AT 76, RUTH YUNKER IS STILL THE BOSS OF HER LIFE, REDEFINING WHAT IT MEANS TO GROW OLDER WITH GRACE AND GRIT - VORAKA

Ruth Yunker is a writer, humorist, and memoirist. She has been writing for forty years and has published everything from literary short stories, magazine articles, newspaper columns and book reviews, to a radio show about astrology and a cartoon strip about single parenting.

RUTH YUNKER

She’s published three books, all of which are available on Amazon.

Ruth Yunker’s first two books are about her long stays in Paris, solo, learning to be a polite and happy American in Paris, doing it their way. They are Me, Myself and Paris, and Paris, I’ve Grown Accustomed to Your Ways.

Her current book, Baby, I’m the Boss of Me, My Journey to Ageless, consists of stories of her life, and how she’s now, at the age of 76, facing the third trimester of her life with power, optimism, and humor.

She’s well-traveled and has been a newcomer over and over, from childhood up to now. She was born in New York, grew up in Massachusetts, California, Belgium, and then back to California. As an adult, she’s lived in Chicago, Baltimore, Florida, and then back to Southern California. Just this year, at the age of 76, she’s pulled up stakes again and moved north from California to Oregon to a more easygoing lifestyle that prides itself on its organic approach to daily life… maybe a little too laid back? Ruth will see.

She’s been married twice, raised two children, and saw both her parents through their final years. And along the way, raised and loved a multitude of cats. A dog is now in her life. He’s a husky named Loki.

Ruth, at age 73, wanted a new challenge. So she started modeling. It was a teenage dream. But it was quite an unexpected journey. Modeling in Los Angeles was only about acting in commercials. A ferociously competitive market, one for experienced actors. “I am not an actor, and ultimately I was deemed enthusiastic but inexperienced… not what casting directors needed. Oregon beckoned!”

Ruth Yunker is, at the age of 76, a student of life. She has a yoga practice and does Pilates. She doesn’t drink alcohol. She walks every morning as the sun rises, listening to music. Waiting until later to check the horrendous daily news.

“There are endless bits of magic and miracles, in our everyday life that lighten and brighten and keep us sane, if we choose to notice them!” ABOUT THE BOOK

"BABY, I’M THE BOSS OF ME, MY JOURNEY TO AGELESS” BY RUTH YUNKER

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“Baby, I’m the Boss of Me, My Journey to Ageless” is author Ruth Yunker’s humorous, heartfelt, and unique take on the power and joy of growing older while maintaining one’s sanity, humor, and joy of living.

With one entertaining and thought-provoking story after the other, Ruth Yunker describes her own road traveled to middle age. And now that growing old is in sight, rather than panicking, she realizes this newest phase of her life is going to be an extraordinary journey, if she chooses to embrace it.

Yunker has lived a multi-faceted and well-traveled life. So she has a cornucopia of relatable, eccentric, glamorous, and painfully down-to-earth memories that have taken her from the East Coast of the US to the West Coast. To Europe for three years when she was a teenager. And then California. So…

She was a perennial New Kid at school. No one ever pronounced her last name correctly. To her horror, she was the last girl in her class to get a bra. Even the tiniest girl in her class had one. She was eleven and found absolutely nothing exciting about growing up. But grow up she did. And made homes, had two marriages and two children in Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, Florida, and back to California. She compares the miracle of her infants’ heads just after birth, lying quietly on her chest, to her own mother’s head, moments after her death, lolling oh so heavily in the same place. She writes about nervously informing her grown daughter she’s getting a facelift. Her twenty-five-year-old daughter was horrified. She writes of her eyebrows turning white. She writes about the deaths of President Kennedy and John Lennon, about eating with one’s hands, and the sudden need for this undergarment called Spanx. She mourns losing her power in the grocery store check-out line, and triumphs in getting it back. Ruth Yunker has found the way to tackle the coming of an old age that promises to be a fabulous continuation of the joy-filled but not always smooth-sailing life she is living now.  She plans to use optimism, personal power, and a well-honed sense of humor to carry her through.  Her essays, sometimes considered taboo, or tongue in cheek, or even filled with unbridled confidence, contain just enough personal uncertainty to make this book the ally every woman of a certain age just might want on her bedside table.

