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“I want to proceed unfinished . . .think of the changes as adaptations, not surrender.” — Kathryn Grody
KEY LINKS
Kathryn Grody’s one-woman show, The Unexpected 3rd — October 13–November 1 at George Street Playhouse
The Unexpected 3rd — tickets and information
Don’t Listen to Us with Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody — Kathryn and Mandy’s podcast with their son, Gideon
Listen to Don’t Listen to Us
“The Layers” by Stanley Kunitz — the poem Kathryn reads during our conversation
Read “The Layers”
How Not to F*ck Up Your Face by Valerie Monroe
Visit Valerie Monroe’s Substack
What does getting older actually feel like?
At 79, award-winning actress and writer Kathryn Grody isn’t interested in pretending she has aging figured out. She’s funny about it, angry about parts of it, grateful for it—and determined to keep discovering who she is.
Kathryn joins me for a wonderfully candid conversation about entering what she calls her “third and final act,” which inspired her one-woman show, The Unexpected 3rd. We talk about the strange experience of feeling like yourself while suddenly being treated as “old,” why allowing her hair to go gray felt almost radical, and what happens when the world begins making assumptions about what you can—and can’t—do.
We also talk about strength and changing bodies, needing more time to recharge, bringing new people into your life as old friends are lost, the fear of mortality, marriage and family, and the unexpected social-media fame that came when her son Gideon began filming Kathryn and her husband, Mandy Patinkin, simply being themselves.
And then the conversation goes somewhere deeper: How do we acknowledge what is hard about aging without allowing fear and loss to become the center of our lives?
Kathryn’s answer has stayed with me. Stay curious. Keep adapting. Keep participating. Keep making room for new experiences. And above all, don’t assume you’re finished.
If this conversation speaks to you, please share it with a friend who is thinking about what her own next chapter might look like. And be sure to follow AGE BETTER wherever you listen, subscribe to the AGE BETTER YouTube channel, and leave a rating or review—it really does help more women find the show.
