As you grow older, you might start to notice that the majority of the available advice highlights just part of the ageing process. Whether it’s what to wear, skincare recommendations or information on staying active, all too often it falls under a headline like, “What to do in your thirties, forties and fifties.”
But what happens after that? With the average female life expectancy now at 83 years, that leaves three decades of a life still left to live – a life still filled with curiosity, change and adventure, if you’re lucky.
It’s a topic that has long been of great interest to broadcaster Judy Bailey, who is in her early seventies and found there was a tremendous amount of uncharted territory to cover. So when she was approached to write the book Evolving: Finding Health & Happiness as We Age, Judy says the offer was serendipitous and she leapt at the chance to dive deep into the research.
“I’m curious about how to age well,” The Weekly columnist shares. “People are always telling you that old age isn’t for sissies and that it’s a minefield, with so many challenges to face. And that’s true – it’s a time when there’s an awful lot of change going on. So I thought, ‘Forewarned is forearmed!’”
Sitting in the sun-filled lounge of her Auckland home, Judy laughs that she is “not terribly good with change”. She met husband Chris Bailey in 1971 and they bought the house we’re sitting in during the late ’70s. She started in regional news at 18 and her career as a journalist
