If I Live to Be 100: Lessons from the Centenarians

Listening to the Past, Present, and Future

Neenah Ellis, a producer for National Public Radio, has said that she wants to live to be one hundred. So with that mentality, she decides to make a radio series idolizing centenarians, or individuals over one hundred years of age. She spends an incredible year interviewing 15 centenarians, learning about their past, their present and their future. Ellis travels to New England to meet spunky, 103 year old Anna Wilmot on the day of her birthday. She finds that Anna still has her drivers license, rows her boat daily, and even goes skinny-dipping occasionally when fishermen are not around. R.L. Stamper is another centenarian with a unique story. At age one hundred and three, R.L. feels lonely and longs for the care and comfort of a woman. Being a very Christian man, he believes that the end is near and wants to get married before his time is up. Love eventually finds him in the form of an eighty year old, Louisiana woman. These are just two of the fifteen stories that are in If I Live To Be 100 by Neenah Ellis.The stories in this book are a treat to read. They come alive with the dialog of the unique individuals. We can feel the emotion Neenah feels as she falls into the moments. My only disregard was for the title. Picking up the book and reading the title, I expected to be learning about ¿how¿ to live to be one hundred. After reading a few chapters, I learned that this was not the author¿s intent. She mainly told the centenarians¿ stories, mostly of their pasts, as much as they could remember. She wrote a lot about her frustration of obtaining a ¿good¿ story from the individuals, and how old age affects this process. To the authors¿ credit, the stories were well written.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I'm only 21 and it moved me...

I actually rented this book on CD and listened to it during a recent car trip--now I want to purchase the novel. It really made me stop and think about not only where my life is going, but also about how so many other people are living their lives right now, too. It is an insightful book for any age-at 21 it inspired me to slow down and think about all the time I have. I enjoyed how the author avoided 'typical' questions, such as, 'how was the Great Depression', but instead let each centenarian reveal random pieces of themselves. The format is perfect for picking it up and reading it a chapter or two at a time. Highly recommended.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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