Steven Petrow: Get Old With Grace

Simplify

We might say that “age is just a number,” but if we're really honest with ourselves, a lot of us still think of “old” people as stubborn hoarders who eat dinner (too) early and are forever talking about their aches and pains. Why is that? And could there be another way?

These questions prompted Steven Petrow, an award-winning journalist and author to begin compiling a list of things he won’t do when he gets old shortly after his 50th birthday. The list, which included “You won’t have to shout at me that I’m deaf” and “I won’t blame the family dog for my incontinence," was mainly based on all the things he thought his then-70-something parents were doing wrong. The list became first an essay and then a book, now praised as an "essential guide on how to age with grace, wisdom, humor and hope."

In this episode, Steven and Caitlin tackle ageing with honesty and compassion, exploring together how we can live a little better and a little more gracefully than the generations before us. The beauty of intergenerational friendships, (internalized) ageism, and perennials are just a few of the topics covered—with the beauty of the interview lying in the shared conclusion: everyone benefits immensely from understanding people for who they are, not how old they are.

Book recommended by Caitlin:

Wiser by Dilip Jeste and Scott LaFee

Books recommended by Steven:

How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

This is Not Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace

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This episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Maria Levacic & Stéphane Obadia at Blinkist