If I Knew Then
Finding wisdom in failure and power in aging
Jann Arden
- **NATIONAL
- BESTSELLERJann
- Arden—bestselling
- author,
- recording
- artist
- and
- late-blooming
- TV
- star—is
- back
- with
- this
- funny,
- heartfelt
- and
- fierce
- memoir
- on
- becoming
- a
- woman
- of
- a
- certain
- age.
- The
- power,
- gravity
- and
- freedom
- she's
- found
- at
- fifty-seven
- are
- superpowers
- she
- believes
- all
- of
- us
- can
- unleash.**Digging
- deep
- into
- her
- strengths,
- her
- failures
- and
- her
- losses,
- Jann
- Arden
- brings
- us
- an
- inspiring
- account
- of
- how
- she
- has
- surprised
- herself,
- in
- her
- fifties,
- by
- at
- last
- becoming
- completely
- her
- own
- person.
- Like
- many
- women,
- it
- took
- Jann
- a
- long
- time
- to
- realize
- that
- trying
- to
- be
- pleasing
- and
- likeable
- and
- beautiful
- in
- the
- eyes
- of
- others
- was
- a
- loser's
- game.
- Letting
- it
- rip,
- and
- damning
- the
- consequences,
- is
- not
- only
- liberating,
- it's
- a
- hell
- of
- a
- lot
- of
- fun:
- "Being
- the
- age
- I
- am—that
- so
- many
- women
- are—is
- just
- the
- best
- time
- of
- my
- life."Jann
- weaves
- her
- own
- story
- together
- with
- tales
- of
- her
- mother,
- grandmother,
- and
- great
- grandmother,
- and
- the
- father
- she
- came
- close
- to
- hating,
- to
- show
- her
- younger
- self—and
- all
- of
- us—that
- fear
- and
- avoidance
- is
- no
- way
- to
- live.
- "What
- I'm
- thinking
- about
- now
- aren't
- all
- the
- ways
- I
- can
- try
- to
- hang
- on
- to
- my
- youth
- or
- all
- the
- seconds
- ticking
- by
- in
- some
- kind
- of
- morbid
- countdown
- to
- death,"
- she
- writes,
- "but
- rather
- how
- I
- keep
- becoming
- someone
- I
- always
- hoped
- I
- could
- be.
- If
- I'm
- lucky
- one
- day
- a
- very
- old
- face
- will
- look
- back
- at
- me
- from
- the
- mirror,
- a
- face
- I
- once
- shied
- away
- from.
- I
- will
- love
- that
- old
- woman
- ferociously,
- because
- she
- has
- finally
- figured
- out
- how
- to
- live
- a
- life
- of
- purpose—not
- in
- spite
- of
- but
- because
- of
- all
- her
- mistakes
- and failures."
pro-mbooks3 : libris
