Review: I'm Too Young To Be This Old by Poppy Smith

I'm Too Young to Be This Old is aimed at older women who want to rediscover their purpose in God in mid-life. I think that I might be a little younger than the target age group for this book, because while some of it resonated, other parts were less relevant. Perhaps we all adjust to mid-life in different ways or perhaps I'm not quite there yet (please, let that be so!).

As with any good self-help book, each chapter of I'm Too Young to Be This Old finishes with a series of questions. Readers will no doubt benefit from looking up the related Bible verses and answering the questions honestly. But many readers, myself included, are still in denial regarding the possibility of aging, so happily disregard these opportunities for personal reflection.

There is a lot of useful information in I'm Too Young to Be This Old, including a potentially useful list of the symptoms of menopause, along with a suggestion that a woman suffering these symptoms should consult their doctor, as many symptoms can be managed and aren’t simply an inevitable sign of aging that can’t be helped.

While I'm Too Young to Be This Old is a good book for Christian women in this empty-nester age group, it is a reprint of the book originally published in 1997. It has been revised and updated, so it now suggests maintaining relationships with distant grandchildren via Skype, for example. However, other areas could have benefited from more revision. For example, the humorous discussion about cosmetic surgery completely ignores Botox. She also mentions the smoking section of an airplane. Was it that recently that people could smoke on planes?

Thanks to Harvest House and Netgalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Poppy Smith at her website.