Putting the Science of Aging to the Test in a Life Full of Adventure

Caroline Paul shares 5 key insights from Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age.

Why do we get more sedentary as we age? The truth is, we don’t have to, and it would probably be better for us if we got more active. That’s the message Caroline Paul shares in her new book Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age. Caroline is an author of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir, and a lifelong adventurer. Here she is to share 5 of her key insights.

1. The way we look at our own aging predicts how well we will age.

One day, when I was surfing in a cold winter swell, looking around, there were no middle-aged women out there. There were lots of middle-aged men, some as old as 75, but no women. You see the same thing if you look around at people skateboarding or even flying—plenty of middle-aged men and older, but no women.