Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman by Brooke Shields (Audio Book)

From generational icon Brooke Shields comes an intimate and empowering exploration of aging that flips the script on the idea of what it means for a woman to grow older.

Synopsis - 

Brooke Shields has spent a lifetime in the public eye. Growing up as a child actor and model, her every feature was scrutinized, her every decision judged. Today Brooke faces a different kind of scrutiny: that of being a “woman of a certain age.”

And yet, for Brooke, the passage of time has brought freedom. At fifty-nine, she feels more comfortable in her skin, more empowered and confident than she did decades ago in those famous Calvin Kleins. Now, in Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old, she’s changing the narrative about women and aging.

This is an era, insists Brooke, when women are reclaiming agency and power, not receding into the shadows. These are the years when we get to decide how we want to live―when we get to write our own stories.

With remarkable candor, Brooke bares all, painting a vibrant and optimistic picture of being a woman in the prime of her life, while dismantling the myths that have, for too long, dimmed that perception. Sharing her own life experiences with humor and humility, and weaving together research and reporting, Brooke takes aim at the systemic factors that contribute to age-related bias.

By turns inspiring, moving, and galvanizing, Brooke’s honesty and vulnerability will resonate with women everywhere, and spark a new conversation about the power and promise of midlife.

Review - 

This is the first book I have listened to by Brooke Shields and I think it was the perfect one to start with.  It is filled with her clear and unapologetic thoughts about women, changing bodies, how society mutes their voice, motherhood, the medical system and more.  I am older than she is, so I hope she does this again when she reaches the age of 70.  There is so much women accept as normal. There is so much we experience over our lives. And we just don't seem to tell those coming after us about it. 

There are many things I didn't know about Shield's life, such she has had a long career on stage.  Also, her mother, who was usually by her side, was an alcoholic.  What a burden to carry and hide as a young person.  And she speaks about how interviewers who, despite her age, would keep asking the same question over and over, trying to get her to give them the sound bite they wanted even if it wasn't true. Then there the lifelong public focus on her physical appearance.

Somehow, despite it all, Shields keep on track and has had stayed in control of her narrative. This book opens the door to a side of her all women can relate to.  She shares openly about her aging and how doing so in the public eye is challenging. She speaks of being in the hospital where they weren't giving her the information she needed for informed consent and didn't believe her when she knew something was wrong. She also share how in many ways it is now that she feels most confident and strong, yet the world doesn't view her that way.

This is a great read for all women, and for those that love them enough to want to understand more. I highly suggest the audio book as her sarcasm really comes through. She truly is has a gift for comedy. 

Buy the book:  Amazon CA ~ Amazon US

Meet the Author - 

Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress, model and former child star. Shields, initially a child model, gained critical acclaim for her leading role in Louis Malle's controversial film Pretty Baby (1978), in which she played a child prostitute in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century. The role garnered Shields widespread notoriety, and she continued to model into her late teenage years and starred in several dramas in the 1980s, including The Blue Lagoon (1980), and Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love (1981).

In 1983, Shields abandoned her career as a model to attend Princeton University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in French literature. In the 1990s, Shields returned to acting, appearing in minor roles in films, and starred in the titular role of the sitcom Suddenly Susan, which ran for four seasons between 1996 and 2000. Most recently, Shields has made appearances in other television shows, including That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle, also starring in the animation film Under Wraps, alongside Matthew Lillard and Drake Bell. She also worked alongside Bell again in the animated films Adventure Planet and A Monsterous Holiday.

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