Finding Beauty in the Gray: Stories and Verse From the Third Age

Charlotte Readers Podcast

In this episode 378, we feature Hugh Willard, a psychotherapist, singer-songwriter, and author with a career spanning more than thirty years, and his book “Finding Beauty in the Gray: Stories and Verse From the Third Age,” which Kirkus Reviews calls “a thoughtful, upbeat, and accessible…primer on understanding and enjoying middle age.” The book is filled with stories, essays, and poems that address the common themes of identity, meaning, relationships, and exploring creativity.
Show discussion highlights:
• Does creativity come naturally to Hugh or with work?
• What it means to be a Third Ager
• Research for Finding Beauty in the Gray
• Finding purpose in life
• The busyness of advancing age
• Exploring the health benefits of gratitude
• A reading from the book
• Exploring creativity
• The vulnerability of the craft of writing
Author bio:
Hugh J. Willard is a psychotherapist, singer-songwriter, and author with a career spanning more than thirty years. He has developed and taught courses on exploring identity, meaning, and creativity in the second half of life for numerous Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, including those at the Universities of Duke, Georgia, North Carolina State and UNC-Asheville. Hugh's published works include a children’s chapter book series known as the Goodwill Vulture’s Club, a YA novel titled Degotoga, and a novella titled Clive’s Crossing. He is currently working on his MFA in creative nonfiction at Bay Path University. Hugh also has a podcast series titled Aging Well: Finding Beauty in the Gray.
Learn more about the author and their books HERE.
https://hughwillard.com
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