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:
On the nightstand: Kim Gordon’s memoir.
Can’t stop/won’t stop: Doing karaoke both privately and publicly. Singing is my greatest joy.
Jam of the minute: At the Ballet from A Chorus Line.
Thing I miss: New York City!!! Always.
‘80s crush: James Garner.
Current crush: My husband, but also Bob Odenkirk.
Latest fav find: Glow Juice moisture spray.
Last thing you lost: My glasses, in a lake.
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.
Looking forward to: Hopefully traveling to Portugal early next year.