At the Puck Building in New York City, More magazine gathered guests and participants to celebrate, acknowledge, and support.
The evening honored the women profiled in the book Fifty Celebrate Fifty(conceived and produced by the editors of More magazine), and presented the "Changing Destiny Awards" to those who have been dedicated to the Help a Parent, Save a Child organization.
Susan Sarandon, who wrote the forward to the book in addition to being profiled, presented her fellow honorees with awards and shared her thoughts on this book and this time of life. Ms. Sarandon is an Academy Award winning actress, a devoted mother, and a determined activist.
"...It's really great to be in this book with all these fabulous women, no matter what age they are. They're just helping something outside themselves, they're leaving their mark on the world -- they're not worrying what kind of marks are on their faces. They're just passionate, they're telling great stories, and I'm proud to be in their presence...
"There's something really liberating about turning 50 right now -- getting close to it, getting past it, whatever. We don't have to see ourselves the way that our counterparts did in previous generations. We can revel in how we look. We don't have to bemoan the ravages of age. We can express our sexuality -- let's hope so -- not deny its existence because we're no longer in...knee socks. We can demonstrate our feelings. We can embrace the complexities and the contradictions of life, and not live according to others linear, limited expectations of us. We can change our destinies...
"50 is only the beginning of a journey that's filled with possibilities. It's something that our daughters, I'm sure, are going to appreciate by osmosis. They won't even have to have somebody standing up here drilling it into their heads. It's something they'll just take for granted, and that's really fabulous."
The evening served to remind all those in attendance that women are strong, lovely, talented, generous and helpful -- at any age. And that it's good to live in a time where, finally, women are given the right to get older, wiser and more beautiful.
