73 by Howard Englander

At 73, Howard Englander has no interest in early bird specials. After a life-long career in advertising and marketing, he put pen to paper and wrote a collection of short stories, entitled 73.

When Englander reached retirement age he faced the issues of getting older, and that is the central theme of the book. The stories in 73 revolve around the reality that when old age hits, you can either fall down or hit back.

Living in a celebrity-worshipping culture that regards people in their seventies like old cars ready for the junk heap, Englander writes about heroes who refuse to look at the odometer. What stands out is the cumulative impact of his collection taken as a whole.

Englander succeeds at writing stories that turn on a light bulb over the readers' heads. Booklovers will laugh, cry, and run the gamut of emotions throughout Englander's stories. His attention to detail leaves men and women alike feeling like they are the characters. The readers will know and feel what it's like to grow old, struggling to resist becoming irrelevant in a youth-oriented society.

Writing fiction is a welcomed change after working at many major agencies throughout his career, creating award-winning commercials for companies including Frito-Lay, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, Revlon and Texas Instruments, among others. He also won countless awards for his creativity.

Englander graduated as an honors society member from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He later taught there, as well as at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, and Columbia College in Chicago.

Englander currently is working on a follow-up to 73, entitled 75.