Gracefully: Looking and Being Your Best at Any Age »

Valerie Ramsey is a highly sought-after model who has graced runways, print ads, and television, modeling for Lexus and St. John's Knits and appearing on “Today” and “Extra,” among other shows. She is the media and public relations manager for Pebble Beach Resorts, the mother of six, and the grandmother of seven. Valerie resides with her husband, Wally, in California.

Heather Hummel, Valerie's daughter, is a writer whose work has appeared in Blue Ridge Anthology (along with David Baldacci and Rita Dove) and Messages of Hope and Healing. Heather is a graduate of the University of Virginia and is an active member of the International Women's Writing Guild. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A true inspiration for women of all ages, sixty-eight-year-old Valerie Ramsey lives the kind of life most of us only dream of. As a homemaker and mother, she successfully raised six wonderful children before entering the corporate world in her mid-fifties. Then, when most women would be planning their retirement, Valerie launched a brand-new career in modeling—at the seasoned age of sixty-three!

How does she do it? How does she stay so beautiful, so fit, and so vibrantly alive?

The answers are right here, in Gracefully. The perfect all-in-one guide for women in their forties, fifties, sixties, and beyond, it's filled with Valerie's best-kept secrets on how to look great and feel your best—at any age. Her invaluable three-part program includes her greatest insider secrets, professional tips, and time-tested advice on how to make the most of every aspect of your life:

In "The Body," she reveals the hair, makeup, and beauty tricks she learned in the modeling world, plus she offers her own personal regimen of nutrition, exercise, health, and skin care.

In "The Mind," she shares the motivational tools that gave her the courage and strength to meet life's challenges with a positive attitude.

In "The Soul," she demonstrates how to nurture your own spirit and shows the uplifting power of family and friends to make your life richer and more fulfilling.

With a little help from her friends in the health, beauty, and medical industries—as well as her own daughter and cowriter Heather Hummel—Valerie Ramsey has discovered a truly beautiful approach to aging, one that combines practical advice and personal insight with heartwarming anecdotes and inspiring guidance. Gracefully is so much more than a how-to book, diet guide, or exercise program. It's a complete, inside-and-out lifestyle plan that addresses many of the issues we face throughout every stage of our lives. Best of all, Valerie gives us the tools we need to continue our journey and build our dreams—to grow, live, and love . . . gracefully.

Valerie Ramsey is a highly sought-after model who has graced runways, print ads, and television, modeling for Lexus and St. John's Knits and appearing on “Today” and “Extra,” among other shows. She is the media and public relations manager for Pebble Beach Resorts, the mother of six, and the grandmother of seven. Valerie resides with her husband, Wally, in California.

Heather Hummel, Valerie's daughter, is a writer whose work has appeared in Blue Ridge Anthology (along with David Baldacci and Rita Dove) and Messages of Hope and Healing. Heather is a graduate of the University of Virginia and is an active member of the International Women's Writing Guild. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Publishers Weekly

Ramsey's best friend in high school was the beautiful Ali MacGraw, who "hopscotched right over the gawky stage" of adolescence. With such a friend, Ramsay says, "you couldn't help but feel insecure." Readers might be tempted to feel the same as Ramsey describes hopscotching over her own gawky, aging stage. Beautiful and accomplished, she has gone from happy stay-at-home mom of six (of whom coauthor Hummel is one) to older career woman and runway model in her 60s. But while few women have her genes, or her success, they may benefit from Ramsey's frank advice and beauty tips. She includes such useful information as how to pose for a photograph, strategic uses for Botox, what to eat, how to exercise, what makeup to use, the advantages of meditation and how to stay sexual in a long-term marriage. None of it is particularly original, but it is heartfelt and admirably health conscious (except perhaps for the Botox). Not everything has been roses for Ramsey. She's a survivor of uterine cancer and was diagnosed with a weak heart. How, then, does she do it? Ramsey attributes much of her success to the power of positive thinking. And then, of course, there are those genes. (May)

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Foreword   Susan Lucci     vii
Preface     ix
Acknowledgments     xiii
The Body
Fit, Young, and Vital     3
Body Beautiful     11
Let's Get Physical     23
The Benefits of Proper Nutrition and Sleep     47
Healthy Aging     61
The Seasoned Sensualities of Sexuality     75
Finishing Touches     89
The Mind
A Positive Spin     115
Looking Backward to Move Forward     129
Putting Your Best Foot Forward-Even if It's a Size 10     143
Learn Something New     155
Visualization Techniques to Create Your Life     171
Using Your Journal Throughout Your Life     185
Loving Yourself     195
The Soul
Bringing It All Together     207
Building Friendships to Feed Your Soul     217
Cherishing Your Marriage and Family     229
Believing in and Following Your Dreams     245
Recommended Reading     257
Index     259