A Question of Age cover art

A Question of Age

Women, Ageing and the Forever Self

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A Question of Age

By: Jacinta Parsons
Narrated by: Jacinta Parsons
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About this listen

Grappling with ageing is one of the most confronting elements of being a woman. When we become invisible, when we lose our sexual currency, when we lose that elasticity in our skin, when our bodies soften and change, when our perceived 'value' to society dramatically falls, when our notion of self-worth takes a radical shift.

What do we do when our outside self doesn't match our inside self? That old woman staring back at her reflection in the mirror doesn't understand why she feels so young. So how do we adjust our perceptions of getting older? What does it mean to age as a woman? How do we adjust our thinking about being in the world? What is our currency now?

Jacinta Parsons believes that midlife is a crucial reckoning with despair and hope, a time when you are naked in the centre of the world and no one notices or perhaps cares to look. Midlife is a time when you take stock—to look back and understand how you were made as a woman, and to look forward into the future, to see how you might unmake yourself to live the life that perhaps you should be living.

©2022 Jacinta Parsons. Jacinta Parsons asserts their moral right to be identified as the author of this Work. First published in English by HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited in. This audio version produced by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited. (P)2022 Bolinda Publishing. This audio version produced by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited. Gender Studies Social Sciences Women Thought-Provoking
All stars
Most relevant
I love this book so far, I'm about half way and am looking forward to listening to the rest. It is refreshing to hear an articulate Aussie narration. it's like listening to a friend. The content is something that has been swirling around my head and Jacinta has laid it out and made sense of things I was ashamed about. If you are wondering whether to get this book or not I highly recommend it. If nothing else it is so comforting to know I'm not alone.

Wonderful book

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This is such an important book. As a 50 year old woman it speaks my own truth in ways I haven’t always found the ability to articulate even to myself yet. I cried at times when Jacinta spoke of truths I didn’t even know to be true for me until she said them.

Jacinta writes with a poetic beauty and accessibility, while also never shying away from topics that rarely (if ever) get spoken about.

This book is balanced, incisive, thought-provoking and beautifully mixes both academic research and anecdotal stories.

I am a huge fan of Jacinta Parsons in everything she does, and this is partly because she makes me think and consider things from different perspectives than those I currently hold. This book challenges me in parts, making me want to push back, but then I find myself getting a new perspective and being forced to think beyond my current paradigms. Evidence of a truly skilled writer!!

Looking forward to more work by the talented JP

Outstanding & thought-provoking

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I’m not done yet! Thank you JP, You certainly make my heart smile every time I hear you.

Sitting back with my middle finger in the air

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A poignant reflection on what it means to be a woman through all stages of life and the importance of discovering our essential self and learning to listen just as society deems us redundant. Beautifully written.

Just the book I needed

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Sometimes hard to listen to as it makes you question your own thoughts and ideas and prejudices. It did worry me that one generation has to make way for the next as if it is impossible we can occupy the same space. I refuse to become smaller or quieter as I age. We were told all our lives this is how we should be and we were sold down the river. Be yourself whoever that is loud,loved and valued. Thanks for this wonderful book that helped me entrench as well as question.

Thought provoking,

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Not sure I agree with everything she writes but it's an interesting reflection and has given me food for thought as I reach middle age

Thought provoking

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Gen X voice is a good thing - it’s an age thing but I really got this, enjoyed it.

A really insightful listen

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I’m a 48 year old woman working in a male dominated industry of engineering and find the over-generalisations about males and females in this book too much. I haven’t experienced anything like what is described here. In fairness maybe the book got better, I listened for nearly half an hour and stopped.

Not for me

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I tried so hard to listen to this but found myself constantly rolling my eyes. The content was excellent and on point but it was so overwritten, so overly flowery that it lost its point. I just wanted to listen about women’s experiences of aging and I just couldn’t get through the overly flowery prose. If you like that style of writing - you will love this, it just was not for me.

I wanted to love this

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Finishing this read was a chore.
Narrator was good, but content didn’t capture my attention.

I was a bit bored.

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