How to Succeed at Aging Without Really Dying »

Lyla Ward’s writing career officially began in 1949 when she sold her first poem to Colliers’ Magazine. Over the last 60 years, she has published numerous works of humorous verse, op-eds, personal essays and pieces of social commentary in newspapers and magazines around the country, including: Good Housekeeping, The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Woman’s Day, Family Circle, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, and Newsday, among many others. A savvy businesswomen, she also built and ran a small public relations agency, opened her own party goods store, and founded the monthly publication Party and Paper Retailer with her husband, Russ. Residing in Connecticut, Ward enjoys reading, woodworking, needlepoint, knitting, baking, cooking and attending her grandchildren’s school plays.

Lyla Ward’s How to Succeed at Aging without Really Dying is a wry, witty and wise collection of essays about living in a world of bubble packs you can’t open, electronics you can’t turn on, the shame of not being poll-worthy, expiration dates you can only hope don’t apply to you, and the difficulties of staying on the planet when it’s spinning out of control.

While taking a humorous look at health, grandparenthood, computers, and social issues, How to Succeed… answers such pressing questions as: What brand of yoghurt guarantees you will live to 110? Can older people really shop online, or is the ‘submit order’ button really only visible to users under 30? And how many pixels does it take to win your grandchild’s affection?

As we get older, we can whine or complain about our losses - memory, machismo, and mobility - or we can roll with the paunches. This book rolls.