Joan Price
Fitness Pro, Author, Speaker, Line Dance Instructor
Lorrie Morgan sings a country-western song called, “Watch Me.” And, as a line dancer, I’m certain Joan Price has danced to that tune both on the floor and in her spirit! When the world says “No” to Joan Price, she says, “Watch Me!”
After seeing a newspaper article that discussed Joan’s appearance on ABC’s Nightline, and upon reading that she lived right in my home town, I zoomed up to my computer and whipped off an email. I just HAD to talk to this 50+Fabulous woman!
We were able to get together just in time to introduce her to you in our February “Love” issue at 50Fabulous.com. You see, Joan’s latest metamorphosis is that of sex advocate for the mature set. Her new book, Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty
When she was very young, her father told her something she has always remembered: “Whatever you’re going to be, you are becoming right now.” Being petite and looking younger than her years is a wonderful thing now. But, as a child and teen, who always looked years younger than she was, Joan grew weary of not being taken seriously. The sassy, independent spirit she developed, as a result, has buoyed her through many of the vagaries of life, as you will see.
Joan attended Vermont’s Bennington College, where she felt the world opened to her. The professors imbued her with the joy of learning and gave her a glimpse into what might be possible for her life. Upon graduation, she received a Fulbright teaching assistantship to go to Modena, Italy. For two years, she taught English to students who were going to be employed in commercial situations, such as the hospitality industry, where it was mandatory they be fluent in English. Following that, she moved to Florence and taught for another year.
Upon her return to the States in 1968, she hit NYC just as the hippie movement was in full swing. Talk about culture shock! She traded her Italian dresses for jeans, tie-dye, macramé, and a peace symbol, and signed on to teach at a public junior high school in East Harlem. She then transferred to a special program for disadvantaged, urban high school kids, which was extremely successful, but was forced to close due to lack of funding.
She, and her then husband, relocated to California where Joan taught in Richmond and Pinole. After her divorce, she moved on to Sonoma County where she continued to teach in Petaluma.
At 34, she had the first of two, nearly fatal, head-on collisions. When the doctors gave her the prognosis of a potential ability to walk, she countered with “I don’t care about walking, I want to dance!” You just know that, inside her head, she was saying, “Watch me!” Joan’s commitment to physical fitness paid off as her recovery time was cut in half. She returned to school on crutches in a fraction of the time one would expect, but full recovery was long and arduous.
With her vast reservoir of energy, enthusiasm, intelligence and grit, and while continuing to teach, she embarked on a writing career. She wrote in the morning, taught during the day, taught aerobics after school, and then graded papers in the evening. After saving enough money to support herself for one year, she took a leave of absence, to see if she could sustain herself as a writer. She never looked back.
But she had another goal as well. When she was recovering from her accident, she saw many people who could move and chose not to…who led sedentary lives. She felt passionate about introducing people to the joy of movement. Predictably, she was told “You can’t make a living in the fitness industry.” And, by now you know what she said…“Watch Me!” She taught classes, became a motivational speaker, taught line dancing and published hundreds of articles and five health and fitness books, most recently Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book: 300+ Quick and Easy Exercises You Can Do Whenever You Want!
Then, on a rainy day, in the same month and just five minutes away from the location of her previous accident 16 years earlier, she got hit head-on again. With the same courage, and determination she lived, she healed, and she danced.
And, so did Robert…right into her life. At 57, Joan met the love of her life in her line dancing class, but it took nine months before they started dating. They were married four years later, she at 62, and he 69.
She discovered how great sex can be at 60+! But, when she also found the cultural taboos surrounding mature sex, she set out to change that too! She shares humor, experience, candid information and the stories of other 60+ women in her book Better Than I Ever Expected. Hmmm…you might just want to pick it up this Valentine’s Day!
As we whiled away most of the afternoon in La Dolce V, sipping hot chocolates that are to die for, I found myself once again in awe of the amazing women I meet, and, reinvigorated with the passion to share their wonderful, inspiring and motivational stories with all of you.
I think we should all take up Joan’s mantra…“Watch Me!”
Visit Joan at www.joanprice.com
Check out Joan’s blog.
