Growing old...something we can't escape from, but when it is done as these characters do, it becomes a romp through fun, friendship, and finding you have not lost what makes you..you!

Clare Pooley shows us how the collision of a retirement club, a nursery, and AA meeting in the same run down building can create a story of need, fulfillment, and the ability to make connections long ago thought to be impossible.

They often say that age makes one invisible and perhaps you may have found that to be true already, but these oldies mixed in with the young prove that life only starts when you want it to. Art, Daphne, and Ruby provide some very different approaches to a life lead and one yet to live. Led by a mousy Lydia, a charming baby, a teenage father, and of course Margaret Thatcher (the dog), they gather to save a crumbling building and in the process build lives that once again add the spark to having fun and finding the joie di vivre.

If you want to have some enjoyable fun and humor you need to sign onto this story. It was an escape from the madness of today!

I loved this group of quirky seniors looking for connection. It also followed the story of a single teenage father that gets involved with the senior group somehow. It was so fun to read the POVs of seniors, many of who society has written off and treat like toddlers who don't have decades of lived experience. I enjoyed the diversity of lives lived and how all the different personalities meshed together. This was my second read by Clare Pooley and I will definitely be reading the rest of her works.

What a sweet and charming read! I enjoyed the humor and ensemble of quirky characters.

At times, I felt that there was too much going on and too many characters and POVs to keep track of. This was not enough to take away from my enjoyment of this story, but it did force me to slow down and ask "wait, what??" at several points.

I loved the themes of connection, community, and aging well that are present in this story.

This book was such a fun and light-hearted read. The quirky cast of characters was the icing on the cake. A great, feel good read!

If a fictional book was written about Meryl Streep, it would be this one...and I can only wish to age as disgracefully as the members of the Social Club. Also Lydia is living my dream life as BFFs with these incredible senior citizens.

How to Age Disgracefully by @clare_pooley is fabulous! I loved these super quirky characters and how they ultimately all came together to solve some tricky life problems. These senior citizens know how to have fun and let their hair down. Throw in a teenager, a baby, a dog, and middle-aged mom and you have quite the story. I enjoyed the whole read and found myself laughing out loud at times. Highly recommend it! Thank you to @netgalley for the arc! This publishes June 11th!

In How to Age Disgracefully, Clare Pooley delivers a charming and heartwarming story that proves it's never too late to start living life to the fullest. Through the eyes of seventy-year-old Daphne, readers discover that loneliness isn't a life sentence and that community can be found in the most unexpected places.
When Daphne reluctantly joins a senior citizens' club, she finds herself surrounded by an eclectic cast of characters who breathe new life into her carefully ordered world. As the group bands together to save their beloved community center, Pooley masterfully weaves together their individual stories into a tapestry of friendship, purpose, and renewal. The author excels at creating authentic characters who defy stereotypes about aging, showing that wisdom and mischief can coexist at any age.
I am recommending to all ages who enjoy women's fiction. I am also recommending to Book Clubs as this one will lead to excellent discussion. I look forward to the next book from Clare Pooley.

This sort of book gives me such joy. I loved the characters and their connections and their mischief. It's one I frequently recommended this year.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

While I loved the cover and premise of the book, the story behind it didn’t quite live up to either for me. While this was not a bad story, I felt a little bored at times. There were definitely some sweet moments, but the last fourth of the book dragged for me. 3 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy for review.

How To Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley was a heartwarming story of found family, with a mix of eclectic character and one cute dog! You'll laugh out loud with this one! Recommend!

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publishers for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I previously really enjoyed Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting and The Authenticity Project, so I wanted to read Clare Pooley’s newest book.

Pooley’s books include unlikely friendship and found family. Alternating points of view, short chapters, and London settings are all appealing elements of Pooley’s novels. I also love that her novels connect characters from various generations.

How to Age Disgracefully…
The main character, Daphne, is 70-years-old who has no friends and few social interactions at the beginning of the story. She is having some feelings about her age, and she is reluctantly seeking out friendships, as she is not a huge fan of other people. Daphne formulates a plan to make changes in her life and the reader observes her putting her plan into action.

Daphne connects with a variety of characters of different ages and stages of life and a feel-good story unfolds and intergenerational friendships are formed ranging from teen to 50s to 70s.

Read the author’s note–I really appreciate the character Lydia in this story and the author shares her personal connection and her experience as an empty nester entering a stage of life where she feels invisible as a woman.

Hilarious, silly, heartwarming ~ with main characters is was hard not to love!

