Unexpectedly Eighty: And Other Adaptations

Unexpectedly Eighty: And Other Adaptations by Judith Viorst

I have grown old reading Judith Viorst's poetry on aging, one book every ten years (more or less) starting with When Did I Stop Being Twenty in 1987. Fortunately for me, Judith is two decades ahead of me so I can normally get her book relevant to my situation on the discount shelf of my local used book store. This is where I got Unexpectedly Eighty, published in 2010. While I am not eighty yet, I couldn't pass up the chance to see what Life has in store for me if I survive the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The book starts off with a quote from songwriter Gordon Jenkins: "Lingering sunsets, stay a little longer." In her eighties, Judith can see the end of life looming on the horizon, but is still enjoying the simple pleasures available to octogenarians. Always with a bit of humor and nostalgia, she looks at the situation in which she finds herself at this point in time. Of course, it is an upper middle class heteronormative life that she lives filled with grandchildren, an irritating but lovable husband, and middle-aged children who have little need of her.
I think her books appeal to me because they seem like guidance from an idealized American mother that I never had. My mother was an immigrant from what is now Ukraine and her guidance, while equally funny and insightful, was quite different and not always relevant to my life.