The Aging Diva

This is me, Susan Crandell. I used to have a big-deal job. A founding editor of More magazine, I was editor-in-chief for two years until I flew the coop to make a lot less money freelance writing. These days I work for editors who used to report to me. Makes for some funny conversations, but I wouldn't trade places with my old self for a seven-figure salary and a Ferrari.

Now I have a big-deal life, filled with people I love and places I love to visit. My days are spent working at home with my husband, Stephan Wilkinson, also a writer and our four — count 'em, four — cats. I write about health and travel for magazines ranging from Prevention to AARP, and I edit and write for the website Work Reimagined. I've done two books — Thinking About Tomorrow: Reinventing Yourself at Midlife and Town & Country Travel Companion — and I teach a writing course every summer at Rancho La Puerta Spa with my buddy Sarah Mahoney, also AWOL from a big-deal magazine editor job. I love being able to knock off work when a great opportunity comes up — like rafting the Grand Canyon with my cousins Cate and Dan. These days, I'm playing hooky to fly to San Francisco and cuddle my grandson, Zeke.