Posts Tagged ‘aging stereotypes’

I was at the Palm Springs Book Festival a week ago, speaking on a panel about life and love after 50 and selling my books. I had thought this would be a perfect venue because of the age of most Palm Springs residents. I was right about the age, but I was shocked by the reactions I got! At every other event before this one, I had heard only enthuastic comments, like “It’s about time!” and “Oooooh, I want to read that!” or even, “You should have interviewed me!”

But this time, most people kept their distance when they saw the topic and never opened the book to take a look. Here are some of the comments I heard:

“If I brought this book into the house, my wife would divorce me.”

“No-oo-o, I’m done with sex.”

“I don’t care for men any more and I’m not a lesbian,
so no thanks.”

And from one person who promised to come back later:

“I’ll slip you the money, but I know a lot of people here and I don’t want them to see me buying this book.”

I’d love to hear your comments. Do these reactions surprise you?

Fortunately, there were a few brave souls who broke the mold. A group of three women laughed and they all bought copies. (I asked if it was for their book club!)

One man bought the book for his wife, then returned, worried. “What’s the worst that can happen when my wife reads this?” he asked.

“She might keep you up all night!” I replied.