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Advice from My 80-Year-Old Self: Real Words of Wisdom from People Ages 7 to 88 by Susan O'Malley
sarahcelia's review against another edition
5.0
Advice From My 80-Year-Old Self is a series of colorful text-based artworks whose words come from interviews conducted by artist Susan O’Malley in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each interviewee was asked to imagine a conversation with their 80-year-old self and the guidance this older self would offer. O’Malley then created brightly-colored posters based on these comforting, encouraging, and often humorous thoughts in an effort to spread cheer in her community. This was her last project before she and her newborn twin girls tragically passed away in 2016. She was 38. Created in collaboration with a local youth group and the Kala Arts Institute, this work is a light in the dark—a promise of hope and a reminder to keep moving forward.
These vibrant one-line pep talks have taken the form of buttons, billboards, murals, and more and touched thousands of lives. It’s incredibly frustrating to read the reviews of readers who don’t know the artist’s work and expected a completely different book based on title alone. When reading these “real words of wisdom from people ages 7-88,” expect a compilation of optimistic artworks, not a self-help book. Familiarize yourself with Susan O’Malley’s work. She was a wonderful person who left an absolute treasure of an artistic legacy behind. She made the world a better place.
http://advicefrommyeightyyearoldself.com
https://susanomalley.org
https://morebeautifulthanyoucouldeverimagine.com
These vibrant one-line pep talks have taken the form of buttons, billboards, murals, and more and touched thousands of lives. It’s incredibly frustrating to read the reviews of readers who don’t know the artist’s work and expected a completely different book based on title alone. When reading these “real words of wisdom from people ages 7-88,” expect a compilation of optimistic artworks, not a self-help book. Familiarize yourself with Susan O’Malley’s work. She was a wonderful person who left an absolute treasure of an artistic legacy behind. She made the world a better place.
http://advicefrommyeightyyearoldself.com
https://susanomalley.org
https://morebeautifulthanyoucouldeverimagine.com
freshjai's review against another edition
5.0
5 might be a bit much, but this was still a really good and inspirational read. Just something quick and lighthearted to fill out minds and hearts with.
wildmind1's review against another edition
2.0
I was charmed by the late O'Malley's public art project on a recent visit to San Francisco, where stumbling across these optimistic words of advice was a lovely surprise and a pleasant break from routine. It also led to some great conversations with friends. While the sentiments are still sweet and occasionally unexpected, the book is far less successful. Unlike the companion web site to this project, it contains no additional context for the quotations or information about the speakers, simply first name and age. After a bit, the different entries begin to run together and even ring a bit hollow at times.
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