TN10: Sari Botton, Writer and Publisher

Age: 56.

Basic Bio: Sari is the author of a memoir in essays, And You May Find Yourself... Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo. She edited the bestselling anthologies Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York and Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York. She publishes Oldster Magazine.

Beyond the Bio: Getting older has helped me to become the truest version of myself to date. This is remarkable because, as I write in my memoir, I have struggled all my life to be authentic, to not try to change myself to please others. Also, a hysterectomy in my early 40s freed me up from a lifetime of agony, and so I love this post-period time of my life more than any other.

What makes you a grown-ass lady?
I feel like I’ve done adulthood backwards. In my 20s, I was busy being “precocious.” I married and divorced young the first time, then went through something of a protracted adolescence. My inner 11-year-old is still very much alive. But when I honor my word with people, and do my best to be kind toward people I find trying, and do good work as a writer/editor/teacher, then I feel like something approaching a grown-ass lady.

Here’s her TueNight 10:

1. On the nightstand: Kim Gordon’s memoir. 

2. Can’t stop/won’t stop: Doing karaoke both privately and publicly. Singing is my greatest joy.

3. Jam of the minute: At the Ballet from A Chorus Line. 

4. Thing I miss: New York City!!! Always.

5. ‘80s crush: James Garner.

6. Current crush: My husband, but also Bob Odenkirk.

7. Latest fav find: Glow Juice moisture spray. 

8. Last thing you lost: My glasses, in a lake.

9. Best thing that happened recently: I was on the Everything is Fine podcast with Kim France and Jennifer Romolini, talking about my book and Oldster Magazine.

10. Looking forward to: Hopefully traveling to Portugal early next year.