“When my mother turned 60, she called me crying. When I turned 60 I threw a big party and I’ve never looked back.” (Deborah M, 69)

“We had been friends for most of our adult lives, but by the time I was in my mid-60’s I found myself avoiding her. I wanted to permanently ‘unfriend’ her, not meet her or answer her calls, and told myself that she had changed over the years. But I was the one changing, resetting my life. She reminded me of who I was in the past, and not the person I was becoming in my 60s. That wasn’t her fault.” (Clare T, 68)

“In recent years I lost several people who were close to me and this was a reminder that time is short. I considered my life so far to be full and successful, rich with family and relationships. Although I had checked off a lot of things on my bucket list, once I retired it wasn’t clear how I would navigate the 60s and beyond. I hadn’t prepared myself.” (Pam S, 65)

“I was in my 60s before I found my tribe. I wanted to say ‘where have you been all my life’ but of course, they were there all along, just in places I didn’t have the time, the inclination or even the need, to look.” (Joyce C, 67)

“Having lost my husband in my 50s, I felt that I entered the decade at a disadvantage. All the things we’d planned to do together I found myself doing alone or with other people. But as friends retired and went through significant life changes, it turned out that I was a pioneer of sorts, in a great position to help them navigate this decade.” (Angela W, 64)

“The changes to one’s body and face have been the most challenging. While I’m the version of myself that I have always known, the mirror tells a different story. I am in the process of reconciling these different parts of myself.” (Mary F, 65)

“I dreaded the idea of the 60s, thinking of it only as a decade long passageway to old age and infirmity. Now, as I turn 70, I view the 60s as the most important decade of my life, when I really came to know myself. The decade of the 60s is underrated. I don’t feel ‘elderly’ or ‘geriatric’, I feel full of life.” (Marilyn S, 69 3/4)