​In Old Enough, twenty-one contributors write about the experience of aging. Gay, straight, unmarried, partnered, widowed, Black, white, Latinx, retired, and still working, they are not squeamish about aging, illness, or loss. But in lyrical, sometimes wry, often inspiring essays they explore what growing growing older can offer: self-knowledge, insight, and acceptance. At the heart of their work is the urge to be creative and to explore ways to stay creatively alive. Far from a season of diminishment, the variety, depth, and scope of being “old enough” are limitless.
“This beautiful collection of essays captures the process of aging from multiple points of view. Its wise writers can help us all navigate aging with courage, wisdom, and joy.”
—Mary Pipher, author of Women Rowing North
Southern Women Artists and Writers on Creativity and Aging
Old Enough
“The Remembered Gate should be required reading for all Alabamians.”
—Library Journal
Memoirs by Alabama Writers
The Remembered Gate
​This collection of reflective essays—exploring themes
of artistic self-discovery and regional awareness—showcases nineteen nationally known writers with roots in Alabama. Poignant, sad, funny, and warm, some of these offerings are meditations on place, while others probe the cruel physicality of hate. Contributors include Mary Ward Brown, Fannie Flagg, Patricia Foster, Charles Gaines, Rodney Jones, C. Eric Lincoln, and Phyllis Perry.