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Mohrbooks Literary Agency Marie Arendt |
THE WONDER AND HAPPINESS OF BEING OLD
Letters to Eleanor
A couple years ago, Sophy Burnham (now age 87) was in a cafe with her younger cousin Eleanor, who was about to turn 60. Eleanor was anxious about this milestone birthday and asked Sophy: "What's it like to be ..."
Eleanor didn't finish the sentence: What's it like to be .... old? Since their meeting that day, Sophy began to seek an answer to the question, writing letters to Eleanor to offer her perspective on this period of life. THE WONDER AND HAPPINESS OF BEING OLD: Letters to Eleanor is a love letter of hope and inspiration to younger generations, a beautiful collection of thoughts, essays, meditations, and quotes on aging and the inner experience of being old.
In a narrative that delves into different stages of her life, and the challenges and joys along the way, Sophy talks about the shift from "doing to just being," and about re-examining one's life. The book offers guidance on letting go, on acceptance, on living every day with gratitude. Sophy explores the struggles of octogenarian life as well as the wonders of being old as she learns to "see things in a new way." Sharing stories of life and death, Sophy looks at love, dating, family, loss, grief, anxiety--and considers how she has found happiness through it all. Through these contemplations emerge lessons on how to reconcile regrets; on forgiveness and forgiving yourself; on confronting difficulties of loss--through divorce, death or dementia. In THE WONDER AND HAPPINESS OF BEING OLD, as in life, Sophy discovers "the goodness underneath it all....the love."
In the voice of a compassionate mentor or a wise, beloved auntie, Sophy offers guidance to younger generations trying to find meaning in their lives: "The trick to a happy old age: just live out each of your years well." She tells Eleanor (and us) not to be afraid of getting old: "You can't imagine the profound understanding, the happiness, the deep ringing joy it brings. Just hope you get to live long enough to experience it."
Hers is the search for authenticity in everything: "to love what you are doing, and love the people around you, to act with fearless authenticity. This is happiness and a gift that comes with age."
At the end of the book is a section with letters: incredibly, Sophy wrote a letter to herself at age 21, to be opened 21 years later, as well as a letter at age 42..and again at 63 and 84. The letters to her future self are very much like the narrative of this book, moving and poetic, conveying all the hopes we have for our lives, delivered with gentle love and compassion. Perhaps the reader will be inspired to write that letter to themselves, to take time to examine and appreciate their own lives.
The author of fifteen books, Sophy Burnham has published novels, nonfiction, short stories, children's books, poetry, award-winning plays, radio plays and numerous essays. She's the New York Times bestselling author of three books including A BOOK OF ANGELS (Ballantine 1990, Tarcher 2010), which has sold over 1 million copies. She has appeared on countless tv and radio shows including Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America and CBS Morning News. Sophy is a gifted psychic, medium and animal communicator. As she says, this is her calling, "both writing books (novels and non-fiction) that guide on the spiritual path, and also one-on-one, to open our hearts fearlessly to the spiritual dimension and to what we are here to do." https://www.sophyburnham.com/
In a narrative that delves into different stages of her life, and the challenges and joys along the way, Sophy talks about the shift from "doing to just being," and about re-examining one's life. The book offers guidance on letting go, on acceptance, on living every day with gratitude. Sophy explores the struggles of octogenarian life as well as the wonders of being old as she learns to "see things in a new way." Sharing stories of life and death, Sophy looks at love, dating, family, loss, grief, anxiety--and considers how she has found happiness through it all. Through these contemplations emerge lessons on how to reconcile regrets; on forgiveness and forgiving yourself; on confronting difficulties of loss--through divorce, death or dementia. In THE WONDER AND HAPPINESS OF BEING OLD, as in life, Sophy discovers "the goodness underneath it all....the love."
In the voice of a compassionate mentor or a wise, beloved auntie, Sophy offers guidance to younger generations trying to find meaning in their lives: "The trick to a happy old age: just live out each of your years well." She tells Eleanor (and us) not to be afraid of getting old: "You can't imagine the profound understanding, the happiness, the deep ringing joy it brings. Just hope you get to live long enough to experience it."
Hers is the search for authenticity in everything: "to love what you are doing, and love the people around you, to act with fearless authenticity. This is happiness and a gift that comes with age."
At the end of the book is a section with letters: incredibly, Sophy wrote a letter to herself at age 21, to be opened 21 years later, as well as a letter at age 42..and again at 63 and 84. The letters to her future self are very much like the narrative of this book, moving and poetic, conveying all the hopes we have for our lives, delivered with gentle love and compassion. Perhaps the reader will be inspired to write that letter to themselves, to take time to examine and appreciate their own lives.
The author of fifteen books, Sophy Burnham has published novels, nonfiction, short stories, children's books, poetry, award-winning plays, radio plays and numerous essays. She's the New York Times bestselling author of three books including A BOOK OF ANGELS (Ballantine 1990, Tarcher 2010), which has sold over 1 million copies. She has appeared on countless tv and radio shows including Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America and CBS Morning News. Sophy is a gifted psychic, medium and animal communicator. As she says, this is her calling, "both writing books (novels and non-fiction) that guide on the spiritual path, and also one-on-one, to open our hearts fearlessly to the spiritual dimension and to what we are here to do." https://www.sophyburnham.com/
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Book Published 2025-05-01 by Andrews McMeel |