Going Gray: How to Embrace Your Authentic Self with Grace and Style

I'm going gray and battling both friends and family over it so this book is just my cup of tea right now. I find it interesting and helpful! It's good to have someone else's input in taking this step.

To borrow a phrase from fashionistas, gray is the new black thanks to Anne Kreamer. Anne's book confirms what I've felt for a long while: there's nothing wrong with growing old honestly and authentically. I've tried without success to allow myself to go gray, but my hairstylists wouldn't allow it (of course not, they'd be losing a customer). Anne's research and personal experience are very helpful to women who'd love to but don't dare grow old gracefully and reminds us that we're our own worst critics. Readers will enjoy her tales of field research, and will hold their heads a little higher when they read her anecdotes of being hit on by younger men despite being "over." This great little book has encouraged me to defy convention and do what I've always done--walk to the beat of my own drum. Be bold, be brave, be a trendsetter and fire your colorist! Reveal your true self and the rest shall follow. Starting right now, I'm joining the Gray Girls bandwagon!

I'm in the middle of reading this and I am really enjoying this book. I'm 52 and yes, I do color my hair. From what people tell me, they can't tell (but maybe they're being "nice"); I tend to have kind of lighter toned hair and so the gray doesn't come in in a "skunk stripe" as it does for some dark-haired folks. I have to admit that I've wondered why some women go gray but now I look at women all around me in a different way. A lot of my peers are struggling to hang onto their youthful looks, but let's face it...very few people at 50 and up can erase the neck-thing (my neck gives away my age even though I tend to look younger in general). There really IS nothing uglier than someone with a dark cap of hair on an old(ish) face. I will continue to dye my hair for a while (my friend says it's not time for me to go gray yet)but this author's approach is definitely on my mind...I'm just not ready for it yet. I really enjoyed being reminded and enlightened about the prejudice that people hold toward women who go gray and how it effects their love lives, work lives, and how people perceive them in general. I guess there's some hope in that she found men on this earth who really liked women who had gray hair. She really confirmed my own feelings about wasting a ton of money on hair upkeep...every time I get my hair colored I feel like kicking myself because I could be using that load of money for better things...yet, I'm still not secure enough in who I am to quit doing it yet... I think it's lousy that men continue to be perceived as sexy as they age while women are looked at as being old grandmas with no sexual interests.

Anne Kreamer dyed her hair for fun for decades until she saw herself in a photo. Her too-dark hair made her look old and harsh. The photos are available for us to see. She did. She decided to see what her hair looked like as its natural gray. In the photo, it looks more fabulous, sexy, elegant. She dissects the various attitudes towards gray hair with the voice of someone who you'd like as a girlfriend. If you're tired of spending huge amounts of time and/or money to color your hair in an attempt to look younger, give this a read. She may wellhwlp you take the plunge towards being your true, most excellent self. Going gray, you'll save money and time and most likely look and feel far better to boot.

Turning 50 this year, I started to notice that my so called "friends" were pointedly asking me when I was going to begin coloring my hair. It never occurred to me, before reading Anne Kreamer's wonderful book, to ask them why they were coloring their hair. Interestly, many of my friends were aware of Ms. Kreamer's book, but none had the interest, nor I guess, the courage to read her book. It is really a facinating memoir about one woman's decision to go gray. While some may argue that because she was a woman of privilege and the choice to go gray would not monetarily affect her, it truly is an important memoir about how one woman sees herself growing older. Her story resonated with me. I was empowered by her candor. I applaud Ms. Kreamer for writing this book and hope mothers' of daughters ultimately read it.