With warmth and a deep joie de vivre, “Baby, I’m the Boss of Me, My Journey to Ageless” shares humorous and wisdom-filled life lessons invaluable to anyone hurtling toward that awesome third trimester of life.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RUTH YUNKER

After forty years of writing across so many forums, what still excites you most about putting words on a page today?

I consider writing a work of art, like a painting. From the original idea to the careful choice of words, especially adjectives and creative punctuation, everything comes together to create a visual experience for the reader. That process still excites me deeply.

Your Paris books reflect both cultural curiosity and personal reinvention. What did Paris teach you about yourself that no other place could?

I don’t believe only Paris could teach me something that no other place could. Travel helped me realize that sidewalks look the same everywhere, both feet firmly on the ground. But Paris is where I fully realized how deeply I respect and am fascinated by history.

Baby, I’m the Boss of Me explores aging with power, optimism, and humor. What does “being the boss of yourself” truly mean at 76?

As we age, we all learn different lessons. For me, it’s a calm sense of knowing what I need, like sleep, solitude, and meaningful interaction, and honoring those personal truths as consistently as possible.

You describe this stage of life as the “third trimester.” How has your relationship with time, purpose, and identity changed now?

I don’t feel more or less driven. I haven’t ruled out much because of age, except horseback riding and skiing. I’m the same person, just with a new ability to appear easy-going, and I no longer allow worry to enter the room.

You’ve been a newcomer many times in many places. Why do you think reinvention has been such a constant theme in your life?

That’s a wonderful question. Past lives, future lives, adapting as the new kid, developing humor to survive surprises, all of it plays a role. I think I’ll continue musing on this in the book I’m writing now.

Moving to Oregon at 76 was a bold decision. What fears did you face, and what freedoms did you discover?

My greatest fear was how much I would miss my son. But for the first time in a long while, I’m living close to my daughter. Mostly, I welcomed the change. I was tired of Los Angeles. The best freedom? No more mind-boggling traffic.

Humor runs gently through your storytelling. Do you see humor as a survival tool, a creative choice, or both?

Humor is the single most necessary tool for a happy life. When I travel solo, and something goes wrong, I always have a Plan B, and it always involves checking in with my sense of humor.

You began modeling at 73, a dream delayed but not denied. What did that experience teach you about courage and self-belief?

Modeling in Los Angeles meant acting in commercials, not fashion. I’m not an actor, and I suddenly found myself competing with trained actresses. I came across as an enthusiastic amateur. It was terrifying, and I’m still processing it.

Having lived through marriage, motherhood, caregiving, and personal loss, how do you now define love?

To define love would require an entire book. I believe love is everywhere and appears unexpectedly, often in forms we never imagined. I know women who fell in love in their early eighties, and I hope to be surprised that way, too.

Your daily rituals, yoga, sunrise walks, music, and delayed news feel like quiet acts of rebellion against chaos. How important is ritual in staying emotionally balanced?

Ritual creates psychological ease in daily life. It’s both beautiful and practical. Emotional balance can be difficult, but it’s achievable, sometimes with professional help. I’ve certainly used it myself.

You often speak about noticing everyday magic. What is a recent small miracle that reminded you that life is still beautiful?

I once watched a tall man my age crossing a wide street. Realizing he wouldn’t make it in time, he began skipping, tentatively at first, then joyfully. I saw delight flood him as he realized his body still had it. It was beauty in motion.

If a woman in her 60s or 70s feels invisible or uncertain about her future, what would you gently tell her?

Sometimes, gentle isn’t motivating enough. Pragmatism helps. I suggest smiling at herself in the mirror every morning and saying hello. I also carefully suggest therapy to explore why age feels like a problem rather than a new, empowering freedom.