Self-actualization (Psychology) in middle age. |
Self-realization |
Middle-aged persons. |
Boredom. |
Courage |
Stanfa-Stanley, Sherry |
Available:*
Library | Collection | Material Type | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Cobourg Branch | Searching... Unknown | Adult Non-Fiction Book | 155.66 Sta | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Fighting midlife inertia, Sherry Stanfa-Stanley chose to stare down fear through The 52/52 Project: a year of weekly new experiences designed to push her far outside her comfort zone. These ranged from visiting a nude beach with her seventy-five-year-old mother in tow to taking a road trip with her ex-husband--and then another one with his girlfriend. She also went on a raid with a vice squad and SWAT team, exfoliated a rhinoceros (inadvertently giving him an erection), and crashed a wedding (where she accidentally caught the bouquet). While finding her courage in the most unlikely of circumstances, Sherry ultimately found herself.
For midlifers, fatigued parents, and anyone who may be discontent with their life and looking to shake things up, try new things, or just escape, Finding My Badass Self is proof it's never too late to reinvent yourself--and that the best bucket list of all may be an unbucket list.
Reviews (1)
Kirkus Review
In this debut memoir, a woman devises a plan to yank herself out of a midlife malaise. Stanfa-Stanley found herself mired in a safe routine as she entered her mid-50s, becoming increasingly discomfited by her lack of spontaneous adventure. Divorced and now an empty-nester, she devised a scheme to shake things up: over the course of a year, she would attempt 52 new activities that would push her to the edge of her personal boundaries, a combination of exhilarating and frightening, what she called an "unbucket list." The only other criterion of selection would be that her experiences be laughter inducing. The remembrance divides into five seasons of experimentation (summer to summer) and each new endeavor receives its own chapter. Most of the chapters are only a few pages long, and for the most part can be read out of sequence. The list itself is an eclectic onesome of the pursuits are designed to be educational; for example, the author visits a synagogue, a Hindu congregation, and a Baptist church. Others are eccentrically challenging like beekeeping, entering a pizza-eating contest, and going vegan for a week. And there is some travel as well, including a totally unplanned trip to Fort Myers, Floridathe author tasked herself with getting on the first plane to whereverand a solo trip to Italy. Along the way, Stanfa-Stanley learned a lesson about the value of self-imposed discomfort, and the fortifying effects of testing one's mettle: "Life is full of hurdles, but the biggest obstacle is our decision to stop at a bump or a crossroad, fearful to move on." In her quirky account, the author writes with an informal charm and delivers each anecdote almost intimately, like the reader is a trusted friend ("Here's the thing about belly dancing: You seldom look as sexy as you hoped. Given my middle-aged figure and history of uncoordination, looking sexy was a long shot"). The tone is consistently lighthearted and comedic, and there's no shortage of opportunities to giggle. But many of the author's self-directed dares are a bit predictable and less than terrifying: she visited a nude beach, conquered a fear of public speaking, collected donations for the Salvation Army, and watched an evening of horror movies. A delightfully breezy read about experimentation, often humorous and companionable. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Table of Contents
Prologue: The Beginning | p. xi |
Summer | |
Chapter 1 Bellying Up to the Dance Bar | p. 3 |
Chapter 2 Stranger of the Bride | p. 8 |
Chapter 3 The Princess and the Pee | p. 14 |
Chapter 4 Of Bunnies and Batteries | p. 20 |
Chapter 5 Pizza Pie in the Sky | p. 25 |
Chapter 6 Church Hopping | p. 30 |
Chapter 7 I Will Survive | p. 35 |
Chapter 8 Creepy Crawlers | p. 39 |
Chapter 9 You're Getting Very Sleepy | p. 43 |
Chapter 10 If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want to Be Right | p. 50 |
Chapter 11 The Woes of Waxing, Not So Poetic | p. 54 |
Chapter 12 Just Shoot Me | p. 59 |
Chapter 13 Hair Today-Gone Tomorrow | p. 61 |
Chapter 14 Out on the Street | p. 66 |
Fall | |
Chapter 15 A Match Made in Hell | p. 75 |
Chapter 16 From Meetless to Meatless | p. 82 |
Chapter 17 Riding Shotgun | p. 87 |
Chapter 18 A Coulda-Been or a Wannabe | p. 95 |
Chapter 19 Revolver | p. 100 |
Chapter 20 Get Thee to a Nunnery | p. 105 |
Chapter 21 Old Folks and New Friends | p. 111 |
Chapter 22 Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah | p. 116 |
Chapter 23 Rocking It as a College Mascot | p. 125 |
Chapter 24 Much a Doo-Doo About Nothing | p. 129 |
Chapter 25 Honk If You Pretend to Like Mimes | p. 131 |
Chapter 26 Baring It at the Beach | p. 135 |
Chapter 27 Dining in the Dark | p. 141 |
Winter | |
Chapter 28 I'm Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band) | p. 149 |
Chapter 29 You Can Ring My Bell | p. 163 |
Chapter 30 Crying over Spilled Paint | p. 167 |
Chapter 31 Unplugged and Amish | p. 172 |
Chapter 32 Frozen | p. 181 |
Chapter 33 Turn Me On | p. 185 |
Chapter 34 It's All Happening at the Zoo | p. 188 |
Chapter 35 Let It Roll | p. 195 |
Chapter 36 Tiptoe through the Tulips with Me | p. 200 |
Chapter 37 Stranger Things Have Happened | p. 206 |
Chapter 38 We All Float Down Here | p. 211 |
Chapter 39 Pajama Party of One | p. 217 |
Spring | |
Chapter 40 A Sitting Duck | p. 223 |
Chapter 41 On the Ropes | p. 230 |
Chapter 42 Catching a Flight to Nowhere | p. 237 |
Chapter 43 An Italian/Irish/Ger man/French | |
Woman Walks into a Bar | p. 246 |
Chapter 44 Going in Circles | p. 250 |
Chapter 45 Coming Full Circle | p. 256 |
Chapter 46 My Big Fat Greek Party | p. 262 |
Chapter 47 A Segway into Catastrophe | p. 266 |
Chapter 48 Running for My Life | p. 274 |
Chapter 49 I Do Believe in Spooks | p. 283 |
Summer | |
Chapter 50 Catching the Buzz | p. 293 |
Chapter 51 Speed-Dating: Solo-Style | p. 297 |
Chapter 52 Up, Up, and Await | p. 306 |
Epilogue: The End-And a New Beginning | p. 315 |
Acknowledgments | p. 319 |