Marian Van Eyk McCain sees the next challenge for this generation of women as the acceptance of aging as something to be fully and consciously experienced rather than denied and avoided. Lived this way, the "third age" can be the crowning phase of womanhood. Elderwoman is more than just a book about aging gracefully, however. Along with other, recently published titles like Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi's From Aging to Sage-ing, Ram Dass's Still Here, and Theodore Roszak's America the Wise, it endorses the idea that "elderhood" is an important time of wisdom, responsibility, and service, and that Western society is ripe for a massive re-empowerment of older people in such a way that they can truly become its elders. This book is written specifically for women, since women's role in this cultural shift is crucial. Elderwoman joins Jean Shinoda Bolen's book Goddesses in Older Women in providing the post-menopausal woman of the twenty-first century with a map to guide her steps as she moves into this third leg of the female journey and discovers that it is, in many ways, the best time of all. Elderwoman is an interactive book, inviting readers to reflect on their own experiences. It includes self-help exercises drawn from the author's years as a therapist and workshop leader. It draws on developmental and Jungian psychology, eco-psychology, deep ecology, spirituality, and eco-feminist philosophy. It is written in a clear, jargon-free language that makes it accessible to everyone, regardless of educational standard, color, race, belief system, socioeconomic level, or sexual persuasion.

Marian Van Eyk McCain, B.S.W.(Melbourne), M.A., East-West Psychology (California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco) has written on wellness, stress management, psychology, personal development, women's health and spirituality, environmental politics, organic food production, and alternative technology. Originally a social worker and a transpersonal psychotherapist, workshop leader, and health educator, Marian now concentrates on writing, and environmental activism and is secretary of the Wholesome Food Association. She leads a women's group and a writer's circle, writes for four hours every day, goes for long walks and dances.

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