Ruth Harriet Jacobs: Old, Bold and Outrageous
Metrowest Magazine
Sandra A. Miller
November 2007
“She lives what she speaks,” says Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) Executive Director Susan McGee Bailey. “It’s one thing to talk about being old and bold, but it’s another to actually be old and bold.” When Ruth Harriet Jacobs turned 83 on November 15th, she spoke at a WCW lunchtime seminar to celebrate. Jacobs’ current mission is to get women to respect their age, and her most popular book is called Being an Outrageous Older Woman. From writing, to teaching, to attending classes, Jacobs is quite active, especially in senior centers around the state where she stages her play Happy Birthday. In this audience-participation production, an older woman comes to terms with turning 80, and each performance is colored differently by its participants. Says Jacobs, “I never ask women how old they are. I ask them how many years they’ve lived. Aging isn’t an affliction, it’s an achievement.”
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