“There’s nothing sadder to me, I think, than people who feel like their stories are not worth telling and who die that way. It’s very, very sad.”
That’s something that journalist, humorist and history buff Mo Rocca told me recently when I had the pleasure of speaking with him about his new book, “Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs.” In it, he does his part to ensure that people’s stories are told by sharing dozens of inspiring stories of several later-in-life achievers. (You can listen to our full discussion in the Newsmakers podcast that appears at the end of this blog.)
The person who inspired his comment to me happened to be his own mother, Maria Luisa Rocca, whom he profiles in the book, available as of Wednesday.
“My mother is an immigrant from Columbia,” Rocca said. “She has always been very, very private, but I think that my mother also for many years, frankly, believed that her story wasn’t worth telling. I don’t think it was just that she was discreet or private. I think she felt like her story wasn’t worth telling.”
But then she surprised him by asking to be included in his book, perhaps because she now is in her mid-90s.
“I’m really grateful that she allowed me to write about her story,” Rocca said. “And it certainly was worth writing about and worth telling.”
The importance of sharing our life stories, and listening to others’ stories, is one lesson I gleaned from our discussion. Everyone has something to say.
Another message came when I asked Rocca what he hoped people would take away from his book.
“It’s never too late, it’s never too late, it’s never too late,” he said. “Go for it now. Do not wait. Do not wait.”
Rocca shared with me another personal example, involving his father, whom he said learned how to play the trumpet in his late 40s. “It became one of the great passions of his life,” he said, adding, “This book is full of stories of people who, to use a word currently in vogue, who pivoted late in life.
“The conventional wisdom that the last third of your life is a time to wrap things up is nonsense,” Rocca continued. “We are blessed to live in a time with still-increasing life expectancies. COVID aside, life expectancies are increasing again. Take advantage of that. There is no reason you can’t start again.”
Of course, he acknowledged, age may bring limitations. But the audience, he added, should remember that “you are resourceful, you are creative. You can figure out exciting ways to grow and get around those limitations.”
A fitting final point as we come to the end of this blog?
“Endings are also beginnings,” Rocca said. “If you lose a certain capacity, if you lose someone, another door opens.”
Listen to the podcast below to hear about several of the inspiring stories from the book, as well as why Rocca has an appreciation for older adults, how he chose the topic of this book, how he decided on the people to feature, and what he hopes to achieve later in life.
Lois A. Bowers is the editor of McKnight’s Senior Living. Read her other columns here. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at Lois_Bowers.
