How to Be Old

Lessons in Living Boldly from the Accidental Icon

By: Lyn Slater

Narrated by: Lyn Slater

One of Elle's Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of 2024

A personal memoir in which Lyn Slater, known on Instagram as “Accidental Icon,” brings her characteristic style, optimism, forward-thinking, and rules-are-meant-to-be-broken attitude to the question of how to live boldly at any age.

When Lyn Slater started her fashion blog, Accidental Icon, at age sixty-one, she discovered that followers were flocking to her account for more than just her A-list style. As Lyn flaunted gray hair, wrinkles, and a megadose of self-acceptance, they found in her an alternative model of older life: someone who defied the stereotypes, refused to become invisible, and showed that all women have the opportunity to be relevant and take major risks at any stage of their life. Youth is not the only time we can be experimental.

How to Be Old tells the ten-year story of Lyn’s sixties, the sometimes-glamorous, sometimes-turbulent decade of Accidental Icon. This memoir is about the hopeful and future-oriented process of reinvention. It shows listeners that while you can’t control everything, what you can control is the way you think about your age and the creative ways you respond to the changes in your mind and body as they happen. Rather than trying to meet standards of youth and beauty as a measure of successful aging, Lyn promotes a more inclusive and empowering standard to judge our older selves by.

In this paradigm-shifting memoir, Lyn exemplifies that even with its unique challenges, being old is just like any new beginning in your life and can be the best and most invigorating of all of life’s phases, full of rebellion and reinvention, connection and creativity.

©2024 Lyn Slater (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“In equal parts inspirational and aspirational, Lyn Slater’s How to Be Old is a rousing, thrilling ride of a book. Being old is a privilege and a gift. Slater’s combination of curiosity, glamour, and activism will make readers of all ages take heart.”—Dani Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author

“How to Be Old is a story of aging, of course, but it's primarily a story of living: with verve, with introspection, with great majesty. No one makes me more excited to be old than Lyn Slater."—Anne Helen Petersen, author of The Burnout Generation and Out of Office

"I have watched Lyn Slater from afar for years. She is the kind of woman I have been drawn to all my life, perhaps the kind of woman I am genetically coded to latch myself unto. She is older and wiser and does not seem to give many f--ks about the social obligations of either. In this book she does what I have always wanted a cool older woman to do. She kicks out a chair beside her and casually invites you to soak in her courageous vulnerability. How to be Old is a vision for your life this year, next year, in the older years that popular media has made a blurry blank space for women. Through this compelling narrative of career, identity, and aging you can borrow pieces of Lyn's journey, her vision, and her inspiring closet to assemble a version of womanhood that grows as you grow. That is the promise of this inspiring book. Womanhood does not have to be a cage. It can be a stage. And we can dress for whatever part we would like.”—Tressie McMillan Cottom, author of National Book Award Finalist Thick

Accidental Icon - Embrace Difference

A wonderful book. 🥹
Finding her difference and remaining true to her authentic self was the highlight seen throughout the book for me.
I have appreciated A.I. blogs since I tapped in around 2019. I can still remember longing for the next post. I retired four years ago. My mornings have been filled with journaling my thoughts since my time has become far less frenzied.
This book brought back memories of work, loss, family and raising children, and travel. This book super-sparked my love for fashion and my love for sunglasses (sunnies) 😎 since they were so unlike the norm.
Before retirement, and definitely before the pandemic, I traveled for work and pleasure. My sense of purpose seemed secure. Then the abrupt stop stopped me cold. Several new and unwanted things popped in. I sunk into deep sadness for a period. Writing and journaling soothed me.
Reading this memoir, I realized quickly that our worlds are certainly different, yet I felt a wonderful connection. I consider myself a forever student, a late bloomer. I love learning and for me, I am who I am. Today, I find pleasure in small things.
Wonderful book. I pray it continues to find its way into the hands of those who long to shine forth authentically. Cheers!

Great story of personal growth

Loved her story about her lifetime personal growth. I believe she should’ve had someone else to read for her; recommend listening at 1.2 or 1.5 speed. If she does read another of her stories, I would recommend she explore varying intonational manners so that it is less about hearing her read and more about her orally telling her story.

about fashion

I couldn't finish this book as it was more about fashion than aging, not interested . in fact the couple of hours I listened was mainly about fashion with few wisdoms or parallels about aging. Most likely more interesting for an audience of fashionista.

Reminding us that we continue to be

This book came at the perfect time as I evolve into my next evolution as a 73 year-old woman enthusiastically embracing a new future.

HOPE for Aging Well

I loved the honesty, vulnerability, enthusiasm, joy, and HOPE in Lyn Slater’s writing. I will recommend this book to every woman I know, both young and getting older.

Not my theme

I’m not into fashion. I had hoped this was more about growing old but I couldn’t relate.

Boring

it's not how to be old but more the story of her life and success.
I don't consider 60s old...now mid 70s...that's when the "fun" begins!
I like her style...though...but couldn't wait till it was over

Inspiration for every age

A fan of her blog, I thoroughly enjoyed this autobiography of an unconventional, unapologetic, un-old life. Thank you for having the courage to share yourself and one decade or so of your life so boldly.

So disappointed

I had such high hopes for this book. A friend read it with her eyes & loved it. Unfortunately the author read this book.. so monotonous and S L O W. I had to speed it up to 1.35 which was a regular sounding speaking cadence, just so I wouldn't fall asleep. I will borrow the paper version of the book & take a look if it seems better than the awful audio. Her voice is the polar opposite of what one would imagine compaired with her persona. A better choice would have been a professional reader or actor. Blah!

Everyone Needs This!

Lyn Slater has made it possible for a woman of any age to see the beauty and convergence in all ages. There is no commentary on doing things "in spite of age"....if anything, the story shows how much richer things can be on a path of someone who has been living life & continues to seek it out and take opportunities . Her story of creating Accidental Icon is a very cool trajectory that is based on moving forward in each present moment in a large variety of circumstances.
Fashion and navigating the world of fashion as Accidental Icon as well as her down to earth perspectives on the whole wild ride that this took her, is the heart of this very engaging book and labor of love!
It was fun hearing Lyn herself read the book and my only challenge with listening was the need to write down so many things she said that were inspiring me~
To sum up what I got from the book,....the Universe is always going to present us with opportunities and our choice is how we say yes~ And that this never stops at any age we might be.