40th anniversary edition of a rediscovered classic

When Pubah and Lazy LaRue move to a houseboat on an Oregon river, they find themselves immersed in a life filled with whimsical adventures. Even though their dwelling is ancient, tippy, and in need of endless repairs, their affection for it, for river life, and for one another does not wane. These linked stories teem with life and with love for their friends and for new neighbors—other houseboat people, ducks, beavers, muskrats, and all else the river has to offer. Lazy LaRue writes stories; Pubah is an apprentice electrician. Their world encompasses the mundane and the fanciful—from lassoing logs and rewiring a houseboat to dreaming of new inventions and traveling in a hot air balloon.

Filled with humor, optimism, and playful exploration, the stories in these pages bring warmth and inspiration. Illustrations by Mary Narkiewicz capture the quirky quality of the tales with splendid charm and add to the dreamlike quality of the storytelling. A new afterword by the author reflects on writing The Riverhouse Stories and on the cultural climate of the time, showing how much the world has changed over four decades.  
 

Andrea Carlisle isn’t struggling with her new identity as The Old Woman in the ways society seems to think she should. In fact, she is finding her later years to be an extraordinary and interesting time. In trying to understand the discrepancy, she interrogates the sources of negativity in literature, art, and received wisdom that often lead women to dread this transformative time of life. Given the cultural pervasiveness of ill will toward older women, it is small wonder that growing older is not seen as a natural, even desirable, process. Although some elements of aging are hard to reckon with, there is much to make use of and delight in, along with mysteries, surprises, and revelations.

In these personal essays, Carlisle looks for new ways to bring herself more fully to this time of life, such as daily walks with other women and connecting to the natural world that surrounds her houseboat on an Oregon river at the foot of a forest. She writes about experiences shared with many, if not most, older women: wondering at her body’s transformation, discovering new talents, caregiving, facing loss, tuning in to life patterns and drawing strength through understanding them, letting go (or not) of pieces of the past, and facing other changes large and small. Those curious about, approaching, or living in old age will find wisdom and insight in her unique perspective.

In a voice that rings with clarity, humor, humility, Carlisle shows us that Old Age is not another country where we can expect to find The Old Woman grimly waiting, but is instead an expansion of the borders in the country we’re most familiar with: ourselves.