Collective Wisdom: Lessons, Inspiration, and Advice from Women over 50 by Grace Bonney

Collective Wisdom: Lessons, Inspiration, and Advice from Women over 50 Reviews

• 
  Nadia

  A 4.5-star rating.
  
  "Since the beginning of time, women have been the keepers of stories, traditions, and wisdom. And for too long, the powerful conversations women have with each other have been overlooked, because society often devalues women, age, and knowledge that is spoken rather than written. Collective Wisdom seeks to rebalance these scales by valuing women who have lived long and complex lives - and the experience and perspective that come with that...
  
  As much as there are moments of uplifting advice and wisdom, there are also useful, honest, and vulnerable reflections from women looking back on their lives. These reflections serve as a reminder that while age often brings wisdom, it rarely offers closure or perfection. Every woman in this book has not only evolved but is evolving...
  
  I came away from making this book with a better understanding that life is messy, and very little is linear. There is joy next to sadness, community next to loneliness, friendship alongside family. My biggest takeaway is that things won't always be okay, but that is okay." Introduction - pg. 9
  
  This book provides in-depth interviews with an expansive, diverse, and compelling collection of Women predominantly in their 50s & beyond. Many of these Women I'd never heard of and for Me that's what made their Stories even more enthralling, and uplifting. As a society We do tend to overlook those who aren't well known in some capacity or other, feeling that those 'ordinary' people with 'average' lives aren't worth our time, and yet, that's the majority of the population, including most of Us! And tragically Women's lives, and experiences are usually the most undervalued of all. Yet each and every person has a unique, exquisite, seminal Life that matters, and is worthy of being witnessed.
• 
  Kaye

  Collective Wisdom is a fantastic photo/coffee table book. The focus is on interviews with over 100 women who are all outstanding in their fields. Each woman is beautifully photographed with blurbs explaining why they are known. There are interview questions, quotes, life lessons and words of wisdom to be passed along to the reader. All of the women are known or recognized in their specialties or communities although I was only aware of three of them. They represent women who are activists, artists, educators, writers, chefs etc. One of my favorites is the oldest National Park Ranger at the age of 100.
  
  In several cases the book highlights two women who share a common interest and friendship although there maybe be decades of differences in their ages. I was especially happy the book is inclusive and diverse with many minorities and ethnicities represented. The words of wisdom and life lessons are worth reading as is viewing the lovely photographs. I like that this didn't focus on celebrities although many are award winners in their fields. This is great book for women of any age. It especially celebrates aging and the wisdom that comes with it. Thank you NetGalley and Artisan Books for a temporary ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Mai Mohamed

  تاني كتاب اقرأه للكتابة وللاسف نفس اسلوب الكتاب الاول اللي هو عبارة عن صورة حلوة اوي للناس وأسئلة مكررة لكل حد مع مقولات quotes اللي من وجهة نظري عادية جدًا ومن كتر تكرار الكلام ع مدار ٤٠٠ صفحة بقى سخيف اوي يعني
  
  كمان حاجه معجبتنيش أن ٩٥٪ من اللي ف الكتاب مثليين والكاتبة كمان مثلية ، كان غريب اني اشوف اثنين الفرق بينهم ٣٠ سنة وبيحبوا بعض!! دي قد جدتك يا ست انتي
  
  
  وكمان أغلبيتهم أما كتاب أو stylist عايشين ف نيويورك أو عندهم كتب طبخ ، واللي هو اصلًا امريكا معظمهم مش بتطبخ وبيشتروا الأكل جاهز مجمد يدوب يتسخن ف الميكروويف مع ذالك عندهم كمية كتب طبخ مشوفتهاش ف أي دولة تانيه !!
  
  ودايمًا التصنيفات اللي بتتبع المثلية وهي
  Brown/ African American/ feminist/ activist/ Muslim brown people اللي هو ايه كمية التصنيفات العنصرية دي ، وبتقولوا ع نفسكم مش عنصرين ؟!!!!
• 
  Yaaresse

  I admit I skimmed most of the second half, cherry-picking through the interviews. While all of these people would probably be fascinat8ing to converse with or if there was more individualization in their interviews, so many instances of people answering the same survey questions in one place, back-to-back, was too much sameness. It was actually a little strange how such a diverse group of women started to sound very much alike by the halfway point on the book.
• 
  Joy Carter

  I worked my way through this book casually. While the stories were decent, they were a bit too secular for me. I enjoyed learning about all of the things women have and can accomplish.
• 
  Kate Meberg

  First, I want to say I love this concept and the author did a great job of casting out her net to get a varied and wide representation of women.
  I think maybe the best format for this work is not written, but if it had been a podcast series (or an audiobook read by each contributor) it would really shine.
  The format of the questions felt less like an interview, and more like the women were filling out a survey. Because of that the questions had a way of feeling impersonal. Unless it was a duo who were featured, those were always my favorite because there was a rapport and you really could see the their personalities shine. Overall a solid read and I appreciate the effort that was put into sharing these ladies stories.
• 
  Rose

  Beautiful and inspiring interviews with strong, diverse older women in the US, imparting their life wisdom and advice on following your dreams and being your true self. It includes a variety of different cultures, women with disabilities and gender identities. Bought for my mother, who's in her 70s, but I also got a lot out of it and it fired me up to pursue my passions and embrace getting older.
• 
  Paul Sutter

