Coming of Age: My Journey to the Eighties

We are lucky to have such insight from this author in her highly readable and relatable book. . . . From her we garner lessons such as cherishing the moments we have left, letting go of things, of vanity, of grudges, and smiling. Smiling like her photo that adorns the book cover, displaying the proud wrinkles of her time and life." -- NY Journal of Books "WithComing of Age, Madeleine May Kunin continues in her role as bearer of light for women everywhere. This time, she holds the lantern while walking gracefully, passionately and authentically toward her final years. Like the woman herself, Kunin's memoir is exquisite." -- Vermont Woman "Madeleine May Kunin's memoir "Coming of Age: My Journey to the Eighties" (Green Writers Press) introduces its chapters with brief poems based on themes like downsizing, independence, love late in life, being alone and "How will I die?" Kunin was the first woman elected governor of Vermont, former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and U.S. deputy secretary of education - and the first Jewish woman to be elected governor of any U.S. state. Now a professor-at-large at the University of Vermont and activist on behalf of women in politics, she is feisty, funny, introspective, unafraid and wise as she adjusts to what she calls old age, looking both back and ahead at her future. She is a most appealing guide through this territory. While she doesn't glorify old age, she proceeds thinking "the more life, the better," seeing aging as a new stage of development in which she continues to learn and find joy." - The New York Jewish Week November 2018 "Her new work talks about her latest challenge: aging, particularly how it has affected her and her husband. While doing so, she also looks back on earlier parts of her life: her parents' escape from Europe and the difficulties she faced as a woman running for office and as a government official. Interspersed with her recollections are poems, which offer a different angle to her thoughts. . . . Coming of Age: My Journey to the Eighties is a slender work, less than 200 pages. However, Kunin fills it with warm memories and hopes for the future-even as she realistically looks at what life may bring during her remaining years." The Reporter December 2018

Governor Kunin has written three previous books: Living a Political Life (Knopf), and The New Feminist Agenda: Defining the Next Revolution for Women, Work, and Family (New York Times Editor's Choice) and Pearls Politics and Power. She has more energy than two 40-year-olds. She is currently James Marsh Scholar Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont where she gives lectures on feminism and women and politics. She also serves on the board of the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), a nongovernmental organization that she founded in 1991, and she recently launched Emerge Vermont to encourage and support women in politics. She lives in Shelburne, Vermont. Author photo by Paul Boisvert.