The New Old Me

December 19, 2016
To reinvent means to change so much as to appear entirely new, but that’s not what Maran (Why We Write About Ourselves) describes in this disappointing memoir. Instead,when Maran’s marriage to the woman of her dreams fell apart when she was 60, she moved to L.A. and set about recreating her old life. She speed-friended, she found a character-filled bungalow in Silver Lakes to replace the character-filled Victorian in Oakland, and she found new love. Other changes were cosmetic: exercise, Botox, a Brazilian. She gives short shrift to the career switch from freelance to full-time writer for an office filled with chic (and much younger) women, the kind of nightmare experience many older women would equate with lecturing sans pants. What Maran does reinvent is her own history. In earlier discussions of My Lie, her book about the sexual abuse accusations she leveled against her father when she was in her 30s and later realized were not true, Maran has said those accusations led to an eight-year silence between her and her father. Here, she makes no mention of this past, saying instead that her father’s rejection of her partner was what led to the freeze. Being a “perpetually oversharing memoirist” may have made it impossible for Maran to truly reinvent herself.

February 1, 2017
An essayist and nonfiction writer's account of how she was forced to start over after age 60.In 2012, Maran (A Theory of Small Earthquakes, 2012, etc.) was preparing to leave the Oakland house where she had raised two sons and lived with her now-estranged wife. Facing a future with no money and less time to reinvent herself, she headed to the Los Angeles home of two friends. There, she slept on their couch while starting a new job as a copywriter for a clothing company staffed by stylish 20- and 30-somethings whose "good looks and confidence conjure[d] happy childhoods in interesting neighborhoods." As her finances improved, Maran realized that she now had to rebuild a social life that living as part of one couple or another for more than 40 years had spared her from doing. A large social and professional network allowed her to quickly begin meeting others, and soon she turned into a "friendship speed dater." Her life on the upswing, the author eventually moved into a rental cottage only to have the fragile stability she had created upset by divorce and the death of her father. Her LA friends then pushed her into the dating world. Maran reluctantly obliged by going to get her first Brazilian wax and then engaging in a post-marital one-night fling with a younger woman. Shortly afterward, she joined an online singles site and became involved with a beautiful 50-something businesswoman, Helena, who helped her deal with the unexpected loss of her job. The relationship was comfortable but not passionate, and in the end, Maran was forced to admit that she ultimately did not love Helena. By turns poignant and funny, the book not only shows how one feisty woman coped with a "Plan B life" she didn't want or expect with a little help from her friends. It also celebrates how she transformed uncertainty into a glorious opportunity for continued late-life personal growth. A spirited and moving memoir about how "it's never too late to try something new."

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2017

Turning 60 and beginning again can be daunting, especially in the midst of serious personal events. Book critic and author (Why We Write About Ourselves) Maran reinvented herself at just this turning point, after a painful breakup with her wife, the death of a close friend, and harsh financial setbacks. Leaving home, friends, and a freelance writing career behind, she moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles to begin a nine-to-five life out of necessity. What followed were struggles with housing, money, work culture, and the eccentricities of her youth-oriented new city. Her loneliness was pervasive and intensified. Through honest and vividly drawn scenes, she shares her grief and challenges. However, she artfully balances this with humor and keen perspective, and what emerges is another side to her story, one of resilient courage as she embraces her new surroundings with an open mind, reaches out to make new friends, rekindles her creative self, and re-enters the dating scene. A unifying, inspiring, and universal theme builds throughout: despite age and circumstances, it is never too late to start anew. VERDICT This well-written and finely paced memoir should resonate with a wide readership, particularly with mature individuals who are contemplating their own future paths.--Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.