Synopses & Reviews
Flip-flops After 50 will amuse, enlighten, and provoke readers to think about the topics that affect all of us. Who hasnt dealt with the emotions from family events, stress from lousy jobs, or the bittersweet feelings when the kids leave home? Not to mention body image, high school reunions, and parenting. Eastmans conversational style and easy humor tackle the sublime and the ridiculous, the sacred and the profane. After a certain age—and its no secret that its 50—Eastman argues that attitudes change for the better. Making decisions gets easier, although theres no guarantee that life does. Even so, her writing allows us to take a look at our own issues with the reassuring handholding of a confidante.
Review
"Cindy Eastman's
Flip-Flops After 50 is as funny, warm, and inviting as its title. Filled with the kind of everyday humor that made Erma Bombeck everybody's favorite columnist, Eastman's wit and generosity reach out to embrace the reader. With every laugh, there's a moment of recognition and a sense of camaraderie."
—Dr. Gina Barreca, professor of English and feminist theory and author of It's Not That I'm Bitter, or How I Stopped Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World
"Cindy Eastman's honest, straight-talking wisdom evokes Margaret Young, who said, 'You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.' Heartwarming, humorous, and often inspirational, these essays will touch the spirit of every woman fortunate enough to turn fifty."
—Jan Coffey, award-winning, best-selling author of Silent Waters
"With great insight, and a healthy dose of self-deprecating wit, Cindy Eastman's prose sparkles. Reading her essays is like sharing coffee (or perhaps a Skinny Vanilla Latte) and great conversation with a friend, one who doesn't pretend to have all the answers but rather finds joy in exploring life's quirks and questions. Whether discussing fitness or parenting, love or loss, her words-- equally rich in skill and sincerity--are moving and true. Flip-Flops After 50 delights."
—Steven Parlato, author of The Namesake
About the Author
Cindy Eastman is a writer and an educator. Her career in education has taken a wide and diverse route from teaching computer skills to elementary schoolchildren to facilitating professional learning communities for teachers and teaching English as an adjunct to college freshmen at a community college.
Eastmans work is informed by her ability to be an observer as well as a participant in her life. Starting at an early age, she kept journals to record her encounters - and make up stories - about the people, places and events that she experienced. The stories began to take a backseat to her observations, which became more and more fine-tuned as valid commentary on human behavior. With her dry sense of humor, she is able to address a variety of topical subjects and deliver an insightful analysis thats both provocative and amusing.
Currently, she coordinates a supervised visitation service with her husband in his counseling practice and does diversity and anti-bullying trainings for the Anti-Defamation League. She also teaches a writing course for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the Waterbury campus of UConn. Eastman makes her home in Connecticut with her husband, Angelo, and their cat. She is working on a second collection of essays when she is not babysitting her grandson.