The New 60: Outliving Yourself and Reinventing a Future

The New 60 is an exploration of approaching (and, eventually, arriving at) 60-an age that had once seemed beyond my reach. Aging in the 21st Century is an exciting new frontier. We are redefining its meaning as we live it. This is that journey-much of it a surprise even to me. Tracey Jackson on THE NEW 60: Robert Levithan writes with the wisdom of a sage, the enthusiasm of a kid, the depth of someone who has seen the world from all sides and the humor of someone who always knows where the joke is hiding. While he is often classified as a gay writer, or writer of subjects pertaining to the gay experience, he manages to take all of his topics and somehow turn them into universal stories. I have never read one of Robert's pieces and not walked away with a great life lesson. In all of his work one sees oneself, one's friends, one's lovers, and one's life. He is sometimes the benevolent father, sometimes the naughty, yet learned instructor, often the whimsical brother or sister you wish you had and he can even be the gossipy neighbor upstairs. But while he is able to pull off all these various personas he is always without hesitation, or question dealing up heavy doses of the truth; his own and thus ours. For me that is what makes him not only a wonderful writer, but a writer who transcends race, gender, and sexual identity. He writes about the human condition in all its various incarnations and while forcing us to think, he ultimately always reminds us how lucky we are to be alive and to relish every thing that comes our way. - Tracey Jackson, Screenwriter Author of Between A Rock and a Hot Place, and blogger

Robert Levithan was born in 1951 on the island of Manhattan. He is a committed New Yorker although time spent in Italy, Venezuela, Brazil and Santa Fe have contributed to his well being. Presently a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City, he also facilitates groups at Friends In Deed-The Crisis Center for Life Threatening Illness-where he was Co-Chair of the Board for seven years. He also leads the Mastery Workshop. He is a columnist for The Good Men Project Magazine and a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post. His rather varied past experiences include dancing for Twyla Tharp, performing with Robert Wilson and under the direction of Roman Polanski and driving a NYC Taxi. He co-produced the first productions of The Vagina Monologues, One Man Band and Word of Mouth, the source of Trevor, the Academy award winning film that led to the creation of the Trevor Project-the suicide hotline for LGBT teens. He has written columns for OPRAH at HOME as The Design Shrink and for OUT.com and ADVOCATE.com. As an expert on living with illness, he has appeared on CHARLIE ROSE and FRESH AIR and is cited in numerous books and articles. He currently lives in SoHo with his muse, Sophie, a former seeing-eye dog. He is working on a memoir.