Lauren Kessler is a bestselling author, a journalist, and a national speaker and workshop leader. She quotes Woody Allen who, asked when he was in his seventies how he felt about aging, responded: "It has nothing to recommend it. You fall apart, is what happens." Later in the interview he says that he would be willing to trade any wisdom he has for "being 35 again." Sadly, lots of people feel this way about aging: all they can see is decay and decrepitude, illness, and lack of independence or control.
With spunk Kessler takes on the phenomenon of anti-aging which is the most rapidly growing medical specialty today with as many as 30,000 physicians in more than 100 countries. It is, according to AARP, an $88 billion business that involves the making and marketing of drugs, supplements, and products for the Baby Boom generation. This is a big target market: members of this age cohort are turning 60 at the rate of 441 people every hour!
The author shares her findings on the eternal quest for youth by those leading and attending conferences and clinics. She undergoes a year of experimentation with a muscle biopsy, non-invasive "face rejuvenating" plastic surgery, Tabata training, detox and superfood diets, calorie restriction, ancient herbal tonics, and hypnosis to achieve a youthful mindset.
Whether Kessler is writing about Better Living Through Chemistry, The Sweaty Truth, or Beat the Clock, she vividly captures and conveys the yearning of these seekers for a miracle cure to stop the forces of aging in the body and in the mind. In the end, she comes down hard on all attempts to deny aging and suggests that we grow up and act our age, accepting the pleasures and drawbacks that come with it.
