The Last Gift of Time: Life Beyond Sixty

Crisply and beautifully written observations of what it means to be a woman in her sixties in our time and culture. Originally published in 1997, this book has become even more meaningful since Heilbrun's suicide in 2003. She had always vowed to end her life when she turned 70, believing that a slow loss of self in advanced old age was infinitely worse than deciding on one's own when it was time to go.

She made that choice not at 70 as she predicted, but at the age of 77. Her death was controversial -- why on earth would anyone kill themselves when they weren't yet terribly sick or impaired? -- but speaks to a conviction about the value of life that is startling. Her last note read as follows: "The journey is over. Love to all." It's show more your call whether her decision was foolhardy or courageous.

In "The Last Gift of Time" Heilbrun articulates many ideas you will have thought yourself, but never as clearly or eloquently. And she formulates many ideas you will disagree with, which is all the more interesting. What is clear throughout is that she utterly relished life, which gives her choice on how to conclude it a stunning resonance.

In the spirit of honoring a life well-lived, I should note that Heilbrun is the author of the delightful Kate Fansler mystery series, written under the pen name of Amanda Cross. The series is vastly enjoyable, with plenty of good mystery, and highly intelligent, just like Heilbrun herself. show less

As a young woman, Carolyn Heilbrun made a resolution not to live past "three score years and ten." Taking her own life at the age of seventy, she reasoned, would lend clean closure to a life well lived, and would keep her from the many tragedies of aging--becoming a burden to her children, witnessing the deterioration of her body, falling prey to a crippling disease. But on the advent of her seventieth birthday, she looked back on the past ten years and found, to her surprise, that her sixties had been the happiest decade of all: after fifty years, her marriage had matured into a happy balance of companionship and respect for solitude; she had developed deep friendships with her grown children and a small circle of peers; she had show more mastered a highly successful career as a scholar and writer. In the poignant, essayistic writing that best showcases her elegant talent and provocative mind, Carolyn Heilbrun celebrates the many pleasures of a mature life.
Filled with wisdom, knowledge, wry humor, and literary allusion, "The Last Gift of Time" is a moving book for all women invested in the pursuit of leading a woman's life to its fullest capacity. show less

When she was a young, distinguished author and critic Carolyn Heilbrun's solemnly vowed to end her life when she turned 70. But on the advent of that fateful birthday she realized that her golden years had been full of unforeseen pleasures. Now, the astute and ever insightful Heilbrun muses on the emotional and intellectual insights that brought her "to choose each day for now, to live."

When she was a young, distinguished author and critic Carolyn Heilbrun's solemnly vowed to end her life when she turned 70. But on the advent of that fateful birthday she realized that her golden years had been full of unforeseen pleasures. Now, the astute and ever insightful Heilbrun muses on the emotional and intellectual insights that brought her "to choose each day for now, to live."

Such a beautiful moving book. Made me feel more pleased with getting older! I'd read the whole thing before I realized she had indeed committed suicide, after writing about her decision not to in the first chapter. Somehow I'd missed that. A beautiful voice gone.

Gave it a 4 only because some of the chapters, written in the late 90s, are dated - like the one about email and the internet.

In her youth, Heilbrun was one of those who imagined that life after seventy would be so burdened with physical and mental difficulty that life would not be worth living. Even as she entered her sixties, she continued to harbor the plan that she had set out in her twenties — to commit suicide on her seventieth birthday. In addition to the physical limitations that she anticipated in her sixties, she experienced a new joy in living, a sort of joy that had been impossible at any time in her younger years. Buying and furnishing her "own house" and discovering the pleasures of email and rediscovery of old friends through the power of the Internet were two of the things that made her change her mind about offing herself at seventy. In The show more Last Gift of Time, Heilbrun, now in her seventies, looks back on the unexpected delights of her seventh decade and looks forward to discovering what's in store in her seventies — and maybe beyond. Heilbrun's writing has been finely honed over her long career, and that makes the reading of her discoveries a pleasant task for readers of all ages who take pleasure in fine writing. (April 2009) show less

Interesting memoir by an early feminist. I don't agree with everything she writes but she does make me think and gives me pause about many things. I wish she was a Christian and then she would know death is not the end.