This book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to connect the dots between nutrition, exercise, and attitude and their impact on energy levels and mental and physical health, especially while aging. If you know you need to make some change, but can’t quite put your finger on what could be changed, read this book! It’s positive, uplifting, inspiring, and incredibly relatable! -Kathy L.
Don’t Give In! is a heartfelt, humorous, and relatable journey through decades of evolving health trends, told with refreshing honesty and wit. For anyone who grew up in the ’70s and ’80s, it’s a nostalgic walk down memory lane—and a powerful reminder that it’s never too late to take control of your health. This book doesn’t just inspire—it motivates. Halfway through, I was so moved I put the book down and went for a walk. Don’t Give In! is the encouragement we all need to stop settling for what no longer serves us and start showing up for our healthiest selves. You’ll laugh, reflect, and walk away with renewed energy to keep going. –Janice Litza, MD, All Saints Family Health Center
This was a great book – I loved Kathy’s honesty and humor, as she told her story and I was surprised at how much we have in common. As someone who has struggled with some of the same issues (I’m 73), her book gave me hope that it’s never too late too late to reinvent oneself. Thanks for the push! -Renee B.
“Don’t Give In! is such a powerful testament to resilience and truth-telling. Kathy’s willingness to lay bare her years of struggle, the exhaustion, the aches, the unhappiness, makes this book stand out in a genre often filled with quick fixes and impossible ideals. What makes her story so refreshing is its honesty: no personal chef, no luxury retreat, no expensive equipment, just a working woman with a full-time job deciding to reclaim her health one step at a time. Reading her journey feels like sitting with a friend who tells you the hard truths but also hands you the encouragement you didn’t realize you needed. The way she reframes “getting old” not as decline but as an opportunity to fight back is both practical and deeply inspiring. It’s not just about tactics or mindsets, it’s about showing that change is possible at any stage of life if you refuse to give in.” -Yvonne S.
Don’t Give In! (You’re Not Just Getting Old) is a compelling blend of memoir, self-help, and health manifesto that challenges the pervasive narrative of inevitable midlife decline…. Combining personal anecdotes with practical advice, the book serves as both inspiration and a roadmap for women navigating the physical and emotional challenges of aging. Don’t Give In! addresses the interconnectedness of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Bauernfeind emphasizes the importance of sleep, stress management, mindset shifts, and incremental habit changes—making her advice accessible and sustainable. Don’t Give In! contributes to the growing body of literature pushing back against ageist stereotypes, particularly for women. Bauernfeind’s work aligns with the ethos of books like Younger Next Year but distinguishes itself through its memoir-like intimacy and rejection of perfectionism. It’s a rallying cry for midlife women to reclaim agency over their health without succumbing to shame or unrealistic standards. Don’t Give In! is a heartfelt, pragmatic guide for women tired of being told
their best years are behind them. Its strength lies in its authenticity and refusal to oversimplify the complexities of midlife health. While not a substitute for medical advice, it’s a powerful tool for mindset shifts and sustainable change. –Sarah J.
I needed this book. It helped me highlight a few places where I need to do better and set me on a path of enlightenment. It helped to know that I wasn’t the only one going through ‘old age’ and I felt the author spoke as friend. –Tracey S.
A quick and easy read, Kathy Bauernfeind tells her story with humorous anecdotes and lessons learned along the way. She offers helpful tips and insights to pick and choose from. Everyone will find something relatable in Kathy’s story and the inspiration to start their own journey to “Not Give In”. She helped me! -Debbie S.
An easy read with a casual flow that felt like I was talking to an old friend. Don’t Give In! (You’re Not Just Getting Old) is an inspiring tale of how Kathy has turned her life around starting with a history of her past difficulties and finishing with what
she has done to take back her health. –Danielle M.
What an interesting and honest woman Kathy is! I whizzed through this book, finding it a really easy read. I enjoyed the tales of her food, pot and poor thing the shoulder surgeries when younger. And then reading about how she found the resolution to sort herself out physically. It’s not a how to book, more the tale of one woman who decided a plan of how she was going to sort her physical self out and went for it. As a woman of a similar age I found it inspiring! –NetGalley