  The previous book IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN from Grace Bonney, gave readers a look at some very inspiring and motivational women who created lasting legacies thanks to their visions. COLLECTIVE WISDOM (LESSONS, INSPIRATION, AND ADVICE FROM WOMEN OVER 50), expands and goes a step beyond, that with another truly memorable work that showcases the majority of women over half a century in age.
  Grace Bonney has amassed a stellar collection of almost 100 women from all walks of life, as diverse as they come. The other highlights of the book are the questions that are posed to every subject in the book, and more importantly the answers forthcoming from them. There are many people under fifty as well, intergenerational friends who show that any person any age can be friends, and live according to each person’s ideals and aspirations.
  The beauty of the book is that no matter what age, each person noted in the book has their own ideals and opinions about a wide range of topics. Betty Reid Siskin in 100 years old, the oldest National Park Service ranger serving in the United States. An African American songwriter during the Civil Rights movement, Betty even wrote a memoir detailing her life up to age 96, written in 2018. She is asked a variety of pertinent questions, among them “What does your current age feel like for you?” plus “What are you most proud of in your life so far?” When asked about what misconceptions about aging she would like to dispel, she answers, “The misconception that at a certain age you stop being curious. I don’t know what I would do if I stopped having questions, because the questions always push me into discovering more.”
  There are neighbors noted in the book, mothers and daughters, work partners and life partners, who offer their take on life, memories, how friendship has helped them through tough times, can you share something meaningful you learned from one another, and what makes you proudest to call each other friends?
  The answers will definitely leave a most valuable impression on anyone reading the book, and young people should read this book to learn from maturity, which may also inspire positive emotions and reactions in them today and down the road. This is an amazing and timely coffee table book, a life changer for anyone who reads these 400 most memorable pages.
• 
  Deirdre

  Okay, I liked the premise of this book a bunch: To learn from our elders! To learn from our women elders! To learn from a wide diversity of women elders! To celebrate the wisdom and achievements of old women! (Which unfortunately in North American majority culture somehow sounds dismissive even to say, ''old women,'' conjuring up pictures of dozing, frail, and anxious old age.)
  
  But I started to lose interest about halfway through; the questions were often very similar, and the answers were often very similar. This book could have done either with fewer, longer, more personalized interviews or with different questions asked of different people. And, this may just be me, it could have done with more...normal people? Lol maybe I just mean average people, like me, who haven't built a business or contributed largely to their field but who have had meaningful lives of beauty and influence nonetheless.
  
  The thing I most appreciated were the collective interviews: It was so beautiful to see these friendships and teams celebrated, the ways people can mark each other's lives for the better over years and decades.
• 
  Lisa

  This book was uplifting and an interesting read. Some of the women I had heard of (mostly the authors) but many I had not. I loved the pictures of these women who were older and radiated beauty, kindness and well-being. So many had relationships with or were mentors to younger women. Many had alternative lifestyles. I would have liked to see more of what they were well known for, many were artists but it did not show their work. The text was interview format and I wish they had varied the questions a little more.
• 
  Skye

  The author did a great job finding a lot of diverse wisdom. It was interesting although I would have loved to see a handful of perspectives from middle, rural America, the majority of interviews were from NY, CA or other coastal states and cities of large population. The unifying theme to me seemed to be all of them were most grateful for the families or friends that jave become family....basically connection is the most important. Women rock!
• 
  Julie Ounanian

  I didn't read every word of this book. I skimmed through, reading a little about each of the women. I loved the words of wisdom that had a page to themselves in bold print. One of my favorites is "Don't leave this world not doing something you love" and "Having Kids and being around younger people was the best thing that could have happened to me in my life, because it's like getting another life."
  
  The book includes colorful pictures of all the women on 399 pages and I recognized very few.
• 
  Christine

  I read one or two interviews almost daily during the last three months, thinking about how I would answer the questions posed to these women of a certain age.
  Several interviews had me taking notes on books to read or websites to explore or IG profiles to follow. Their diverse stories are proof that each of us has a story to share and wisdom to impart. Get out your pen and begin.
• 
  Jessica

  I would have liked to have seen some stories from 'everyday' women. Not those that accomplished amazing things, but were just amazing because they triumphed over life. Other than that, I loved every single question and story in here.
• 
  Stacey R

  Definitely one to come back to for inspiration. As someone on the edge of 50 it gives me a feeling that there is space for doing amazing things in life. A good balm for see lists like the 30 under 30 and such.
• 
  Tina Glover

  This was an interesting book, but as other reviewers have noted, most of the women chosen for interviews appear to be filling out a survey. I really liked the women friendships that are sprinkled throughout the book. Especially those between different generations.
• 
  Renée

  I did not have time to read this entire book but I definitely enjoyed the portions I did read. I have read several of Grace Bonney's books before.
• 
  Robyn Obermeyer

  Good stories nice photos, excellent subject!
• 
  Heather Dreier

  Fantastic! Perfect!
• 
  Nadia

  An excellent compilation of advice, inspiration, and words of wisdom from women from all walks of life! Something for everyone can be found in the pages of this book
• 
  Kaitlin

  Actual Rating: 4.25/5
  
  A fascinating collection of lives - very inspiring! However like all anthologies there were ones that spoke to me more than others
• 
  Dora Witherell vandenberg

  Could finish it. Just wasn't for me.
• 
  Lila

  A little trite but a cool project, I'm glad my local library purchased a couple copies. The childfree women's interviews were the most inspiring to me :)