Judith Viorst, MAKING THE BEST OF WHAT'S LEFT: When We're Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered

Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby Owens

Parenting, Books, Literary, Moms, Arts, Connection, Entertainment, Reading, Inspiration

4.5 • 643 Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Writer and poet Judith Viorst, who is now in her nineties, joins Zibby to discuss MAKING THE BEST OF WHAT’S LEFT: When You’re Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered, a funny and poignant reflection on aging, widowhood, and the lessons she’s learned since losing her husband of over sixty years. With her trademark wit, wisdom, and unflinching eye for the agonies and absurdities of ordinary family life, Judith talks about life’s later chapter (the “Final Fifth”), touching on grief, community, and rediscovering identity beyond being a wife. She also reads from her devastatingly tender poem, “Stop Being Dead.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Zibi Owens, and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby. Formerly, moms don't have time to read books. In my daily show, I interview today's latest, best-selling, buzziest, or underrated authors and story creators, whose work I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, I get a comprehensive
0:24.0	look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't
0:29.3	have to.
0:30.3	Stay in the know, get insider insights, and connect with guests like I do every single day.
0:36.2	For more information, go to zibbimedia.com and follow me on Instagram at Zibby Owens.
0:44.7	Judith Viorst is the author of Making the Best of What's Left when we're too old to get the chairs re-pulstered.
0:51.7	This is her second time on the podcast the first time I interviewed
0:55.0	her as part of the Temple Emmanuel Stryker Center event series. Judith Fiors is the author of the
1:01.1	beloved, Alexander, and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, which has sold some four
1:06.5	million copies, the Lulu books, including Lulu and the Brontosaurus, the New York Times bestseller
1:11.6	Necessary Losses, Four Musicals, and Poetry for Children and Adults. Her most recent books of poetry
1:16.8	include, What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? And nearing 90. She lives in Washington, D.C.
1:23.9	Welcome, Judy. Thank you for coming on Totally Booked with Zivie to talk about making the best of
1:28.9	what's left when you're too old to get the chairs re-apulstered. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you.
1:35.3	You wrote in such a funny and moving and also sad way about the loss of your husband in this book
1:41.6	and what it means to be older and what life looks like
1:45.7	when you leave your home and so much else. Tell me about your decision to write this particular
1:50.2	book and having read nearing 90, I was eagerly looking forward to this installment. So thank you for
1:57.0	writing it. Well, I tend to be writing about where I am in my life.
2:03.3	And this was certainly a major where I am in my life.
2:06.9	I've been married for over 60 years to Milton, knew him when he was 19 and I was 18.
2:14.6	So he's been in my life practically my whole life.
	...

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