Why the sticky on the nose?

This book, our book, is about growing up. It's about how it feels to grow up and how it hurts to grow older and how, in the end, it's all for the best. It is, we'll say again, about how it all feels.

And that is why the lovely woman on the cover has a yellow sticky stuck on her nose. That sticky is the equivalent of the filter society places in front of us. So that despite who we are on the inside, despite what we offer up in abundance, despite what we have often become and accomplished, there is a label which says "old" or "aging" or "getting there" or "forget about her" or "invisible." These are simple, stupid labels attached to visual cues, nothing more.

But, that sticky is also something else. It is also, and equally, her voice talking back. Confronting society. Taking a stand. Her mantra is "despite." Despite you, I am full and vibrant and growing. Despite you, I am on the way up, not on the way down. Despite you, I am what I truly am and not what you think you see. Despite you, I am ripe.

And so, without further ado, we inaugurate the daily sticky.

*If you are interested in this book, please see our website at ripethebook.com. The book is available at bookstores, including amazon.com. If you are not interested in the book, that is fine, but please support, celebrate and spread the concept of ripeness.