FINDING MY BADASS SELF: A Year of Truths and Dares

 Author Event to Celebrate Doing What You Think You Cannot Do – At Any Age

Sherry Stanfa-Stanley, author of  Finding My Badass Self: A Year of Truths and Dares, will bring her fearlessness and humor to Conrad Sulzer Regional Library on Thursday, Oct. 19 with a free-to-the-public book event, with doors opening at 5:30, and the program slated from 6:00-7:30 p.m. 

Stanfa-Stanley will read from Finding My Badass Self and discuss her adventures with Chicago author Elaine Soloway, herself the author of four books and the inspiration for television’s Emmy-award-winning series Transparent, produced and written by Soloway’s daughters, Jill and Faith Soloway.

At age 52, facing later life and an empty nest, Stanfa-Stanley decided to kick off her “52/52 Project”—to do one thing she was afraid of every week for a year. The happy result is Finding My Badass Self: A Year of Truths and Dares, a collection of essays on Stanfa-Stanley’s deliberate forays into places far, far outside her comfort zone. Her adventures included visiting a nude beach with her seventy-five-year-old mother, crashing a wedding (she caught the bouquet), and joining a vice squad SWAT team as it went on a raid. Through it all, says Stanfa-Stanley, she gained a perspective that makes it easier in this new stage of her life to confront fears and laugh at herself.

“Especially as we get older,” Stanfa-Stanley says, “our comfort zone gets narrower and narrower. I learned that it’s never too late to change your life, and that facing your fears is a good way to do it. It’s also a good way of becoming and embracing who you’ve always been.”

The event will be hosted by The Village Chicago, a non-profit membership community focused on helping members navigate the new longevity by connecting them to each other and to trusted resources that support vibrant, secure later lives.

Books by both authors will be available for purchase and signing. Light snacks will be served. Doors open to the public at 5:30 p.m. and the program will be from  6-7:30 p.m.

While admission is free, advance registration is required. To register, go to The Village Chicago website at https://www.thevillagechicago.org/calender-events/finding-badass-self-sherry-stanfa-stanley/or phone the Village offices at (773) 248-8700.

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REINVENTING YOURSELF AT ANY AGE

PRESS RELEASE

Blue Rider Press, and Lincoln Park Village and its Life 3.0 Committee present:

TWO LATE-LIFE LIVE WIRES ON 

"REINVENTING YOURSELF AT ANY AGE”

Authors Meredith Maran and Elaine Soloway 

in conversation with Alison Cuddy

at Conrad Sulzer Regional Library, 4455 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, 60625.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., event 6:00-7:30 p.m.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

At the age of 61, Meredith Maran’s life fell apart: her long, happy marriage ended, her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, her best friend died of ovarian cancer, and she lost her life savings to a Madoff-type broker. She briefly considered spending her remaining years under the covers, but instead she moved to Los Angeles and re-started her life from scratch—in Hollywood, of all places. Meredith’s brand-new memoir, The New Old Me: My Late-Life Reinvention, is her story of coming apart and putting herself back together again, with some unexpectedly delightful results.

Chicagoan Elaine Soloway, 78, has published four books, and aspects of her life have been immortalized on the Emmy Award Winning “Transparent,” produced and written by her daughters, Jill and Faith Soloway.​ ​ A lifelong Chicagoan, Elaine writes about moving to the West Coast — and discovering she was happier back in her hometown. In her new book, Bad Grandma and Other Chapters in a Life Lived Out Loud, Elaine ​​tackles the ageism that pervades our society, the stress of caregiving, her passion for city living — all with her signature warmth and wicked sense of humor.

Alison Cuddy, is the Associate Artistic Director of the Chicago Humanities Festival. Before coming to the Festival, Alison spent more than 10 years at WBEZ 91.5 FM, the NPR affiliate in Chicago. There she helped launched Odyssey, a nationally syndicated talk show of arts and ideas, hosted the morning newsmagazine Eight Forty-Eight and reported on arts and culture.

Lincoln Park Village is a leader in the nationwide Village movement. An innovative, nonprofit organization leveraging the talents, wisdom and skills of its members to enhance the quality of life and the wellbeing of individuals as they live longer, so that they remain integral, vibrant and contributing members of our communities.

The Life 3.0 Committee aims to foster good transitions by identifying the needs and interests of people who have either recently retired or are thinking about retiring and helping them explore what they want next in life.

Copies of both books will be available for signing. Light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will be served.

This event is free, but please register in advance. You can register by visiting the Lincoln Park Village web site at http://www.lincolnparkvillage.org/calender-events/book-discussion-meridith-maran/ or by phoning the Village office at (773) 248-8700.”

For more information about Penguin Random House, contact: Marian Brown, Executive Publicist, blue rider press and PLUME | 375 Hudson Street, NYC 10014,  212-366-2230; marbrown@penguinrandomhouse.com