“Both validating and affirming, Warm Cup of Wisdom offers thoughtful advice from elders on issues we all wrestle with as we go through life.”
—Rita Bresnahan, Ph.D. psychologist
Warm Cup of Wisdom
Warm Cup of Wisdom, Inspirational Insights on Relationships and Life features nine older women each answering twenty questions about wisdom, resilience, forgiveness, friendship, loss, and making a difference.
Many of us would like to get wiser as we get older. But how?
Author Dori Jones Yang sits down with nine women she admires and asks personal questions about how to navigate the second half of life.
With humility, honesty, and humor, these nine bold women open their lives to Yang with warm advice and touching stories. You’ll find here a remarkable variety of insights about how to improve relationships, cope with tough emotions, navigate rocky transitions at midlife, and achieve a sense of calm and contentment.
Dori Jones Yang asks twenty interview questions about life such as, What sustains you during hard times? How do you define happiness? What regrets do you wish you had prevented? How do you make a difference in the world?
This book offers a challenge for you to embark on your own “wisdom project.” You will find wisdom all around you, if you dare to ask.
Read a Short Excerpt
Imagine you’re having a lively lunch with nine of the wisest people you know. In some ways they are a lot like you, except about twenty years older. You can ask them all the questions you’d like to help prepare yourself for what comes next in your life. Every answer stimulates a fascinating discussion, full of insights you know you’ll ponder.
These are people you admire for their wisdom about everyday matters—getting along with others bouncing back after tough times, dealing with awkward emotions, and navigating painful situations. Although each one is different, they personify the way you’d like to be in twenty years—remarkably resourceful and resilient. They make aging look so appealing!
At a time of life when you’re dodging bumps in the road, juggling stressful situations, wrestling with big decisions—or just wondering where you’ll find the strength to tie your shoes! —they reassure you that it’s possible to come out the other side not only whole but well.
Wouldn’t it be great to ask them how they did it? To get insights that would help you map out the road ahead?
Connecting generations and cultures through the lives of ordinary people
Dori Jones Yang is a writer who aims to build bridges between cultures and between generations. Author of a wide variety of books for different audiences, she loves to explore different countries, explain complex issues in understandable language, and make history come alive.
Dori Jones Yang
Author Comments
I started this book project with a sense of awe at the wise women in my community and a desire to somehow tap into the wisdom I saw in them. Rather than writing their life stories, I gradually formulated these twenty questions to encourage them to tell stories as a means of enlightening me and others like me.
One of these wise women gave me a challenge. Pointing out the similarities in the background of these nine women, she nudged me to consider starting another book, to seek the wisdom of women from a variety of races, backgrounds, or religions. So now I’ve embarked on a new wisdom project: interviewing women of different religions, including many of different ethnic or racial backgrounds, and asking them the same twenty questions. I’ve finished most of the interviews, and the answers inspire me. Watch this space for a sequel!
Author’s Comments
I started this book project with a sense of awe at the wise women in my community and a desire to somehow tap into the wisdom I saw in them. Rather than writing their life stories, I gradually formulated these twenty questions to encourage them to tell stories as a means of enlightening me and others like me.
One of these wise women gave me a challenge. Pointing out the similarities in the background of these nine women, she nudged me to consider starting another book, to seek the wisdom of women from a variety of races, backgrounds, or religions. So now I’ve embarked on a new wisdom project: interviewing women of different religions, including many of different ethnic or racial backgrounds, and asking them the same twenty questions. I’ve finished most of the interviews, and the answers inspire me. Watch this space for a sequel!
