You know when you’re old when your adult children talk to each other in front of you and spell out certain words.

Reaching the milestone of eighty, Lee Janogly was irritated at the notion that older people are slower, frailer and generally out of touch with the modern world. Even if we do sometimes put the remote control in the fridge, we do know how to work it…

An experienced diet and exercise counsellor, Lee knows that older people do want to know how to be healthy, fit, and well for as long as possible – without being lectured or patronised.

After all, as the 81-year-old superstar Jane Fonda says: ‘Older women are the fastest growing demographic in the world. It’s time to recognise our value.‘

Lee’s new book charts what happens to bodily and mental functions as we age. She looks at diet and fitness options. She has tracked down expert advice for us all on the best ways to improve memory, health, and appearance.

By the end of this book you will be standing straighter, eating more healthily, and people will be telling you how great you look (without adding ‘for your age’).

This new book, by turns tender, funny, and practical entertains and informs in equal measure.

Bel Mooney writes in the Daily Mail.

And finally… old age and how to deal with it

Reader Bobbie Jo writes to say she loves it when I recommend books, so she asks for more. You can often keep up with my reading from the quotations I choose for the top of this page (last week, A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles).

I devour books — I left my Kindle on a train and have never replaced it — and always have a book of fiction and non-fiction on the go, not to mention poetry. Books have always been my life.

Publishers send me titles they think I’ll like — and I have a good one for you here. It’s called Getting Old: Deal With It, by Lee Janogly.

The author is an inspiring 80- year-old, who has seen it all, it seems. She’s a diet and exercise counsellor who’s earned the right to tell it how it is when it comes to food and fitness.

Her tone is bracing (‘Some people shouldn’t write diet books’), yet warm and encouraging (‘You can go out looking like that’), and there’s something funny, wise and uplifting on almost every page.

Her chapter on bereavement (‘Grief is love unwilling to let go’) is deeply moving as she talks about life after the death of her husband Mo — and will strike a chord with anyone who mourns a beloved partner.

Lee Janogly’s book made me stop and think how I feel about ageing. Yes, none too keen!

But with parents of 98 and 95, who sometimes struggle, yet are still able to feel gratitude, enjoy good memories and love the family, I have very good role models.

Now, Lee Janogly is my guru, too. She writes: ‘Decide on your spirit age. Imagine yourself being young, slim and fit, but with the added knowledge and intelligence you have accumulated over the years.’

That’s excellent advice. I’m Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman!