The Longevity Book

I’ve just finished this incredible book by my contemporary, Cameron Diaz and her writing partner, Sandra Bark. Since reading it, I can’t stop recommending it to practically every woman I meet, as it has made such a huge impact on my attitude to ageing.

I’m about to lend it to my Mum. Two 40-something friends have bagged their respective copies, and I even found myself mentioning it to one of my lovely yoga clients as a must-read.

Why do I think this book is so amazing you may be wondering?

I think it’s because I can relate to some of the feelings and concerns that Cameron found herself having as she turned 40 - and what, in part inspired her to write the book. This is not, of course, due to the fact that I am a very famous and successful actor, but because being a woman, I am constantly judged and assessed by my looks and my status, rather than my abilities, my achievements and my character. Questions, which are down right rude or personal if you’ve just met someone, or barely know a person often arise, such as ‘Why don’t you have kids?’ or ‘What does your husband do?’, which I am sure men do not have to deal with as much. I have been asked these so many times now that I have mastered the quick retort, such as: ‘I care about my carbon footprint’ or ‘Not much, which is why I divorced him’, which usually shuts this line of questioning down. However, it is about time our Western society re-framed its approach, and had a more accepting and celebratory attitude to women in all our guises, and not just whether we are part of a family unit or we constantly step out of the front door looking on-trend and permanently 25.

This book addresses how our bodies change mentally and physically over the decades, but does so in a such a compassionate way, highlighting not only the concerns and the negatives, but very much the positives and how we can make the most and invest in our lives at every age.

The other thing I found fascinating and enlightening about this book, was the clear, interesting and well-researched way it covers our biology and the definition of ageing, from a cellular level upwards. Not only did this give me a better understanding of how incredible our bodies are and what to expect at different stages of our lives, but also how important it is to respect and look after our bodies throughout life, with a combination of eating healthily, keeping active, being social, sleeping well and managing stress.

It was comforting to know that I am lucky and invested enough to have been doing a lot of these things for ages, such as practicing yoga for twenty years, but it did also highlight a couple of areas that require a little more of my focus if I am going to benefit the most going forwards - combined with luck and my genetics of course!

I recommend women at any age to pick up this book and even if it isn’t something you read from cover to cover as I did, it has a comprehensive index, which allows one to dip into specific topics, which are covered in an enlightening and encouraging way. All in all, I found this gave me a new sense of optimism, positivity and compassion about the age I am now, and what is to come…which is certainly a good start on managing my anxiety levels!