Joan Lunden Takes on Aging in New Book Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close
Joan Lunden on the Good the Bad and the Embarrassing Parts of Aging
In her new book Why Did I Come into This Room little is off limits
Daphne Youree Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Why write a book about getting older
I used to hear from people and they'd say ‘You still look so vibrant. Why don't you write a book about what keeps you this way?’ So, I was working on this book that I called ‘Live Younger Longer’ and then I was diagnosed with cancer. So, I stopped to write Had I Known [her 2015 memoir about her battle with triple negative breast cancer]. And then I thought, I don't want to write how to live younger longer. I want to write how to understand your body. And — mind, body and soul — at whatever age you are. Robbie Quinn The danger in thinking I look good for my age
It affects the way we think about what our capabilities are and what our possibilities are. People are staying engaged in the world and in life longer, but somehow while this change has gone on — this incredible shift — I still don't feel like the whole society has consciously embraced it. We still think of a 60-year-old or a 70-year-old in a completely different way... . Our possibilities now extend way beyond what we used to think of as a retirement age. On being replaced by Good Morning America at age 45
I wanted to be honest about that, which is the first time I've really talked about it. For years men have been working and at some point, they're made to leave because they're that age. It's tough because, what's your identity then? I certainly had that leaving GMA. My hosting role was so intertwined with who I was — you couldn't separate them... . Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > Lunden s Life List
Secret pleasure: Crossword puzzles Testifying on the Family Leave Act: “They asked me to come and represent the working mom, the caregiver, and the sandwich generation, as somebody who took care of my mom.” Tombstone text: She was classy, sassy, and a bit bad-assy. Her mom lovingly dubbed Glitzy Gladys was very outgoing but spent her latter years isolated
How she lived her last years of her life was a huge eye-opener and a huge life lesson to me — that if I understand how I'm aging I can understand how to take better care of myself. It's not just taking care of yourself in the sense of going to the doctor. It's understanding the importance of staying engaged in life — planning things, going places, [having] friendships and the importance of social connections. And the third thing was, and this is really important to me: having a sense of purpose. Life after cancer treatments offers a different perspective
I was going through that aging metamorphosis, where you all of a sudden give yourself permission to exhale, and say, ‘OK, so maybe I'm up here at the top of the mountain, but, man, this looks good!’ I can give myself a little applause for life well lived. I can take stock of what I've done in my life. And also: What I always maybe dreamed of doing but never really got around to it. Do I like the person that I have become, all the decisions that I've made and all the ways I've treated people up to this point? ... It's the biggest pivot point. Because when you take that kind of assessment, and you embrace it, it becomes your guidepost for how you're going to walk forward in the rest of your life. More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS