Still Life at Eighty - by Abigail Thomas (Paperback)

About the Book

"From the New York Times bestselling author of A Three Dog Life, a witty and irreverent look at aging and the writing life, delivered with trademark brevity, humor, and wise wit"--

Book Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Three Dog Life, a witty and irreverent look at aging and the writing life, delivered with trademark brevity, humor, and wise wit.

"The Emily Dickinson of memoirists" (Stephen King) Abigail Thomas shares her thoughts on aging in this irresistibly wry memoir-in-vignettes--offering richly insightful writing tips along the way.

While reflecting on the past, Abby accepts the shape of her present. No more driving, no more dancing, mostly sitting in a comfortable chair in a sunny corner with three dogs for company--as well as the birds and other critters that she watches out her window. Only this beloved writer could generate so much enthusiasm over what might seem so little. Vivid memories fall like confetti, as time contracts, shoots forward, loops and suddenly she is back in her twenties in New York City, drinking, sleeping with strangers, falling in and out of love, believing in a better world. Sometimes dread or grief arrives, inhabits her body like a shadow, and all she can do is write it away, paying close attention to what catches her eye, sticks in her brain, keeps her in the moment.

Whether you're a book lover, dog lover--or both--pull up a chair, pour a cup of tea, and enter Abigail Thomas's quietly mesmerizing world.

Review Quotes

Praise for Still Life at Eighty
"Still Life at Eighty is a little jewel box of a book, full of epiphanies that are comforting and merciless in the gentlest possible way. Both a series of meditations and a user's manual about growing old, I was amazed by its clarity and very grateful to read it. Even the title, with its deliberate ambiguity, is a very cool thing." --Stephen King

"A wry, witty memoir that flits between memories and the present and proves that growing old doesn't have to mean fading away. Next time a loved one complains they're 'too old' for something, hand them this book." --People

"A brilliant exploration of the writer's accumulated wisdom, dogged curiosity, and breathtaking honesty... Thomas's voice is as powerful as ever, a beautiful instrument with which to sing both sad and happy songs." --Boston Globe

"A clear-eyed examination of aging. This exquisite slim volume, encapsulating a lifetime of lessons learned, is meant to be savored." --Real Simple

"Full of hard-won perspective--and humor--Still Life at Eighty is perfect for May Sarton and Anne Lamott fans." --Shelf Awareness, "Best Books of the Week"

"Reflections on aging from a master of the fresh and moving fragment... Thomas is always fun, smart, thoughtful, and pithy, modestly trying not to take up too much of your time... her candor is a gift to us all." --Kirkus, starred review

"Insightful, self-aware, and still feisty... she's doing what she does best, putting it all on the page to share with readers." --Booklist

"A tender look at aging and memory... Like the slow-blooming wisteria vine growing from Thomas's desk that reappears throughout the narrative, the power of her remembrances emerges gradually, but they join together to form a beautiful whole." --Publishers Weekly

Praise for Abigail Thomas
"Beautifully written...wry...resilient. Her mature bones may not be all that flexible but her topics and sentences flip and cartwheel with the greatest of ease." --Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air

"Irreverent, wise, and boundlessly generous." --Elissa Schappell, Vanity Fair

"I want to grow old the way Abigail Thomas is growing old--with grace and with, humor and honest, dogs and dear friends." --Laurie Hertzel, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"I would follow Abigail Thomas on any journey she ever takes. The arrival of a new book from this master is always a cause for celebration, because I know right away that I'm about to learn something important about the art of writing and the art of living, both. I come to her books as though to a feast, and leave fulfilled and transformed." --Elizabeth Gilbert

"Abigail Thomas is the Emily Dickinson of memoirists, and so much of this book's wisdom is between the lines and in the white spaces. It may only take you two days to read, but the impact will stay with you for a long, long time. Abigail Thomas fills memory with living breath." --Stephen King

"This may be the most honest book I've ever read, by one of the most beautiful writers I know-- dizzyingly truthful, often funny, lyrical, wise." --Anne Lamott

"It's so very rare for a memoir to tell the naked truth about aging--its terrors and its treasures, its indignities and its mysteries. Who else but Abigail Thomas to lift the veil and show us how she is navigating her eighties. Here she is, sitting still in her chair, traveling on a river that flows both ways--backwards slowly on the tides of memory, forward at a fast clip onward toward the open ocean. And sometimes, because of friends, because of dogs, because of children and home, writing and a wisteria vine, time stands still, and life is life, Abigail is Abigail, and once again we get to marvel with her, wonder with her, laugh and cry and rage with her. Thank you, Abigail, for the potent words to get us all through." --Elizabeth Lesser

About the Author

Abigail Thomas worked as both a book editor and book agent before writing her first short story collection, Getting Over Tom. Her second and third books An Actual Life, and Herb's Pajamas, were works of fiction. Her memoir, A Three Dog Life, was named one of the Best Books of the Year by The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. She is also author of the memoirs Safekeeping, Thinking About Memoir, and What Comes Next and How to Like It. The daughter of renowned science writer Lewis Thomas (The Lives of a Cell), Thomas has four children, twelve grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. She lives in Woodstock, New York, with her dogs.