What's Age Got to Do with It?

I read that Robin McGraw, at 55, wrote this book because her mother died prematurely after too many years of putting the needs of others before her own health. Since my mother died at 55, I decided to read this book.

What’s Age Got To Do With It? is a description of how Ms. McGraw (who’s married to Dr. Phil) keeps herself healthy and attractive at her age. She has an equally healthy mindset, and makes it clear that women of any age need to make time for themselves and their health even when taking care of a family.

This isn’t exactly groundbreaking information, but since many women do put their needs second to those of their family’s, reading this might make a difference for them. The book is organized into sections dealing with exercise, nutrition, hormones, makeup and so on, with anecdotes on each topic.

Ms. McGraw quotes several experts at length, and also describes the science behind processes like menopause. This is a nice contrast to the anecdotes, which at some points get a little too happy-families. Still, the stories which specifically focus on health are relevant, and I enjoyed the ones about makeovers gone wrong.

Unfortunately, since this is not a long book, it doesn’t go into some topics (such as spirituality) in depth. What readers often get instead is common knowledge, and the product placement reached the point where I started watching for the next brand-name cosmetic.

I’d recommend this book to women who want an overall look at health and beauty, accesorized with several pages advising them on exactly what to eat (taken from Dr Phil’s The Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide). Ironically, my mother would have loved this – the mixture of health tips and celebrity-lifestyle would have worked for her. To me, though, it was a case of a book trying to be all things to all women, which rarely succeeds.