REVIEW

Bea Gardner was for 25 years a local fixture in Vero, one of the original Downtown Friday organizers, interior designer, blogger (“Bea-isms”) and often seen out with her late husband, architect Steve Blum. She moved back to her native Ohio as Steve’s health deteriorated and he passed away in 2017.

Today Bea fills her life with family, mahjongg, pickleball and once a week poker. She has also acquired a new descriptive title: author. Instead of moaning about turning 70, Bea set about questioning dozens of old and new friends about the over-70 experience. The results of her effort are in a book, Bring it on…We’re in our 70s. The soft cover volume is a collection of vignettes about all aspects of becoming a septuagenarian, from dealing with the aches and pains of growing older while dealing with the perplexity of technology. She covers a lot of ground beyond that: family, politics, finances, love, spirituality and facing mortality, all with her easy-going sense of humor and sound practical advice that can only come from someone who has lived at least 70 years.

Those of you who know Bea can hear her saying the words she put down on paper. If you don’t know Bea, enjoy her realistic, but positive take on life in Bring it on…We’re in our 70s. It is available on Amazon.com and Kindle. You can also contact her by email: bea@beagardner.com and her website, www.beagardner.com.