Carol's Reflections

On the Brink of Everything

Ten years ago, at the age of 63 when I was fraught with the challenges of growing old in our ageist, dysfunctional society, I vowed to transform myself from victim to explorer. I viewed the far side of midlife as wild territory, full of dangerous unknowns, and saw that my

Personal Note: Angelica’s Last Breath

“Try to live with the part of your soul which understands eternity, which is not afraid of death. And that part of your soul is love.” –Leo Tolstoy Dear Friends of Older, Wiser, Fiercer, Over the past few years, many of you have given me valuable feedback on several of

Moses–Benched

When I speak before audiences, I often ask them to picture an old woman sitting alone on a park bench. Then I ask them to share the first image/thought/impulse that pops into their mind. The younger the audience, the more likely they are to feel sorry for the lonely woman

An Imperfect Decision

I am staying on Facebook. It’s an imperfect decision made by an imperfect person in an imperfect world. As recently as yesterday, I was going to disengage, believing that my staying connected offered tacit support to Facebook’s role in the 2016 campaign and that its invasion of the right to

The Tethered Boat

A few years ago, Dan and I bought a little houseboat. Dan sees it as a vehicle for adventure, captain of the high seas, although with an old engine that burns hot, we don’t go far from shore. Because of the boat, we have transformed Nashville’s humid summers from something

Beside the Point

The gang from Zumba class were trying out a new restaurant for my seventieth birthday. Service was slow and we were overly hungry. It was a spectacularly unlucky case of timing that just when I finally decided to start unwrapping my birthday presents, the long-absent waiter suddenly showed up with

Stumbling towards Thanks 11/21/17

In light of the relentless parade of daily headlines, this passing year has been one of disappointment, regret, revelation, righteous indignation and painful moments of truth. And yet, here comes Thanksgiving again, making seemingly impossible demands on us this time around. At least, unlike last year, this time there isn’t

Caring–Intensively: 10/26/17

When we come into age, we aspire to be accepting of change, but it’s complicated. I write this from first-hand experience, several months after an incident that landed me in the ER. I’m fine now—but acutely distrustful of anything at my age that reeks of excessive vitality. It is as

In the Wilds: 10/12/17

Our generation did everything in our power to gain control over our circumstances, individual as well as societal. Is this true of every generation? If so, the old have been, are and will always be doomed to fall short. But disappointment, as it turns out, can provide rich ground for

Blog Relaunch: Recovering my Voice August/2017

WELCOME to this special edition of Carol Orsborn.com: Older, Wiser, Fiercer. Those of you who are regular readers of my blog may have noticed that in the aftermath of the election of 2016, I have been uncharacteristically at a loss for words. That’s changed. As editor of our sister site Fierce