For a memoir from a longtime book editor, I expected more tidbits about books and authors. Or, from the viewpoint of a 91-year-old writer, I had expectations of some profound pointers on how to age gracefully. What I didn't expect was to read more than I wanted to know about Ms. Athill's atheist beliefs and her sex life and multiple affairs with married men.

I did glean one marvelous quote towards the end to include in my quotation journal:
"One doesn't necessarily have to end a book about being old with a whimper, but it is impossible to end it with a bang." Priceless. Maybe I was expecting a little more "bang" with this book rather than a whimper. ( )

There are parts of this book that are moving and very insightful, other parts seem to drag. I like that someone wrote about the harsh reality that our existance will end or at best be transformed. I must say Julian Barnes did a better job of it in his memoir Nothing to be Frighten Of. Still Ms. Athill is a honest writer that does face her dying with courage and dignity. It was well worth reading ( )

An interesting memoir that was a bit too distanced from her feelings to really grab me. Remembrances of her life and lovers in a slightly odd dispassionate style. On the other hand, I hope I can write this well if, and when, I'm 89. ( )

I bought this for a quid in an Oxfam bookshop. Th reviews I have read have been good. I did not enjoy it at all. Of the 182 pages over thirty are blank as space fillers. There's a good chapter on urinary seizure which is frightening. Otherwise there are lots of things I didn't really want to hear about., for instance, non -genital masturbation I think the author needs to read the Highway Code and rules about driving on motorways otherwise someone will get hurt. There's some comments around complacency and smugness too. `Give me morphine', is what I thought when I was reading it. ( )