Jacinta Parsons’ superpower is that she is an utterly compelling communicator. She resonates with people all over Australia because she is unafraid to speak the truth with honesty, warmth and humour. This empathetic approach to life is clear in her daily role on public radio, but it is also apparent within her writing. (Her first book, Unseen: The Secret World of Chronic Illness, was a bestseller.) When Parsons tells a story, she stands in the middle of it, looks around, and asks insightful questions without making accusations or generalisations, and without forgetting to also consider who, what and where she is in relation to that story. Her approach to research allows readers and listeners a view into Parsons’ own life. By sharing with us her own intimate details, she broadens the conversation until, before we know it, we all feel like we’re involved.

Her latest book, A Question of Age, explores the social construct of ageing, how women age and what society does to them in this process. This is very clearly not a self-help, feel-good-about-yourself-in-three- simple-steps type of book. This is a memoir (of sorts) that raises questions of how people perceive each other and themselves. Parsons begins at the beginning – as a young child – and then marches us through the years (of her life and the lives of many others). Readers of Monica Dux and Clem Bastow will enjoy her self-effacing and well- considered writing. All three of these writers scrutinise their own stories to deliberate on something that is larger than their own self. Parsons, in this book, permits herself to lament at how we (the ‘we’ of our societal norm) view midlife. And it’s not a spoiler to say we don’t view it well.

Chris Gordon is the community engagement and programming manager for Readings.