In July of 2000, Jenney Egertson met 80-year-old Maude Kelly. The following day, Jenney had an idea that felt more like a command: give Maude a voice. It was the first step toward a book that would share the stories of a group of women over 80 . . . a journey that would span decades in more ways than one. 

As Jenney interviewed and wrote about her subjects in the years that followed, she learned about aging, parenting, facing adversity, navigating systemic racism and sexism, and accepting community. Her interviewees became her mentors and friends. In the end, these powerful relationships gave Jenney the courage she needed to reclaim a precious gift: her voice as both a woman and a writer. 

Before I Leave follows Jenney’s journey from the moment her long-buried dream to be a writer re-emerged, through the fear she felt as she moved through middle age, to the sense of calm and acceptance she came to in her sixties. This is a book to be shared across generations as women everywhere continue to reclaim their lives, destinies, and voices.