You don’t wake up one day and find yourself an old broad. You get there slowly—through love and loss, belly laughs and heartbreak, bad decisions, good wine, and the kind of lessons life only teaches the hard way.

In What Old Broads Know, Patricia Hack—teacher, mother, grandmother, and co-author of six bestselling cookbooks—serves up a heartfelt, humorous, and sometimes raw collection of essays drawn from decades of living, loving, grieving, and growing. From the pain of widowhood to the joy of multi-generational travel, from losing your glasses for the hundredth time to finally understanding the wisdom of your mother, this book speaks directly to the women who’ve been through it all—and are trying to come out the other side with grit, grace, and a sense of humor intact.

Perfect for fans of Nora Ephron, Erma Bombeck, or anyone who knows what it means to be the “strong one,” What Old Broads Know is part memoir, part celebration, and part permission slip to live out loud—bra optional.

Whether you’re sixty or just hoping to get there with style, this book will make you laugh, nod in recognition, and maybe even cry a little. Because old broads know things.