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A Question of Age: Women, ageing and the forever self (Jacinta Parsons, ABC Books)

Jacinta Parsons wanted to get under the skin of ageing. What is it? And can we prepare ourselves for it, even before we have arrived at ‘old age’ (whatever that means)? With A Question of Age, the the reader is invited along on one person’s journey to understand ageing. Right off the bat Parsons does more than merely present the opinions of current thinkers and experts in the field. This is also a rich, first-person exploration of an issue common to us all. Parsons mines her own experiences in what becomes an immersive, often brutal, always honest ‘the only way out is through’ approach to ageing. She presents ageing as the negative space surrounding the experience of being ‘young’ and, indeed, it is difficult to pinpoint the moment that one becomes ‘old’. When Parsons replaces the word ‘old’ with the concept of being ‘not young’, from there the story finds itself. According to the author, a significant part of ageing—particularly for women—is the discrete value ascribed to us by society due to our age. At a certain age women are thrust into the third archetype, moving from maiden, to mother, and finally to crone in a problematic cycle of objectification that we have so far failed to change. Readers who enjoyed Annabel Crabb’s The Wife Drought should enjoy A Question of Age for its depth, research and straight shooting. It is an insightful and thought-provoking read.

Rebecca Whitehead is a freelance writer from Melbourne.

 

Category: Reviews