Editor Nancy Peckenham founded Crow’s Feet to build a community of writers who are shaking up old ideas about what it means to grow old. Since mid-2019, the publication has attracted a diverse group of people who use their words to describe their unique experiences and insights.
Here are the authors whose work appears in the book and on CrowsFeet.life.
Contributing Writers Marie A. Bailey has an M.A. in Creative Writing from Florida State University. She blogs about writing, nature, cats and knitting at www.1writeway.com. She’s been published in Brevity, by Nightingale & Sparrow, and in various publications on Medium as @marieannbailey. She currently lives in Florida.
Rose Bak is a freelance writer, author and yoga teacher who lives in Portland, Oregon with her family and special needs dogs. As a dedicated multipotentialite, she writes on a variety of topics including self-care, aging, inspiration, business, and pop culture and is a published romantic fiction author. Rose also teaches accessible yoga and sings. Visit rosebakenterprises.com or follow her on social media @AuthorRoseBak.
Zoe Berry is a former nurse practitioner, nurse educator, and Queen’s Nurse. She is now exploring how to age well and have the best later life. Visit www.ageingisagift.co.uk for more.
Beth Bruno has been writing about life and all its complexities since she was eight years old. She has relished her fifties and is looking forward to her sixties. She loves hanging out with her adult children and grandchildren, gardening, raising chickens and camping on uninhabited islands.
Kathleen Cardwell is now a freelance writer/editor based in Cincinnati, Ohio, following a 30+ year career in marketing and communications. Kathleen enjoys writing relevant and entertaining narratives, personal essays, and feature articles for magazines. Kathleen has recently started editing memoirs and family ancestry books. Her writing can be found on Medium.
Caroline Lucas de Braganza is a Wise Old Woman (WOW) who dreamed of writing when she retired. Caroline has published essays on a range of topics, from Emotional Health, Neuroscience, Self and Society to Spirit, dipping into humor when life gets too serious. Forever curious, Caroline vows to play with words for the rest of her days.
Brittany Denis, PT, DPT, RES-CPT is a physical therapist, movement coach, and educator empowering clients through the aging process with mindful movement. She inspires all adults to bring a growth mindset to aging in her movement studio as through writing and educating online. To learn more, visit https://www.advancedbalance.org/.
Dennett was always a writer but lived in a bookkeeper’s body before she found Medium and broke free — well, almost. She is working to work less and write more.
Katharine Esty, PhD is a practicing psychotherapist, widow, mother, grandmother, and an activist for aging well. She's on a mission to dispel myths about old age. She lives in a retirement community near Boston. Her recent book, Eightysomethings: A Practical Guide to Letting Go, Aging Well, and Finding Unexpected Happiness, can be purchased at Amazon.com. Visit https://www.katharineesty.com/newsletter-subscriptionsto sign up for Katherine's twice monthly newsletter.
Maggie Fry lives on a small farm south of Erie, Pennsylvania, where she spends her time gardening, cooking, spinning, and writing. She also loves to travel.
J. F. Gross is a graduate of The University of Missouri School of Journalism and worked for more than 30 years for newspapers in Colorado. She is now retired in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Greg Hopkins lives in Italy with his wife Chrissy and their dog Tilda. Greg is endlessly fascinated by the paradox of perfection, wholeness and healing in the midst of chaos.
Paul Hossfield is a retired engineer living in the diminutive yet great state of Rhode Island. Until March of 2020 he was quite active. Now he stays home, makes masks, writes under the pseudonym Quasimodo on Medium, finds useful things to do when possible, and gets about chiefly by bicycle.
Julia E. Hubbel, when not out traveling the backwoods of the world, may be found cleaning the blackberries out of her yard in Oregon. Or writing. She's pretty good at writing, very good at riding horses, and really, really good at making fun of aging.
Ann Litts is a 60-year-old mother and grandmother who loves J.R.R. Tolkien, black coffee, good tequila, and losing at Candy Land. A nurse for over 25 years, she looks forward to retirement with much anticipation and joie-de-vivre. Nature is her church. She doesn't write, she listens and then shares the message The Universe dictates to whomever needs to hear it.
