If I Knew Then / Jann Arden

 

If I Knew Then: Finding wisdom in failure and power in aging by Jann Arden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Breathtakingly, devastatingly honest. I don't know if you like Jann Arden's music, if you don't, or if you don't even know who she is. She's right around my age, she lives in my area of Alberta, and we both have aging on our minds. There are potentially many years ahead of us and we are both determined to do the most with them that we possibly can. We are entering the Crone stage of life, where we can do exactly what we like without worrying about what other people think. Our own opinions are all that matter now. I understand what one of my senior women friends meant when she advised me when I turned 50 that I was just coming into my power. Now I get it (and she is no longer here to see me make the mental connection, sadly).

A few pearls of wild woman wisdom from Jann:
“I appreciate the fact that my body is carting my soul around and it's doing a spectacular job of it. I see such strength and ability in myself, which I didn't even notice, let alone appreciate, when I was a young woman.”
“Getting older in this life is a privilege.”
“If you don't learn about problem solving at a young age, you can't expect to effectively navigate problems in adulthood.”
“You have to keep going forward even if that forwardness is kind of sideways—sometimes backwards.”
“Becoming wiser is the reward for getting older.”
“[The Crone is] not going to stay in relationships that aren't loving and thoughtful and uplifting, and I mean any relationship, not just the ones where you're naked with the other person. In fact, the Crone doesn't need to be in a relationship. She is strong standing right where she is, on her own, breathing in and out on top of the mountain, owning every single thing she's ever done.”

There's very little about Jann's career in this memoir, but plenty of life lessons and hard won experience. If you like reading memoirs, I would highly recommend this one. It is a quick read, but if you're a woman who wants some bracing encouragement, this is your book.


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