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Prill Boyle

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Like many of the people I write about, I'm a classic late bloomer. I dropped out of college (a story in itself), married young, and ended up at Harvard--as a secretary, not a student. Twelve years later, tired of doing clerical work, I enrolled at Georgetown University and earned a B.A. and M.A. in English. After graduating at age 38, I became an English teacher.

Then in Jan. of 2000 I read a NY Times article about a 65-year-old woman who had waited 39 years to join the Peace Corps and was leaving for a 2-year assignment in Ukraine. Inspired by this woman's persistence and courage, I decided to take my own leap of faith. At age 48, I left my teaching job to write DEFYING GRAVITY. Since its publication, I've given over 80 talks and keynotes in 20 states, including a speech at the United Nations. In 2007 I traveled to Botswana to speak to school and government groups in cooperation with the Peace Corps. Now 54, I continue to research and write about late blooming.

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a postcard to my younger self

Dear 54-year old Prill,

Enjoy yourself more, sweetie.  Get a toy box and throw things in it.  Read a funny book.  Sing under a bridge.  Ride a bike.  Eat a raspberry sherbet cone.  Rent a funky house with a porch on a hillside.  Pretend you're a milkman.  Notice the walking stick on the sidewalk and be delighted by it.  Dress up in a crazy costume.  Jump on the bed once in a while.  Drink lemonade through a curly straw.  Celebrate your birthday with a pink cake.  Play, dream, and then play some more.

 

Love,

8-year old Prill

my role models

Every single one of the wonderful late bloomers I've interviewed; Mohammed Yunus (founder of the Grameen Bank and the concept of micro-financing); and most recently, Susan Page, the 47-year old singer who wowed the judges with her audition for "Britains Got Talent"--to name a few.

my posts

The Second-Half Adventure by Kay Strom

Publishers, publicists and even authors occasionally send me books to review.  Many of them have little or nothing to do with defying gravity, so I simply pass them along.  But I recently…

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Rocking out after 50

I’ve said this before, but almost everywhere I look these days, I see articles about people over 50 who are tossing aside their preconceptions about aging and shaking off the weight of…

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Bread Upon the Waters: A scholarship fund for older women

My friend Elin Danien, the founder of Bread Upon the Waters, a UPenn scholarship fund for non-traditional-age women, just sent me an update that I’d like to share.…

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Alice’s 12 Commandments

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, but here’s some lovely advice from a  90+ year old woman named Alice, a friend of a friend:

  1. Thou shall be joyful.

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The hot new thing in painting

Keeping our minds active increases not only our enjoyment of life but our mental health as we age, so it makes sense to do everything we can to

  1. heighten our powers

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my comments

Response to: Style at 65 - I want to look chic, not matronly

Response to: Flattering bangs after 50: How to get the best cut for you

Response to: My son just found out his girlfriend is pregnant

Response to: My son just found out his girlfriend is pregnant

Response to: What poem or quote inspires you?