It’s Never Too Late To Pursue Your Dreams

The United Nations now projects that one in 20 baby boomers will live to be 100. Local author Prill Boyle will be at the C.H. Booth Library on Wednesday, October 5, at 7:30 pm, challenging people to rethink assumptions about growing older. “Whatever our age, most of us long to make a difference, to find a calling that energizes us and fills us with joy,” writes Ms Boyle in her introduction to Defying Gravity: A Celebration of Late-Blooming Women.

Defying Gravity recounts the stories of 12 women — 13 including the author — who midlife and beyond summoned the courage to explore their talents and pursue their dreams. Among them are Irma Elder, a shy housewife until age 52, who is now CEO of one of the largest Hispanic-owned corporations in the country; Rainelle Burton, who overcame dyslexia, homelessness, and depression to write a critically-acclaimed first novel in her 50s; and Wini Yunker, who fulfilled a lifelong wish and joined the Peace Corps at 65.

Woven between these stories are excerpts from a journal Ms Boyle kept of her experiences while writing Defying Gravity. She shares not only what she has learned from these women, but also lets readers witness the step-by-step process of her own dream coming true. Defying Gravity is her first book.

Now 50, Ms Boyle is a “classic late bloomer,” having earned a BA in English from Georgetown University at 35, and an MA at 38. At 47, after teaching high school and community college for almost a decade, she left her job to write full time. Ms Boyle has been a guest on numerous radio and television programs and has spoken to groups all over the country about the rewards of late blooming.

Space is limited so call the library at 426-4533 to reserve a place. Copies of Defying Gravity will be available for purchase at the time of the talk.