Blackbird's Book Blog

Oddly enough, as I was reading December Love, I kept thinking about the Real Housewives series on Bravo. The book is about a very beautiful woman as she enters middle and even old age. Although things have changed and women are no longer old at 40, the struggles are the same in that a woman's relevance is still very much based on how much youth and beauty the world sees in her. How do we hold onto that while retaining our dignity (think of what happens when those Housewives get a facelift)? Does going old gracefully mean that we have to give up passion - both sexual passion and the basic passion for life? Are we perceived at pathetic and ridiculous if we pursue much younger romantic partners? How do we reconcile the age we feel on the inside with what we project on the outside, and also that which we want with that which we can have?

I won't give away the main character's final choices, but it was a great journey and gave me lots to think about.