The art of enjoying

In The Art of Enjoyment , Mirian Goldenberg reveals the secrets of enjoying maturity in a fun and enjoyable way. After all, no woman is born free: she becomes free!

Inspired by Simone de Beauvoir's famous quote in The Second Sex , "No one is born a woman: one becomes a woman," Mirian Goldenberg, a specialist in gender and aging studies, proposes a new formulation: "No woman is born free: she becomes free!" Out of a desire to share the lessons she learned from great women — like Simone de Beauvoir and Leila Diniz, for example — Mirian writes about love, sex, lust, (in)fidelity, intimacy, friendship, marriage, borogodó, the body, aging, and, above all, freedom.

Based on interviews and research with over 5,000 women and men, The Art of Enjoying explores different perspectives on love and pleasure; presents the revolution of knowing how to say "no"; challenges the widespread and prejudiced idea that sex is the privilege of younger women; deconstructs labels and the confines of women's choices, whether or not to have sex in maturity; discusses and problematizes the invisibility and shame older women feel about their own bodies; discusses female and male perspectives on fidelity and infidelity, self-esteem, sexual dissatisfaction, orgasm, porn videos, vibrators, expectations in marriage, the husband as capital, and men who have relationships with older women; proposes a Revolution of Beautiful Old Age; and also introduces us to the Grandmothers of Reason—three friends over 80 who decided to create a YouTube channel to share their conversations at bar tables, with reflections and lots of laughter about life and aging.

The Art of Enjoyment also offers thirteen lessons on ageism and the Manifesto of Shameless Old Women—first signed by the Grandmothers of Reason—prompting us to consider better ways to enjoy old age. In the author's words: "In times of so much hatred, intolerance, prejudice, and violence, enjoying is a revolutionary act."