As more people live into their eighties, nineties, and even hundreds, traditional models of aging no longer apply—and a bold new road map is emerging. Longevity Nation takes us to the front lines of the new longevity movement, giving us the tools and insights we need to radically reshape the second half of life in happier, healthier ways.

With insights from the Stanford Center on Longevity and its groundbreaking New Map of Life, L’Oréal’s “All Generations” workforce strategy, and Singapore’s incentives for hiring over-fifty-five workers, this book integrates global cutting-edge research across functional health, financial security, and lifelong learning—revealing what’s happening now and what’s coming next.

From business and wealth to fitness and relationships, this practical guide spotlights innovators, experts, and everyday individuals who are redefining what it means to thrive later in life. Aimed at readers forty and up, Longevity Nation is an inspiring manifesto for a generation ready to reimagine aging—and live with more purpose, vitality, wellness, and vision than ever before.

The excerpt below come from Chapter 7: "Creativity: It Should Never Stop." 

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Paul Theroux is one of my favorite American writers. You might know some of his most famous works: The Mosquito Coast or The Great Railway Bazaar or Dark Star Safari. He has also written short stories, magazine articles, essays, and so much more. One that you’ll want to read is his New Yorker essay “Facing Ka’ena Point,” which contains his reflections on turning 80. 

Now in his mid-80s, he continues to be as prolific as ever. When I reached out to him to tell him I was working on a book about longevity and how creativity can continue to thrive as one ages, he reminded me that Picasso never stopped creating, and neither did da Vinci. Somerset Maugham was active into his 80s, ditto Doris Lessing. Ned Rorem was composing music in his 90s, and Philip Glass continues to be active in his 80s.¹ 

I was curious how he felt about his creativity now. When I asked him if it was different than when he was in his 60s and 70s, he responded, “I have always felt that the key to creativity is continuity—working uninterruptedly in as much serenity as is available—because the imagination expands with concentration. In other words, don’t stop. I have not stopped, and my age has not mattered.”² 

When I asked him where he finds his inspiration for a new project, he said, “The germ of inspiration arises from one’s inner life, one’s past—and in an older creative person the past is greater, with so much more to stimulate thought. The greatest gift for a creative writer is the ability to listen (and remember) and to observe closely (and remember)—these require patience and humility and reflection, which are almost absent in the young, fairly rare generally, but often traits of older people.”³ 

Theroux recommended that I read Sir Kenneth Clark’s essay “The Artist Grows Old,” Simone de Beauvoir’s book The Coming of Age, and a book by Nicholas Delbanco called Lastingness: The Art of Old Age. All of them deal with the subject of old age and creativity.  

Another one of my favorite writers is 82-year-old Isabel Allende, who produces a new work almost every year, including her 2025  novel My Name is Emilia del Valle. Her TED Talk “How to Live Passionately—No Matter Your Age” has had more than 4 million views. One of her great comments is that “the spirit never ages.”⁴ As a creative writer, she continues with her craft, delighting readers like me and millions of others with her beautiful storytelling. 

Theroux and Allende are just two examples of creatives who continue to express themselves well into their later years. They are joined by other role models, including Gerhard Richter, a painter in his 90s who continues to work in his native Germany.⁵ Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford have thriving careers in their 80s. Eileen Kramer was an Australian dancer and choreographer who died in 2024 at the age of 100 and was known as one of the oldest working dancers.⁶ 

I asked Theroux if he thought people could begin a creative journey after the age of 50. “You can ‘begin’ the creative journey, but it won’t be easy, because the apprenticeship takes so long. Nonetheless, that should not be a deterrent. My advice would be to get busy, read, write, paint, sculpt—it will matter more than playing golf,” he answered.⁷ 

It’s good advice when you consider that Frank McCourt published his first book, Angela’s Ashes, at the age of 66 and won the Pulitzer Prize.⁸ Similarly, Delia Owens was 69 when she finished her first novel, Where the Crawdads Sing, a book that stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 168 weeks, sold fifteen million copies, and became a successful movie.⁹ Grandma Moses began painting at 78 and lived to 101. At 83, her painting Sugaring Off sold at Christie’s auction house for $1,360,000.¹⁰  

In his book The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery, Adam Gopnik dispels the myth that we can’t learn new things as we age. His thesis is that we can accomplish anything at any age if we set our minds to it through a series of learning scenarios. Over the course of the book, Gopnik tells the reader how he takes on new creative pursuits like ballroom dancing, drawing, and even boxing lessons.¹¹ 

The takeaway? If you were told that you couldn’t learn to play the piano over 50, think again. In so many ways, we block our own potential creative expressions through our own self-imposed ageism. 

Excerpted from Longevity Nation: The People, Ideas, and Trends Changing the Second Half of Our Lives by Michael Clinton, published by Atria Books. Copyright © 2026 by Michael Clinton. All rights reserved.

About the Author 

Michael Clinton is the former president and publishing director of Hearst Magazines and is currently special media advisor to the Hearst Corporation’s CEO. He is also an author and photographer who believes that everyone should strive to live their fullest life possible—especially in the second half of life. A regular columnist for Men’s Health, his work has also been featured in Forbes, Oprah Daily, Esquire, Elle, and on CBS Mornings, among others. Michael has traveled through over a hundred countries, has run marathons on seven continents, is a private pilot, part owner of a vineyard in Argentina, has started a nonprofit foundation, holds two master’s degrees, and still has a long list of life experiences that he plans to tackle. He resides in New York and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Notes

1. Paul Theroux, email message to author, February 10, 2025.
2. Theroux, email.
3. Theroux, email.
4. Isabel Allende, “How to Live Passionately—No Matter Your Age,” TED Talk, March 2014, Vancouver, BC, 8 min. 6 sec.
5. Gerhard Richter website, biography.
6. Sam Nichols, “Dancer Eileen Kramer, ‘Longest Living Woman in NSW,’ Dies aged 110,” ABC Australia, November, 15, 2024.
7. Theroux, email.
8. Lev Grossman, “Frank McCourt, Author of Angela’s Ashes, Dies,” Time, July 19, 2009.
9. Alexandra Alter, ”Questions About an Unsolved Murder Linger over ‘Where the Crawdads Sing,’” New York Times, July 19, 2022.
10. Lot 139, Christie’s sale, November 30, 2006.
11. Adam Gopnik, The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery (Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2023).