Found Her Voice at 93

Dr. Gladys McGarey just turned 102 and had her 10th book published. The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age was published by Atria Books, a division of Simon and Schuster. She’s also had a couple of books written by others about her. She’s a prolific writer, and an amazing woman. But if you ask her she’ll tell you she really found her voice at 93.

Willing to Share

It’s a little daunting to try to describe Dr. Gladys. She still works as a consulting doctor. She exercises daily – getting her steps in and covering the rest of the distance she travels on her tricycle. A cancer survivor, she went through a painful divorce at 70, and endured the death of her daughter.

She’s had her share of blows in her lifetime. Yet, she’s learned from each one, and is more than willing to share what she’s learned. When interviewed by CNBC, Dr. Gladys advised people to let go of things that drain your energy. She claims that “the happiest people know when to move on.”

When she spoke with the Today show, Dr. Gladys shared one of her main philosophies for living – that everything is your teacher. She also shared that we are all here for a reason. The good doctor believes that love is the most powerful medicine, and that you can become better as your body grows older because with each passing year you connect more to your purpose in life.

In her interview with Fortune, this co-founder of the American Board of Holistic Medicine, shared that despite her career success, she didn’t feel like she could always express herself. She spoke of struggling in school due to dyslexia and not finding her voice until she was 93.

Despite those struggles, she learned what she now advises others to do – laugh and listen. “Laughter with love is happiness and joy,” she says. “Listening with love is understanding.”

When she spoke with the U.K.’s Daily Mail, the woman known as the mother of holistic medicine, Dr. Gladys shared pictures and stories from her two month long medical mission in Afghanistan and India, which she made at the age of 84.  

Show Us the Way

Clearly, everyone wants to speak to Dr. Gladys. She’s living an amazing life, truly 100:100 – at 100% for 100 years and more. Dr. Gladys is one of those centenarians who are showing us all what’s possible, and that what’s possible isn’t tied to a date or an age. And for that The 100 Year Lifestyle says thank you and we can’t wait to read your book!