Joan Martin Burke was born at the beginning of the last century, really in a different universe. She weathered the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, World War II, the Cold War, the civil rights movement, women's liberation, and 9/11. Saw the first black man elected president, the financial meltdown of 2008, the uprising of ISIS and lived under thirteen different presidents. That's a lot of history. She has done it with flexibility, humor and family to get her through. Growing Up At Eighty is a collection of humorous essays about the coping in this new world with a series of observations, opinions and reflections ranging from sex to television, fashion and retirement hoping to make these golden years sparkle.