkindly. But the absence of...concern (for lack of a better word) as to how others will see me as I age is not "how young can I still look", but "how vivacious" can I be? As the mother of two teen age boys, I'd rather have them think "gee, Mom was always taking a bite out of life", rather than have them think I was desperately trying to reclaim some magic number that passed me by, ala Bette Davis in "Whatever happened to Baby Jane."
Now, having said that, I don't want to give the impression that this book was of no value. Ms. Crane hits squarely on the head many of the thought processes and physical changes that occur to women as they hit their middle years. I laughed out loud when I read the section by Suzanne Sommers where she says that George Clooney could be in bed with her, and she'd still be thinking, "really? I'd rather have a smoothie."
Clearly, no matter who you are, someone else shares your thoughts and emotions on what it is to be a middle aged woman. And that's a good thing. We should never think that we're alone on these journeys. Chances are your friends are going through the same things you are - or they soon will be.
Tempered with practical advice for we 21st century women (eat healthy, exercise), Ms. Crane's over all plea for "amazing grays" (regardless of hair color) is to continue to seek out ways to make life enjoyable and interesting. For many, it's easier now than it was decades ago. No children to raise (or, just about to have them fly the coop), more settled in our personal lives (wherever we may be - single/married/divorced/widowed), women over 50 (although I would bump this down to 40) start to realize the freedom of being your own person. With that freedom comes the confidence to face life at this new juncture; and a confident woman is the sexiest woman out there.
July 7, 2009
Oh, well done, Maggie Crane. This book comes right from her own heart and journey. It is well written and down-to-earth, filled with personal anecdotes, and backed up with her own research efforts. An easy and satisfying read. I'm in my thirties, so not in her target audience, but I still enjoyed the book's quiet humor and wisdom. It gave me both a sneak peek at the future as well as grounding myself more in the present.
One thing to be aware of: There is a lot of focus in the book on dealing with lost youthful beauty. This was clearly one of the most demanding challenges for the author. But, despite this strong focus, women who are not as concerned with their looks, but more with the other aspects of aging, will still find this is a wonderful and valuable read.
One thing to be aware of: There is a lot of focus in the book on dealing with lost youthful beauty. This was clearly one of the most demanding challenges for the author. But, despite this strong focus, women who are not as concerned with their looks, but more with the other aspects of aging, will still find this is a wonderful and valuable read.
February 17, 2016
I actually took quite a while to read this book, starting it when I decided not to use hair color anymore. There are some excellent points in here, mostly about being true to yourself and being confident and self-assured. It was also good to read stories of others who took the brave plunge to let their hair go gray too.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews