I’m lucky that the first person to review my book is Matt Perry, Aging Reporter for the California Health Report. He was one of the first journalists to interview me, very early on in this project, and his review, titled From Feminism to Ageism: Ashton Applewhite Takes on The Last Prejudice is quite the gift on the eve of publication day.
“In nine chapters that explore everything from health to economics and sex, she destroys nearly every misconception we hold about the aging process,” Perry wrote. “Applewhite loves nothing more than slaying sacred cows.” True dat. Noting that the book is dedicated to Robert Butler, who in 1969 coined the term “ageism,” he quotes my observation that “Almost half a century later, it’s barely made inroads into public consciousness, not to mention provoke outcry.” This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, the review concludes, “should do both.”