You Don't Look Your Age

And Other Fairy Tales

By: Sheila Nevins

Narrated by: Lena Dunham, Meryl Streep, Katie Couric, RuPaul, Martha Stewart, full cast

Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

An astonishingly frank, funny, poignant audiobook for any woman who wishes they had someone who would say to them, “This happened to me, learn from my mistakes and my successes. Because you don’t get smarter as you get older, you get braver.”

This program is read by the author and a full cast: Cynthia Adler, Alan Alda, Bob Balaban, Christine Baranski, Kathy Bates, Ellen Burstyn, Glenn Close, Katie Couric, John Henry Cox, Blythe Danner, Lena Dunham, Edie Falco, Tovah Feldshuh, Diane von Furstenberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Gayle King, Diane Lane, Sandra Lee, Judith Light, Jenna Lyons, Audra McDonald, Janet Mock, Sheila Nevins, Rosie O’Donnell, Jean Richards, RuPaul, Liz Smith, Lesley Stahl, Gloria Steinem, Martha Stewart, Meryl Streep, Marlo Thomas, Lily Tomlin, and Gloria Vanderbilt.

“Thank you to Sheila Nevins for putting all this down for posterity. Women need this kind of honest excavation of the process of living.” —Meryl Streep

Sheila Nevins is the best friend you never knew you had. She is your discreet confidante you can tell any secret to, your sage mentor at work who helps you navigate the often uneven playing field, your wise sister who has “been there, done that,” your hysterical girlfriend whose stories about men will make you laugh until you cry. Sheila Nevins is the one person who always tells it like it is.

In You Don’t Look Your Age, the famed documentary producer (as President of HBO Documentary Films for over 30 years, Nevins has rightfully been credited with creating the documentary rebirth) finally steps out from behind the camera and takes her place front and center.

In this program you will hear about the real life challenges of being a woman in a man's world, what it means to be a working mother, what it’s like to be an older woman in a youth-obsessed culture, the sometimes changing, often sweet truth about marriages, what being a feminist really means, and that you are in good company if your adult children don’t return your phone calls.

So come, sit down, make yourself comfortable, and slip on those headphones. You’re in for a treat.

"...the decided advantage of the audio book is that it is read by a cast of stars as long as your arm — thanks to Nevins' considerable achievements in television and production...This is choice listening for the car, as the stories are short and thus lend themselves to erranding and other short hops." Fran Wood, NJ.com

©2017 Sheila Nevins (P)2017 Macmillan

Critic reviews

"A treat" (People, Audio Pick)

"A diverse collection of poems, short stories, and anecdotes from HBO's president of documentary films is narrated by an A-list celebrity cast, including Alan Alda, Lena Dunham, Meryl Streep, and others. They're filled with heartwarming memories, quirky tongue-in-cheek recollections, regretful experiences, successes and failures, attempts to reverse aging, and a multitude of other relatable topics that will touch listeners' hearts--and that goes for either sex. Sheila Nevins cleverly recruited storytellers to celebrate and explore real life, sickness and death, anxiety, love lost, and life's mistakes made over all the hills and valleys of time. They provide perspective and courage to listeners and serve as proof that we're all in this life together, sharing the same types of experiences." (AudioFile)

This is an excellent listen

I could not stop listening. This was both beautiful and heartbreakingly honest. They are a series of short stories about tragedy, comedy, and all the gray areas in between. I’d laugh with my morning coffee then cry on my way to work.

Real and true!

Entertaining, beautifully written, and superbly performed. Brutally honest stories that women can relate to. It's so lovely to know that others think these things too.

loved this book

Quick read, narration was superb, stories matched characters associated with them. Helps make aging bearable!

Fairy Tales of experiences

A comical witty emotional delightful journey of life. A joy to read and listen to.

Loved this book

I am a woman of a certain age and it spoke to me. Great readers!

Fabulous!

Loved every second. The words alone are powerful, funny, poignant, but the performances and aural embellishments make this one of the best audiobooks I've ever heard.

Loved it

What made the experience of listening to You Don't Look Your Age the most enjoyable?

Sheila has a delightful, beautiful voice and I would have enjoyed listening to her, however, I loved the concept of having familiar voices read the different essays/stories.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

I loved all the stories/essays...some more than others...but my very favorite was the very last one read by Meryl Streep.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some stories made me laugh, some made me cry with their poignant honesty and some made me yell RIGHT ON!!

Any additional comments?

I am now interested in seeing Ms Nevin's documentaries because I'll understand her motivation for sheer honesty in the telling. I hope to come across other Audible books of this nature in the future....and HOPE Ms Nevins does another book! I absolutely adore her now.

Now I need antidepressants -

Perhaps I thought this was going to be humorous? Very quickly realized I had stumbled into a "Womans Studies" class by mistake.
Narration runs from good to over done. Maybe excessive self absorption is just not my thing.
I fully accept that this is probably just my problem and a zillion others will think this is the best book ever- as for myself, I'm looking up AUDIBLES refund or exchange policy.

Laughed and cried and loved it!

Very insightful and read by such a wonderful cast of people. This is a book I will listen to again and again. Fun, sad, thoughtful - a delight.

Refreshing

Loved these vignettes! It was fascinating to hear each reader's interpretation. Loved this compilation of strong women reading about a strong woman. Recommend!