On Women Turning 50: Celebrating Mid-Life Discoveries

Women in their 50s may feel a sense of liberation from the physical bond of menstruation and the burden of various socio-political attitudes, experiencing a release of creative energy including the sexual, shows Rountree ( Coming into Our Fullness ) in this upbeat collection of profiles and first-person narratives of 18 women who will soon turn 50. Literary acclaim and fulfilling love in a second marriage, for example, crowned Chilean novelist-journalist Isabel Allende's adventurous life, and PBS star reporter Charlayne Hunter-Gault is reaping the fruits of her struggles against racism and sexism. Also exemplifying feminist Gloria Steinem's belief that ``aging after 50 is an exciting new period . . . another country,'' are other, less famous women like the frustrated veterinarian who resigned from a clinic to become her own boss as a ``traveling vet.'' Photos not seen by PW. (May)