BEING 60: On Death & Dating or "Happiness is Not an Accident"

BEING 60 tells the story of the author's search for fearlessness through events, books, countries, and finally the lense of a new, late in life love affair. And it is told from the point of view of a 60 year old woman, a feminist media scholar and author of seven books, and a single mother, unmarried for 25 years, who reveals her struggles with a late-in-life relationship, along with the self insights and happiness that emerged from confronting fear and embracing love. To do this, the author learned to lean into pain rather than run away from it. This is a tale of mother love and of romance, including love at first sight and travel to exotic places like an ashram in India, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, the remote, primitive regions of Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, Laos, and China. It is a book which anyone who has had fear about losing a child, caring for ill and dying parents, death, aging and growing old, money, and finally, men and relationships, will understand. And it is a book about the sheer joy of being on a spiritual journey.

Along the way, Mellencamp, a Distinguished Professor Emerita, shares her many inspiring teachers – including Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Charlotte Joko Beck, Pema Chodron, Ayya Khema, and Thich Nhat Hanh -- keeping their invaluable words intact so that they may be reapplied to other lives. Happiness is Not an Accident is a creative encyclopedia of great spiritual writers, including many women, whose words are guides through life’s fears.

And it is a book which consistently reveals the adventure and joy of being 60, a secret that has been kept from younger women for generations. Particularly illuminating are the insights into the joys and dilemmas of a late-in-life relationship.