This one starts out running. I loved how quickly we're thrown into the social club, the daycare portion and all the shenanigans begin. So many points had me chuckling and other parts pulled at my heart. I loved the way the twists were a part of the fun. I love that it starts with a first chapter we're introduced to the bus ride, the panic of finding bathrooms and how funny the story will be!

This really was the perfect read in the midst of this busy time, to remind you to take the time with those you love. I did the audio here and thoroughly enjoyed the narrators!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

The story begins when a van is pulled over by the police. One of the passengers is wanted.
Rewind 3 months and we meet Daphne, Art, and Ruby - all senior citizens with a bit of a unique past. Lydia runs the social club at the senior center, and the seniors advise her they don't want to just sit around and play bingo.
The city council plans to sell the community center building which will also close the daycare center. The seniors get together with the daycare and one of the teen dads to fight and save the center's building. Will they be able to save it before the cops find out their secrets?
Another delightful tale from Clare Pooley.

I swear I laughed out loud so many times reading this one! Daphne is such a wonderful character and she really lifts the rest of the cast who I also loved! I hope to read more from Clare Pooley in the future!

I can't believe I forgot to post my review here! I posted on Instagram, my blog, and Goodreads around pub day.

In 2022 I couldn’t stop talking about ‘Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting’ and was always trying to get people to read it. Now I’m back again with another Clare Pooley book and begging you to read her latest ‘How to Age Disgracefully’. This author has such a knack for putting together a unique cast of characters. Her books are so funny and heartwarming!

With her kids in college and her husband always busy at work, Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizen’s Social Club three days a week. Who says you can’t start something new in your 50s!? She assumes it will be a quiet club drinking tea and playing cards, but she gets a lot more than she bargained for…

Cast of Characters:

Art - a failed actor who is a kleptomaniac and has a secret

Daphne - new to the club because she has been hiding from a dark past for decades. Now she’s 70 and ready to start living!

Ruby - she’s always knitting something!

Maggie Thatcher - the geriatric dog who may just save the day!

Ziggy - teenaged father in trouble who’s baby goes to the daycare in the same building as the senior center

“When they go low, we get revenge”

This is a clever story of what happens when you combine the Senior Social Club and the daycare next door to save their building from being torn down by city council for apartments. It hilariously begins with a bus being pulled over and everyone assuming the police are after them. A slew of confessions are made.

Make sure you read the author’s note! I love this concept of sassy older people not fading into retirement. That older people are often overlooked. That you can reinvent yourself at any age. This one is LOL funny and not to be missed!

I sometimes hate the labels that people apply to books. I had seen several mentions of How to Age Disgracefully as a "Chick-Lit" book. I think that limits the number of people who might experience this book. This is a very good book that everyone - not just" chicks" should pick up and read. I enjoy books with multiple points of view. However, I actually think that is one of the few things I would change about this book. I think there may be too many different points of view. This can result, at times, in less character development. That one small quirk aside, there is a lot to like about the book. The setup is very well done. I almost defy people to read the start of the book and then put it down because they are not interested. With a cast of characters that you may not initially like, the story, told by jumping back to reveal back stories, eventually arrives at a satisfying conclusion, with laughs and heartwarming moments along the way. I guess if this is indeed "chick-lit" then I should be reading more of that genre - because I really liked this title a lot.

Such a fun book that both kept me guessing but had me engaged from the beginning. Absolutely recommend.

I just adore the way these characters were brought to life. There's something to be said for changing how you view life as you age. Lots of great recommendations here for making new friends, trying new things, not taking yourself so seriously, trusting more. A lovely read!

This was my first book from Clare Pooley. The beginning of the story was slow for me, but by the middle of the story I was engaged and smiling. The book deals with some hard truths about aging, and I hope to age disgracefully myself. The characters were well written and had a sense of authenticity to who they were. The story was funny, charming, and overall, a fun read. I wonder if there will be a sequel?

I absolutely loved this author's previous book, The Authenticity Project, so I was looking forward to reading this book! I loved how the wide range of characters, from young children, to middle age/menopause (to which I can relate!), to the elderly all interacted together to create a moving, hilarious, suspenseful story! I couldn't put it down and laughed out loud MORE than once! The best part was getting to know each character and their back stories, to realize each of us has worth, no matter our origins, upbringings, faults or fears. It encourages us to bring our strengths together to fight for what is important as the characters join together to against poverty, loneliness, bureaucracy, ageism, sexism, misogyny, and scams. The characters embody the idea that one should NOT judge a person based on first or outward appearances. I loved that the ending wrapped things up satisfactorily, giving the readers a glimpse into their more hopeful futures.