Nalini McNab is an internationally recognized author, blogger, wisdom teacher and transformational seer. She is the author of several books, including Walk A New Way and The Samurai Scotties trilogy. She is not affiliated with any group, organization or religion. Find her work at www.goddessportalsupport.com and on Medium.com/@chaliceofwisdom.
Shea McNaughton is a city girl living in the country doing country stuff and loving every bit of it. She says she needs two lifetimes to do all she wants to do. Blogger, photographer, world traveler, reader, dancer, and now biker chick.
Donna McNicol retired as an IT professional and started writing fiction. Her preferred genre is small town mysteries with a dash of romance, but she has also tackled children's stories, fantasy and small-town romance. Her short stories have been included in several anthologies. She lives in rural Tennessee with her husband and two Goldendoodles. Please visit Donna at https://campsite.bio/dbmcnicol to follow her.
Michelle Monet is a musician, author, poet, and seeker. She is currently writing a showbiz memoir and Broadway style Musical. Contact her at michelle@michellemonet.com Diane Overcash is a fine art painter, fiddler, actor and arranger of words. She is also a butter snob.
Nancy Peckenham is the editor of Crow’s Feet, which she started after a career in journalism. She writes about life as we age, travel adventures, history and matters of the human spirit.
Ren Powell is a Poet, Translator, and Teaching Artist, with a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Lancaster University. She is a traditionally published writer who is currently focusing on mixed media and handbound books. She keeps a daily literary diary (Tanka Prose) online at RenPowell.com.
Lili Rodriguez is a native New Yorker who has lived on a farm in Hawaii with two life partners and a bunch of critters (including four very loud parrots) since 1999. Over 60 herself, Lili is a cultural anthropologist, consumer researcher, entrepreneur and wannabe writer. She is fascinated by life’s surprising complexity and obsessed with understanding the “why” behind the “what.”
Anne Saddler lives in a lively Cornish port in the UK. After a career writing primarily non-fiction, Anne has returned to her first love, poetry and fiction writing. Her book North Of The Heart, a selection of poetry and prose, is available from Amazon books world-wide (paperback and Kindle).
Mary Dalton Selby, who is retired and living in the Midwest, transitioned from a career in the digital world to playing on the floor with her grandkids. Retirement has also given her the opportunity to explore new interests, like writing.
Anna I. Smith writes about relationships and situations that make her laugh, cry or both. When not writing she loves to bake, watch movies and analyze the state of the world and everything in it. She lives in Southern California with her husband, her pets, and other wild and crazy animals.
Mark Starlin is a musician and writer who began his writing adventure at the age of 57. He recently turned 60. His writing spans a wide variety of topics and genres, including fiction, humor, poetry, and essays. He has published one novel, a collection of fiction, and a collection of humor.
The Write Yard used to be something else, but now can hold her head up and say she is a writer. Retired doctor. Passionate about empowering people. Editor of Illumination, a publication on Medium.com
Mark Tulin is a retired family therapist living in Ventura, CA. He has authored Magical Yogis, Awkward Grace, The Asthmatic Kid and Other Stories, Junkyard Souls, and has appeared in many online magazines, anthologies, and podcasts. He can be found at www.crowonthewire.com and mftulin.medium.com.
Warren Turner is a semi-retired progressive clergyperson who writes personal essays about life at 80. Warren is a Minnesota Twins fan and supporter of all LGBTQ+ issues. He/Him.
Roz Warren, Medium Sherpa and writing coach, writes for everyone from the New York Times to the Funny Times. She is the author of several books, including Our Bodies, Our Shelves: A Collection Of Library Humor(Humour Outcast Press, 2015).
Lisa Wathen lives in southeast Virginia with her family and cat and teaches high school English and journalism. She has published a children's book and short YA fiction and is currently working on several MG and YA novels, including an anthology of ghost stories. Her short adult fiction and nonfiction work is available on Medium.
Ingrid L. Williams is an unrepentant writer specializing in storytelling with purpose and impact. With over 20 years of experience ranging from international journalism and brandbuilding to marketing and storytelling, she has written or contributed to a number of articles, books, scripts, commercials, presentations, videos, speeches, mixed reality entertainment and other formats.
Their Words Ring True
Read what these amazing authors have to say about life as we age.