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Intergenerational Friendships Challenge Ageist Beliefs and Enrich Our Lives

Melinda Blau, 81, shares how friends who are decades older continue to inspire her

“The Wisdom Whisperers: Golden Guides to a Long Life of Grit, Grace, and Laughter” is Melinda Blau’s 16th and favorite book. It’s the story of her friendships with nine “old ladies” and what each woman teaches her. It’s a fun read with interesting characters, humorous quotes, and wise insights that, at age 56, I appreciate.

Melinda and I also talk about broader issues related to aging, like age discrimination, pressures to look younger (because society equates beauty with youth and smooth, wrinkle-free skin), and negative assumptions about older people.

I’d love to know whether you consider yourself “old” and at what age you think people qualify as “old.”

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