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CTW S2E08 – Don’t Go Back to Sleep Patricia Taub is an author and life-long feminist. Her advocacy for women dates back to feminism’s second wave; about 40 years ago, while pregnant with her oldest son, Pat went to her first protest march. After writing the advice column, Coping, for almost eight years, she founded and hosted the award-winning program, Women’s Voices, for the NPR affiliate station, WAER. In 1995, Pat had the chance to learn about the difficulties of women in developing countries when she attended the UN Women’s Conference in Beijing. The experience ignited her devotion to helping women, and in 2001 her work on community activism for women was honored by the National Organization for Women. Frustrated about the lack of resources on helping manage life as an older woman, Pat created the blog Women’s Older Wisdom. Through the blog, along with the WOW Facebook community, Pat creates spaces for older women to connect and exchange personal experiences. In addition to writing on her blog, Pat has also authored the memoir, The Mother of My Invention. Pat joins me today to discuss women’s mental health and empowerment. She shares some of the biggest concerns women have about getting older, such as Alzheimer’s and being isolated. She explains why it’s important for women to find and build a community with other women and reveals what the older women in her community are doing to dispel some of the toxic myths that revolve around women and aging. She also encourages women to reclaim the ‘crone’ phase in a positive way and illustrates how ancient cultures and societies saw the phases of womanhood. ‘We have a responsibility to show younger women that we can hold our heads high in old age.’ - Pat Taub This week on Coffee Table Wisdom: The biggest concerns women have about getting older Why older women fear isolation The importance and impact of women building a community How Pat’s community of older women inspired a group of young women to learn from them How women are destroying the toxic myths about women and aging Why older women should support younger women The three phases of a woman’s life and how to reclaim ‘old age’ Resources mentioned: The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells Connect with Pat Taub: Women’s Older Wisdom Pat Taub on Twitter Email: hello@wowblog.me Join the Revolution! Thanks for tuning into the Coffee Table Wisdom podcast - the show that enlightens your body, mind, and spirit through ideas and musings from the worlds of health, psychology, spirituality, and art. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review. Join the Revolution in Positive Aging by sharing your favorite episodes on social media. Don’t forget to visit my website and follow my Facebook Page for even more inspiring ideas and musings on positive aging. Coffee Table Wisdom is produced by Auxbus. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Auxbus.com