Turning 50: Fifty Personal Celebrations

by Olivia Wu

The 50th birthday is one of life's milestones-it's a time to reflect on half a century's worth of experiences and a time to look ahead at all that life still has in store. As the nearly 80 million... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0740700545
• ISBN13: 9780740700545
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.7" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

Perfect gift

The stories of actual people (interesting, creative people!) are so compelling when one reaches this scary milestone, only to discover that we are still young at 50, and there is a lot of wonderful stuff ahead. Inspirational, positive, a perfect gift.

My Life in a Book.

I had thought I was only fifty-something to turn my life upside down - until I read Olivia's book! Here was a whole group who were not afraid to allow the "second half" to be as exciting and wonder-full as the first half. My wife and I sold our house, kissed the grown kids good-by, and took off for the Caribbean (St. Croix) for two years. Like Olivia's interviewees, we didn't let fear stop us. We're now settled in the Chicago area (and we're from the west coast!), much richer for the experience we shared. Thank you, Olivia, for recognizing that life truly does go on! I highly recommend Olivia's book to anyone; especially those facing "the big five-0".

Glorious book

If you're 50 or about to turn 50 or once were 50, you'll enjoy this book. It's inspirational. Wu collected a remarkable bunch of people to interview. Did these 50 people have great birthdays, or are they just the sort of people who live interesting lives, period? It's interesting to reflect that baby boomers, who have broken all kinds of records, continue to redefine the word "lifestyle." The values of the 60's generation come through clearly in the group Wu has found to interview. The book focuses on the depth of meaning and life philosophy that can come with the word "celebration". These people are celebrating not only a half century of living, but life itself. The intro, by Depak Chopra, is worth the price of the book alone.

Turning 50

At a point in my life when I don't know if I'm young or old, it's great to read these short stories of people who are not only quite alive, but are succeeding at their lives and striking out in new areas. This book is a kick in the hind quarters to not take aging sitting down. Those who are interviewed (I was one of the earlier ones) tell some amazing tales of survival; a few of course are simply trying some new things... but they all add up to the fact that turning 50 doesn't mean things have to stop. Just the opposite, actually, it's an age to begin doing those things you always wanted to do but "life" may have gotten in the way. If you're about to turn 50, read this book! Then get off your duff and live.

Wonderful book!

Olivia Wu has done a masterful job of pulling together the stories of baby boomers who found creative ways of celebrating their milestone fiftieth birthdays. Her book is also a celebration of the spirit of a remarkable generation.Tom Brokaw's book, The Greatest Generation, is about people who selflessly did what they had to do to survive a depression, win a world war, and raise a family. By contrast, Turning 50 is about the children of that generation who went their own way and did what they wanted to do. The way each individual or couple in Ms. Wu's book chose to celebrate half a century of being alive was unique and fascinating.I found the book thoroughly enjoyable and uplifting. It also made me feel proud to be a member of that generation. No matter how old or young you are, reading these stories will be a joyful experience.