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, arthrit...

  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...

  When a woman loses her spouse, she often steps into a chapter that is both tender and formidable — a stretch of years that can span a decade or more. Statistically, women live 10–15 years longer than their husbands. But those years are not simply an epilogue; they are a distinct season of life, rich with its own rhythms of grief, adaptation, and rediscovery. 💔 The First Quiet The early months after loss are marked by disorientation — the sudden absence of shared routines, the silence where conversation used to live. Even simple acts — making coffee, folding laundry, locking the door at night — become reminders of a vanished partnership. This is the threshold , where memory and reality begin to negotiate their coexistence. 🌿 The Middle Years As time passes, many widowed women find themselves rebuilding around new anchors: Community: Friendships deepen, and new ones form through volunteering, faith circles, or shared interests. Purpose: Some return to long-set-aside passions —...

  Women live about five years longer than men in the U.S. (80.2 vs. 74.8), a pattern echoed across most countries and even across many mammal species. But longevity is only the starting point of the story. The deeper question is: What does this biological and behavioral gap mean for women as they age? Below is a structured, thoughtful post you can use as-is or adapt for your blog. 🌿 Why Women Live Longer — The Biological Core Across mammals, females tend to outlive males, and the pattern is remarkably consistent. Research shows: Female mammals live ~13% longer than males on average. In humans, women outlive men by about five years . This gap persists even when environmental stressors are removed, suggesting deep evolutionary roots . Two major biological factors drive this: 1. Chromosomal Protection Women have two X chromosomes , which provides a genetic “backup system” that can buffer harmful mutations. Men, with one X and one Y, lack this redundancy. This difference may contrib...