Chapter 5 of 10
The later years
what the days look like now — what's quieter, what's still loud.
№ 01
“What's quieter in your life now that used to make a lot of noise?”
№ 02
“What's the story about yourself you find yourself telling more than any other?”
№ 03
“What's an ordinary day in your life like now?”
№ 04
“What's improved with age, despite everything you were told to fear?”
№ 05
“What's worsened, honestly — and how have you arranged your life around it?”
№ 06
“Tell me about a friendship that's still standing after thirty, forty, fifty years.”
№ 07
“What do you do with mornings, now?”
№ 08
“Tell me about a place you've come back to many times across your life.”
№ 09
“What does retirement (or stepping back, or shifting gear) actually feel like, from the inside?”
№ 10
“If you've lost a partner — or you've lived alone for a long stretch — what does the shape of a day on your own feel like now?”
№ 11
“What do you do with the people who are no longer here?”
№ 12
“Tell me about a piece of music that means more to you now than it did when you first heard it.”
№ 13
“What's the thing you're most curious about, still?”
№ 14
“Has your relationship with your body settled into something different in the later years?”
№ 15
“Tell me about something a grandchild — yours or someone else's — has taught you.”
№ 16
“Is there a regret you've come to peace with?”
№ 17
“Is there a regret you haven't made peace with — and don't have to today?”
№ 18
“What's the best meal you've had in the last year?”
№ 19
“Is there a place you'd still like to see, even if you'll need help getting there?”
№ 20
“Have you developed a habit in the last decade that surprises you?”
№ 21
“Tell me about a younger person who's been good to you in your later years.”
№ 22
“What's a possession you'd like to make sure ends up with a particular person?”
№ 23
“Is there an apology you'd still like to make, or receive?”
№ 24
“Tell me about a moment of unexpected joy in the last year.”
№ 25
“Is there a phase of your life you'd happily live again — knowing what you know now?”
№ 26
“What's a habit, attitude, or worry you're glad to have outgrown?”
№ 27
“What does death look like to you now, compared with what it looked like when you were forty?”
№ 28
“Is there a question that, twenty years ago, you thought you'd have figured out by now — and you haven't?”