70Candles! Gatherings A Leader’s Guide

This guide answers requests made on our 70candles.com blog. Women near and in their 70’s have asked for opportunities to discuss, with their age-mates, issues important to them. This booklet will help you create, host, and facilitate 70Candles! Gatherings in your geographic area. Our book, 70Candles! Women Thriving in Their 8th Decade, published by the Taos Institute, identifies and discusses themes and topics that we’ve found matter most to women our age in this unique era of extended longevity. These topics are wonderful catalysts for rich discussion. We’ve discovered how much women enjoy talking with each other about common-held issues-joys and challenges-and we’ve seen how important other women are to a sense of well-being as we age. In the pages that follow you will find guidelines and suggestions for conducting a somewhat organized gathering. These ideas will be useful, whether you meet just once or continue on a regular basis over time. We hope you find the conversations as lively and heartfelt, poignant and inspiring, as we have. Be ready to laugh a lot and perhaps shed a few tears, all in the company of your age-mates.