MSI Press Blog

  Today's book excerpt comes from Women, We're Only Old Once by Bertha Cooper. INTRODUCTION   I stood at the door to my old age, somewhat reluctant to enter. Since I was only partially committed to the inevitable, I took a cautious first look at this new territory and came up with more questions than answers. What should I wear? What must I plan? What must I pack? What do I leave behind? What does it matter? I embarked on writing Women, We’re Only Old Once!: Keep What You Can, Let Go of What You Can’t, Enjoy What You Have when I was 66 years old and found myself asking even more questions. I knew that I was not alone. I would write from a woman’s point of view. Women, We’re Only Old Once! would be a book for women. I knew that I wanted to share my journey with other women and that I wanted to invite women to share their journeys with me. Aging doesn’t start at 50, 55, 60, or 65. It starts at birth. Aging doesn’t get a bad name until accompanied by wrinkles, arthriti

  I have a one-word description after reading Women, We’re Only Old Once! by Bertha D. Cooper…Wowza! Recently, Readers' favorite posted three reviews of Women, We're Only Old Once. All were 5 stars. Here is a peek: by Tammy Ruggles ...  This isn't a book to make you feel down, it's actually very uplifting and validating. Besides the positive side, Cooper also delves into the harder parts of getting older--rites of passage we all go through if we're fortunate enough to live that long, like losing loved ones, how to deal with changes in body and mind, and illness, as well as what to do about the practical things in life, like preparations, paperwork, and important decisions. Women can be a tremendous support system for one another. Women, We're Only Old Once by Bertha D. Cooper should be your go-to resource for yourself or a friend if you want to make the most out of aging and make peace with it. by Edith Wairimu Women, We're Only Old Once by Bertha D Cooper e

  Today's book excerpt comes from the award-winning book, Women, We're Only Old Once by Bertha Cooper -- Growing Old in a Culture of Denial As I began my journey of discovery into what being an older woman might mean in America, I learned that I wasn’t the only one who had questions and fears, nor was I the only one who craved conversation about aging well but didn’t know how to begin it. Most of us are at least curious about the experience of others and how it compares to ours. Yet, inexplicably we women, even those of us who tend to overshare, don’t always engage in substantial discussions about what it means to grow old and how to do it with dignity and self-kindness. We live in a culture in the United States that celebrates youth and hopes to postpone aging as long as possible. As women, we’ve all experienced the message throughout our lives that to be socially acceptable and desirable it’s necessary to be beautiful as in slender but curvaceous, with unlined, made-up faces

The Personals I not only answered dozens of ads in the newspaper personals section during the early to late 90’s I also probably had 20 or more first dates with men. Safe, boring, one-time-only dates. Dates with men I never wanted to see again. Meeting men in the personals became more of a hobby than a serious way to find Mr. Right. Years later when newspaper personals gave way to on-line dating, I have to say the on-line ads worked a lot better. Getting to know someone via e-mails is easier than only getting to talk to them on the phone before you actually met face to face on a real date. On-line photos and in-depth writing conversations back and forth help you weed out the frogs. One year during the 90’s, a friend of mine and I even offered a writing class at a big writers’ conference on how to write sizzling ads for the personals. I can’t remember how many people showed up or what exactly we taught them, but here’s our promo ad for the class. HOW TO WRITE GREAT ADS FO

  The following is an excerpt from the award-winning book, Women. We're Only Old Once (Bertha Cooper) that seems particularly appropriate as the new year begins:  I have been frankly humbled by this experience of entering the last phase of my life. I, so far, have humble thoughts, the most important include being honest about my grief and, in the end, letting go of it. I try to honor the important losses of friends, accept the devaluation of my work, shrug off the newest arthritic finger bump, and pay attention to new thoughts and aspirations that never before had room in my life. Quite important, as you will see in later chapters, I encourage investment in well-being. Among my hopes in sharing this journey with you is that we will honor our bodies, which are changing daily, by taking care of them and will cherish our remaining relationships. We can anticipate that new thoughts and aspirations will begin entering from unexpected places as we clear out denial and grieving. Welcomin

  Women, We're Only Old Once  is  a 2023 Independent Press Award WINNER   in the category of Aging/Midlife.  Congratulations to MSI Press author, Bertha Coope Book description: With over ten years of growing into an old woman with the help of her friends, Bertha Cooper knows whereof she writes. In this book you will learn that growing old is not the slow death of our personalities, our bodies, or our relevance to the world. Someday, it will happen, but not yet! Feel the wisdom below the years we've lived and the power that comes with making our own choices about our aging selves.  Women, We're Only Old Once  offers explanations for natural changes that occur while aging and transitions we must make as we age. Women can be relieved to learn that having less endurance or word-finding problems are not signs of disease. Women are empowered to put their energy and spirit where it counts on their journey in this important phase of life. Bertha Cooper also earned the Kops-Fetherli

  Today's bestselling Kindle book is Women, We're Only Old Once  by Bertha Cooper. Book description: With over ten years of growing into an old woman with the help of her friends, Bertha Cooper knows whereof she writes. In this book you will learn that growing old is not the slow death of our personalities, our bodies, or our relevance to the world. Someday, it will happen, but not yet! Feel the wisdom below the years we've lived and the power that comes with making our own choices about our aging selves.  Women, We're Only Old Once  offers explanations for natural changes that occur while aging and transitions we must make as we age. Women can be relieved to learn that having less endurance or word-finding problems are not signs of disease. Women are empowered to put their energy and spirit where it counts on their journey in this important phase of life.   Awards Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards/Phoenix Award for Best New Voice in Health and Fitness Winner, B

Recently received a very nice review of Women, We're Only Old Once  ( Bertha Cooper ) by Barbara Bamberger Scott (quite a tough reviewer, in our experience). From the review: " In constructing this lively guide to women's aging ... [that] covers vital information for all women in older years... Cooper bravely takes on complex issues like sexuality in older women, the sense of dread women feel at the possible loss of a partner, and strategies for planning new, post-retirement lifestyles. Whether standing at the brink of a certain age and facing the implications of the next phase of life or fully immersed in its quandaries, Cooper's readers will welcome her intelligent and empathic guidance. Read the full review HERE . Women, We're Only Old Once , just recently published, is already an award-winning book: Best New Voice in Health and Fitness, Kops-Fetherling International Books Award

  Great review of Bertha Cooper's book, Women We're Only Old Once , from MidWest Book Review: Very highly and unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists of all women whatever their age, "Women, We're Only Old Once!" is exceptionally well written and presented, making it a unique and certain to be enduringly popular addition to senior citizen and community library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections for women readers. Read the rest of the review HERE . Read more posts about Bertha and her books HERE

  This month's featured author is Bertha Cooper. Her book, Women, We're Only Old Once , won the Phoenix award for best new voice in health and fitness,  She also contributed a book to our pandemic series, Old and On Hold . Bravo, Bertha!  Want to know more about Bertha? Check out her biography: Bertha Cooper earned a BSN degree in nursing (University of WA) and entered the profession the same year as Medicare, a coincidence destined to define her career in non-traditional ways. She began her career in public health and moved into a management position early in her career–the beginning of a long career in management and administration in an expanding array of health care delivery innovations. She worked in public health, home health, long-term care, hospice and acute care. Every one of those positions involved quality, safety, and effective health care for the elderly. She became a reasonable voice and passionate advocate for patient-centered services across the continuum of car