I know I usually write about sex and relationships, but a few comments about a 94 year old unknown who has suddenly found fame and fortune was too good to pass up. Carmen Herrera has been painting most of her life in solitude. Her first sale was in 2004. Since then she has been discovered and can now be seen in the Museum of Modern Art, (MOMA), the Hirshhorn Museum, and the Tate Modern. She’s also now hanging on many collectors’ walls. She may not be sexy in the conventional sense, but if sex and artistic spirit are at all intertwined—Carmen Herrera stands as one helluva role model for all of us.

See full article in New York Times.

When Peace X Peace founder and Board President Patricia Smith Melton was selected as a Purpose Prize Fellow earlier this year, her invitation to the Purpose Prize Symposium at Stanford University included a guest ticket. I had the joy of accompanying her to that gathering of extraordinary individuals this past weekend. The 10 Purpose Prize Winners and 54 Fellows for 2009 look like America―Black, White, Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Native American; short and tall, lean and round, gay and straight, plain and fancy. They have two things in common: All of them are contributing to the common good on a significant scale, and all are over 60.

After 42 years of marriage, my husband was gone without a goodbye.

A practicing ophthalmologist, he was diagnosed with a rare form of dementia and our lives slid into a big, black hole.

Soon after, at the age of 62, I found myself suddenly alone for the first time in my life. At times I thought I would surely die of the pain and loneliness. But I am a determined woman. I needed to know that I could make it on my own. That my life did not depend on another human being for its meaning or its duration. I had to figure out how to adapt to my life exactly as it was.

Foreword

When Chloe Jon Paul first told me she was writing this book, I thought it might be interesting. However, I was totally unprepared for the in –depth, thoughtful coverage that is both pragmatic as well as personal. I found myself surprisingly absorbed by the journey that I was invited to go on.

Entering The Age of Elegance offers so many complete luggage sets for the journey any modern maturing woman must take that it’s equivalent to entering the best boutique and selecting your perfectly matched set of information for yourself. The beauty of the structure is that although it is written as a linear journey from preplanning to reaching your final destination, you can pick it up at any juncture and find a relevant gem.

I particularly like the way Chloe combines sound research with practical advice as well as wisdom culled from her own experience. She takes the rite of passage of later years seriously and obviously wants women over forty to take it seriously as well. Thus, she offers an extra-ordinarily detailed roadmap—better than any found on most travel guides or even Map Quest.

Upon turning fifty, I too, sought help with my new transition. As a psychologist, I also wanted to help guide my age mates with knowledge I had gleaned. I believed my purpose in life was to educate, mentor and hopefully in the process leave a legacy. Thus, I founded the online e-zine www.FiftyandFurthermore.com. Although I had fellow travelers writing on the site, some-times I still felt alone in my journey. However, upon reading this book, I knew I had found a fellow traveling companion who could be friend, mentor and a genuine person to simply hang out with and talk. And, if I couldn’t always meet her in person, all I had to do was open one of her generously shared, carefully labeled suitcases and know that I was not alone.

In this day and age of too fast everything, the art of gracious giving is too often over-looked. Entering The Age of Elegance is a generous gift to anyone who picks it up. Whether one gravitates to big picture concepts or fine line drawings, there is something special for you. Each chapter is filled with layer upon layer of information; rather like opening multiple jewel boxes nested within each other, each containing a jewel of value. As I opened each carefully selected travel case, I felt blessed with surprise gifts.

As Chloe Jon Paul begins and ends in her Litany of Elegance: “Blessed is the woman who affirms herself each day… Blessed is the woman who zeroes in on the qualities that will help her become…A Woman of Elegance”. I’ll add: Blessed is the woman who reads this book.

- Dr. Dorree Lynn, Psychologist, author, lecturer,

Founder/Editor-in-Chief of www.FiftyandFurthermore.com

Click here for an excerpt from Entering the Age of Elegance: A Rite of Passage and Practical Guide for the Modern Maturing Woman