Judith Viorst returns with more poems in her âDecadesâ poetry series detailing the highs and lows of being an octogenarian. Continuing the comedic insight from Iâm Too Young to be Seventy, these verses of memories and advice from eighty years of love, marriage, and grandchildren are sure to bring laughs.
What does it mean to be eighty? In her wise and playful poems, Judith Viorst discusses love, friendship, grand parenthood, and all the particular marvelsâand otherwiseâof this extraordinary decade. She describes the wonder of seeing the world with new eyesânot because of revelation but because of a successful cataract operation. She promises not to gently fade away, and not to drive after daylightâs faded away either. She explains how sheâs gotten to be a âthree-dessertsâ grandmother (âJust donât tell your mom!â), shares how memory failure can keep you married, and enumerates her hopes for the afterlife (which she doesnât believe in, but if it does exist, her sister-in-law better not be there with her).
As Viorst gleefully attests, eighty is not too old to dream, to flirt, to drink, and to dance. Itâs also not too late to give up being cheap or to take up with a younger man of seventy-eight. Zesty, hopeful, and full of the pleasures of living, Viorstâs poems speak to her legions of readers, who recognize themselves in her knowing observations, in her touching reflections, and in her joyful affirmations. Funny, moving, inspirational, and trueâthe newest in Judith Viorstâs beloved âdecadesâ series extols the virtues, victories, frustrations, and joys of life.