Magnificent Midlife

Ashton Applewhite is an author, speaker and anti-ageism activist. Rachel discovered her work about three years ago and has been quoting her daily ever since. Ashton got a standing ovation when she did a main stage Ted talk called Let’s End Ageism. She was invited to speak at the UN. She’s recently republished her book This Chair Rocks, A Manifesto Against Ageism. In this amazing interview we talk about: How Ashton never had a life plan or knew what she wanted to be Why we worship youth in Anglo-Saxon cultures The lack of products and services for older people How we often don’t like to identify as being in midlife or older How facing the ageing monsters is useful How fears about ageing are totally out of proportion to reality Our attitudes towards ageing affect how we age The U-Curve of Happiness How midlife is a time of reckoning How ageism starts between our ears How we need to be more generous towards each other and ourselves When we compete to stay young we reinforce ageism, sexism and the patriarchy Ho