Steven Petrow | Stupid Things I Won't Do When I Get Old

In conversation with David Payne.

For fans of David Sedaris and Nora Ephron, a humorous, irreverent, and poignant look at the gifts, stereotypes, and inevitable challenges of aging, based on Steven Petrow's wildly popular New York Times essay, Things I'll Do Differently When I Get Old.

Soon after his 50th birthday, Petrow began assembling a list of "things I won't do when I get old"—mostly a catalog of all the things he thought his then 70-something year old parents were doing wrong. That list is equal parts hilarious, honest, and practical. He candidly addresses the fears, frustrations, and stereotypes that accompany aging. He offers a blueprint for the new old age, and an understanding that aging and illness are not the same. As he writes, "I meant the list to serve as a pointed reminder—to me—to make different choices when I eventually cross the threshold to 'old.'"
Getting older is a privilege. This essential guide reveals how to do it with grace, wisdom, humor, and hope. And without hoarding.

Steven Petrow is an award-winning journalist and author best known for his Washington Post and New York Times essays on aging, health, and cancer, which often appear on the Most Read lists. He's currently an Opinion Columnist for USA Today, a columnist to The Post, and a contributing writer The Times. Previously he penned The New York Times' Civil Behavior advice column and Digital Dilemmas for Parade magazine; his work has been published in Time, The Atlantic, Salon, the Daily Beast, the Los Angeles Times, and The Advocate. You've likely heard him on NPR's All Things Considered Weekend, or one of your favorite TV networks. The most recent of his five books is Steven Petrow's Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners and his TED Talk, 3 Ways to Practice Civility, has garnered nearly two million views to date. He lives in Hillsborough, NC.