Tom Hodgkinson, editor of The Idler and Oldie Town Mouse columnist, discussed his new book, How to Live Like a Stoic: A Handbook for Happiness.
Tom learnt about Stoicism from Socrates, the father of the philosophical school. But he also learnt about it from his mother, journalist Liz Hodgkinson, who he’d brought as his guest to the lunch. Liz, an Oldie contributor, has written about every aspect of her life, to Tom’s chagrin. He said,
‘There was the time when she wrote about her breast-enlargement operation in Woman’s Own. That was bad enough in itself. But did she have to let them run before and after pictures?
‘More recently, I popped in to the newsagent to see a huge picture of her on the front page of the Mail alongside the headline: “Why Do Men Find Me More Desirable at 75 Than Ever? LIZ HODGKINSON says that when once it was older men chasing younger women, now it's attractive, successful older ladies like her who are fighting off suitors.”
‘Or possibly even worse - “Think You Can’t Have A Sex Life Past 70? Think Again!”’
