Joan Martin Burke was born at the beginning of the last century really in a different universe. She weathered the Great Depression Pearl Harbor World War II the Cold War the civil rights movement women s liberation and 9/11. Saw the first black man elected president the financial meltdown of 2008 the uprising of ISIS and lived under thirteen different presidents. That s a lot of history. She has done it with flexibility humor and family to get her through. Growing Up At Eighty is a collection of humorous essays about the coping in this new world with a series of observations opinions and reflections ranging from sex to television fashion and retirement hoping to make these golden years sparkle.