"Old and ugly I may be, but inside..."
Quiet Life readers share powerful stories on aging, identity, and becoming someone new
Recently I sent you the below Kindred Letter, on how I grew older, lost my ambition, and found something deeper. And it touched a HUGE nerve. The many, many, many comments to the letter were an absolute treasure trove, and reminded me of how the best thing about the Quiet Life is *you* - our thoughtful, illuminated, and depth-oriented members. As QL member @Reg wrote, it was “impressive to read so many further honest replies….I very much appreciated any single line I read, felt connected to this community, and am grateful to be here.”
So today, I thought I’d share just a few of those comments with you. Many of them have to do with losing beauty as we age, and how to reconcile with that. But you also wrote about childhood memories, about beloved older brothers who saved you, about widowhood, and retirement..and about being a member of the Quiet Life.
“I was feeling old and lumpy and invisible, but I was that girl, once upon a time… I was mourning my lost youth, my wild and crazy self who never cared about the future. But I realized I needn't be envious….”
Here’s a link to the original post, and following that are the selected comments:
Are you in the second half of life?
As I write this, in a fairly cheerful mood, I’m facing, or have recently faced, all kinds of losses that we associate with the second half of life: the recent deaths of my father and older brother; my mother’s advancing Alzheimers; my beloved in-laws’ increasing infirmity; an imminent empty nest; and more.