From Living Brave. . . Finishing Strong...Mary Beth Stern, 65, and co-author of the Living Brave series

Mary Beth Stern, 65, and co-author of the Living Brave series, answers the question:

WHAT DO YOU APPRECIATE AND ENJOY IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF YOUR LIFE? 

I particularly enjoy the state of serenity that has enveloped me. I have such a beautiful life filled with the love of family and friends. I am still enjoying working, and new opportunities continually present themselves. I enjoy being a grandmother to Skylar and Avery, and look forward to many more grandchildren in the coming years. A friend of mine once said in being a grandparent you discover a part of your heart you didn’t realize you had. It is so true. I appreciate my upbringing. While far from perfect, it was a supportive, loving environment, and the emphasis my mother placed on family has manifested itself in a loving relationship among my four sisters and me. 

I appreciate the journey of writing the Living Brave series with my dear friend Hilda. After interviewing hundreds of women, I am not the same woman I was when we started the project five years ago. The contributors have shared their most intimate thoughts and experiences and I am most grateful, for in reading their stories we are all forever inspired and changed. 

I am grateful for my health. I recently tried aerial yoga for the first time and, while suspended head-down in silk fabric, I thought how fortunate I am to have the flexibility to achieve such a position. 
In our second book, Living Brave In Love, I wrote about joy. Three years later, my experiences have taught me more about joy than I had previously known. I more acutely recognize the difference between happiness and joy. Almost every day I ask myself, What unexpected joy is in store for me today? 
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In this fourth quarter, I choose to be the author of my life... to write, live, and love my life story with joy.