What is “52 Shades of Graying?”
“52 Shades of Graying”is a series of 52 audio-and-text short stories that, over a year's time, show older adults:
Sidestepping newly acquired limitations which sometimes come with age.
Tapping insights about life that often peak with age.
Sharing a new appreciation for life that grows with age.
Every Wednesday subscribers to “52 Shades of Graying” receive by email a five-minute-read short story. These 52 stories are fiction but based on my 81 years of experience as a social observer and as a person with a disability.
Each new story is about a fictional older adult who uses hindsight and foresight to offer a takeaway tip and a discussion question about an ageism or ableism issue or an impediment to well being mature individuals often encounter as they live through various shades of aging.
The resulting online dialogue often prompts members of the “52 Shades of Graying” community to privately share new insights and bedrock values with family and friends. It’s an easy, economical, effective and safe way to journal over a year’s time about topics not found anywhere else.
“52 Shades of Graying” is an online resource for those who seek to understand and rise above ageism and ableism so they can continue to pursue a fourth-quarter life of transcendence and purpose.
That’ why “52 Shades of Graying” is a positive, uplifting (and often amusing) mutual-mentoring community.
Ageism, by the way, is discrimination against older people due to negative and inaccurate stereotypes. Ableism is a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with disabilities.
And, on the more positive side, older adults can lead fulfilling lives (and indeed thrive) by maximizing mental, emotional and physical health, having control over their lives, maintaining connections with family and individuals of all ages and finding their personal purpose for living.
Remember — insightful storytelling not only benefits the storyteller but also those who read or listen because, through stories, they can both grow in understanding life’s complicated issues.
Check this sample story that reflects the type of issues you can expect “52 Shades of Graying” to address on a weekly basis.
Why I launched “52 Shades of Graying”
When I was nine, I was already walking like a 90-year-old man.
I’ve had eight decades to adjust to the fact that walking is always tentative for me due to my cerebral palsy.
That’s always been my reality.
But, what about the otherwise healthy woman who suddenly, at 75, has a stroke and finds she needs a walker to get around? How does she adjust to that new reality? How does she let her grand kids know what that experience has taught her about life and living -- tidbits she now wants to share with them?
I’m surprised. Very few people outside of academic circles are addressing "aging-plus-disability" issues. But today’s "2.0 mature adults" want to learn how to handle limitations effectively because 26 percent of them who are over 65 years old have acquired some form of disability.
That’s why I’m using my lifetime experience with disability to help (through storytelling) my fellow older adults adjust psychologically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually to newly acquired limitations -- and share their stories with family and friends.
How I make sharing stories easy to do
I include a discussion question (and a seed comment from my own experience) at the end of each of my “52 Shades of Graying” stories.
Paid subscribers to “52 Shades of Graying” receive another bonus. They can choose one of their favorite anecdotes that they have written privately or shared with other members of the “52 Shades of Graying” community and highlight it in a personal note to a family member or friend.
They have access to these six “My Latest Legacy Nugget” letterheads:
Birthday
Graduation Day
Holiday Season
Special Day
Wedding Anniversary
Wedding Day
Paid subscribers can use use them all throughout the year to record their thoughts in their own words, one anecdote at a time, for the important people in their lives.
It’s probably something they’ve already posted in one of the “52 Shades of Graying” discussion sections. So, in that case, it’s just a matter of copying the appropriate letterhead, pasting it into a document on a personal device, doing the same thing with the comment and then saving it.
“Nuggets” can be sent by email or snail mail, published in book form or tucked away in a safe place for further reference.
As Dr. Andrew Weil, MD, writes, “The (purpose) of legacy writing is to discover, communicate, and preserve your values, stories, wisdom, and blessings for future generations.”
A “52 Shades of Graying” subscription
is a great holiday or “special-day” gift
Give “52 Shades of Graying” subscriptions as unique gifts for people you cherish.
Use “52 Shades of Graying” as your platform for forming a Zoom community of colleagues/students to explore ageism/ableism issues.
Tap “52 Shades of Graying” for the enhanced affinity you'll gain with your targeted market by aligning your organization, services or products with the concerns of mature adults.
Frame “52 Shades of Graying” as a resource for gaining a better understanding of today’s older adults – valuable for anyone in care giving, geriatrics, physical therapy, senior living services etc.
Special 90% discount for groups
Here’s a unique gifting idea you really need to consider. Subscribe to “52 Shades of Graying” for yourself for one year, choose to become the administrator of a group of two or more subscribers you designate and sign them up for the annual subscription at only $7 each.
That $7 is 90 percent off the regular subscription price of $67 for 12 months. It applies to annual plans only.
You can take advantage of this special discount by forming your own group of friends, colleagues, students etc. and reserving seats for them by March 31, 2025.
As your group’s administrator, you’ll have a private subscriber page for 12 months on substack.com where you can add and delete subscribers within the number of $7 seats you originally reserved.
Group subscriptions for annual plans are available here.
What others are saying
about “52 Shades of Graying”
“Love this … I’m going to subscribe!” - Mary Alice J.
“I resonated with your story!" - Kathleen M.
“Thanks, Jim. Valuable story. You’re real.” - Allen H.
“We know your online posts will lead a lot of people to reflect on their lives, too, and share their struggles and successes. You are affecting the world for good.” – Helen and Jerry Z.
”Thank you, Jim, for these heart-warming stories. Life is good and so are people.” - Brenda H.
”You’re exploring both ageism and ableism in your stories — something I rarely see. Congrats.” - Josh H.
“Jim, I absolutely love reading your stories. You never disappoint …” - Mary K.
The magic of thoughtfulness
Put magic in your thoughtfulness as a gift giver during 2025. Give annual subscriptions of “52 Shades of Graying” to those you cherish.
It will affirm your recognition during the next 52 weeks that, according to Brené Brown, The New York Times best selling author, vulnerability is the base for not only courage, openness and authenticity but also resiliency and empathy.
And a gift subscription to “52 Shades of Graying” is a bargain: 52 audio-and-text short stories, 52 takeaway tips, 52 discussion questions, and 52 amusing quotes.
The receiver of your gift subscription will get a full 52 weeks of stories and discussions no matter when he or she becomes a member of the community because “52 Shades of Graying” is a revolving online service. When week 52's story is published, “52 Shades of Graying” reboots and starts another new series of 52 stories while revisiting “companion stories” about the same topic each week from the previous year. And every published story from each year is available for paid subscribers in the story archive.
How to make your gift giving easier
Here’s what to do when you decide to give someone special in your life a year’s subscription to “52 Shades of Graying.”
Your recipient will automatically receive a “welcome new subscriber” email from me.
But before that “welcome” note is sent, you may wish to send a private message (available on your signup form) to clarify several things. Below is a template for that little message. You can edit and use it as you see fit.
Hi, XXXX:
As you will see in an upcoming email message, you are now all set to receive a “52 Shades of Graying” text-and-audio short story in your email each week during the next 12 months.
Whenever your subscription starts, it will automatically roll into the current year to make sure you receive all 52 stories.
At any time during the year, you can access all published stories by clicking on the archive link on the “52 Shades of Graying” home page.
I hope you enjoy these short stories. Here’s a fan favorite.
XXXXXXX
Age: Our Greatest Asset!
Jim Hasse, ABC, GCDF retired, author
“52 Shades of Graying”
Weekly Stories About Aging Well
