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Bookish Broads

Cozy and Content's Bookish Broads is a book club for women who love reading, connecting, and making a difference!

How to Age Disgracefully: A Novel

“An uproarious romp!” —People

“Pooley weaves together the most cleverly flawed and lovable characters and then sets them free to prove that we are limitless at any age.” —Annabel Monaghan, bestselling author of Summer Romance

A senior citizens’ center and a daycare collide with hilarious results in the new ensemble comedy from New York Times-bestselling author Clare Pooley


When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens’ Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she’ll be spending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards.

The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turned kleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who gets revenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign—but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier to hide.

When the city council threatens to sell the doomed community center building, the members of the Social Club join forces with their tiny friends in the daycare next door—as well as the teenaged father of one of the toddlers and a geriatric dog—to save the building. Together, this group’s unorthodox methods may actually work, as long as the police don’t catch up with them first.

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Published Jun 11, 2024

352 pages

Average rating: 7.79

211 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Gabriela-in-Amherst
Nov 11, 2024
8/10 stars
An enjoyable read. While the characters and their actions might not be completely believable, they were creatively presented and their antics were entertaining.
SherylStandifer
Jun 13, 2025
9/10 stars
Such a fun read, and turned stereotypes about growing old on its head. Th characters were the likes I had never previously encountered. The jewel thief, the kleptomaniac, the yarn wielding creative artist, raspberry-dyed-hair female truck driver with 5 dead husbands, the wronged-by-her-husband director who exacted revenge, and the 18 year old teenage dad. The story of how they all came together was at once poignant, and a hoot. I loved them all!
NSohn
May 16, 2025
8/10 stars
I love that the author took a what if prompt and wrote this fun story. She combines so many elements of life from aging, loneliness, teen pregnancy , poverty, infidelity and she drops these into a story filled with fun, celebration and hope. Enjoy a ride with Daphne on her journey to love and friendship
v_k_00
May 04, 2025
10/10 stars
As soon as I finished I wanted to pick it up and start again. Wonderfully fun and inspiring. Makes me less afraid to age.
mg.happyhooker🧶
Mar 17, 2025
10/10 stars
⭐️ 5.00

I loved everything about this! If it’s in your TBR and you haven’t picked it up yet, this is your sign to do it! It was magnificent

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