Many readers will buy Jane Fonda’s latest book, “Prime Time: Love, health, sex, fitness, friendship, spirit?making the most of all of your life”, to see how a privileged member of Hollywood royalty has coped with aging, and they will get what they paid for. The 448-page book covers every imaginable aspect of aging, filtered through Fonda’s rich and varied 73 years, three marriages, writing, acting, and fitness careers. She personally conducted dozens of interviews for the book, and packed it with expert advice on everything from nutrition to Zen. Some of this we have heard before, such as the health, exercise, nutrition and sex advice. But when an important actress who looks as smashing as Fonda does at 73 writes about what has and hasn’t worked for her, books fly off the shelves.
The author
In case you need a refresher, Fonda is the daughter of actor Henry Fonda, sister of actor Peter Fonda, and aunt of actress Bridget Fonda (Peter’s daughter). She has two Academy Awards and two Emmys to her credit. Perhaps her best-known role was in 1981’s “On Golden Pond,” where she enacted her own real-life drama of reconnecting with her distant, dying father (played by Henry Fonda).
In the 1960s, Fonda began acting. The 1970s she won two Academy Awards for best actress (“Klute,” 1971, and “Coming Home,” 1977). She also became an activist, notoriously protesting the Vietnam War. In the 1980s, she pioneered women’s fitness with “Jane Fonda’s Workout,” which led to a best-selling series of books and videos. In the 1990s, she married Ted Turner, and began founding charities in Atlanta. She spent the 2000s writing her memoirs (“My Life So Far,” 2005), acting on Broadway (“Strange Interlude,” 2009) and starred in two movies (“Monster-In-Law,” 2005; and “Georgia Rule,” 2007). She also announced she had become a Christian. She continues her activism and charity work, and even survived breast cancer in 2010.
Now, more than a decade into her “third act,” (what Fonda calls ages 60-90) she is a single grandmother with a boyfriend, sharing her vision of what is possible as we age.
The book
There are 22 chapters in “Prime Time,” divided into five sections: Setting the Stage for the Rest of Your Life; Body, Brain, and Attitude; Friendship, Love and Sex; Pilgrims of the Future; and The Spiral of Becoming. These are followed by five appendices of how-to’s, and a lengthy index.
Much has been written about the two very detailed chapters Fonda devotes to sex (one titled “How to Get It Up in The Third Act.”) She even alludes to her own experiences with her boyfriend, Richard Perry. But there is a lot of good science and research here, as well. It’s obvious how important Fonda thinks a healthy sex life is, and she wants to be sure seniors know it is not out of reach for them.
However, the first and last sections of the book are the most intriguing. The book begins by Fonda recounting how she conducted her own “life review” as she approached her 60th birthday. She calls it “one of the smartest things I ever did.” For someone as productive and successful as Fonda, that’s saying a lot. Then she tells us how and why to do a life review later on in the book.
Fonda’s life review recounts her entire maturation process. Much of this reflects the sweep of baby boomer culture from the repressive 1950s to the Vietnam War era and the women’s movement to the changing families, attitudes, and globalization of today. Here and throughout the book, Fonda relates how her A-list friends and advisors have helped her along. It’s supplemented by many (almost too many) experts offering advice, quotes, poems, and research results.
That said, this is not a tell-all book. Fonda leaves out most personal details of her three ex-husbands and two children. But we learn that her mother, who had been sexually abused as a youth, tragically killed herself in a mental institution on her 42nd birthday, when Fonda was 12. That her father was distant and critical, telling Fonda she was fat. That she later battled anorexia and bulimia. That she suffered a breakdown at age 51 at the onset of menopause, and had plastic surgery at age 72. These challenges allow the author to step down from her celebrity pedestal. Readers will likely read on to see how she overcame them.
Near the end of the book, Fonda promotes “generativity”—the nurturing of the younger generation, to enrich the third act. Fonda has manifested this by founding the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. She recounts how she herself benefited from Katharine Hepburn’s wise mentoring during the filming of “On Golden Pond” 30 years ago. This is some of the best advice in the book.
The final chapters are frank discussions on preparing for one’s final resting place (literally) and the role of spirituality and meditation in the completeness of life.
This book covers so much ground, there is sure to be something that resonates for anyone from middle age on. If nothing else, the many gorgeous black-and-white photos taken of Fonda and her family across the generations make great eye candy. Even if you don’t read a word of the book, this carefully culled album beautifully depicts Fonda’s growth over time as a famous, accomplished woman with a large supporting cast.
