Victoria Moran's motto is, "My mission is to help make your life extraordinary."

This mission statement comes from the same deep place that has made her own life extraordinary, the confident place that made her ask for a press pass to interview the Beatles at age 14 and write the best-selling book, Creating a Charmed Life: Sensible, Spiritual Secrets Every Busy Woman Should Know (Harper, 1999) in her 40s, a book that has been translated into 27 languages and is quoted on Celestial Seasonings' tea boxes.

It is from this same deep place that she obtains the wisdom and insights she shares so freely with others. Her latest book, Younger by the Day: 365 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Body and Revitalize Your Spirit (Harper, 2004), is offered as a gift to anyone who has ever been shocked by their aging bodies and by society's reaction.

"All my books come out of my life," says Moran, 55. "When I learn something that changes me or when I overcome something major and there seems to be universal application, there's often a book there."

Growing Older, Finding Herself
When Moran turned 50, her daughter had graduated from high school and she was going through menopause. As a woman who has always been very self aware, she was surprised by her own reaction to aging and the reaction she received from others.

"It hit me harder than I could have ever imagined," says Moran. "I'd taken pretty good care of myself and hadn't expected the profound physical changes I experienced. My hair got thinner, my body changed shape, my skin lost its elasticity – and it happened virtually overnight."

In addition, Moran felt her identity as a woman shift drastically. She realized that men looked at her differently and many young people of both sexes seemed to look right through her.

"It was as if I'd disappeared," says Moran. "The guy or gal behind the counter would look right through me and take the order of the person behind me. This happened time and again, and women my age all tell me this has happened to them as well."

Moran had always taken care of herself physically and wasn't going to take this sitting down. She knew that gravity and hormones weren't the whole story on aging and she figured that how people thought and how they treated themselves had an impact as well.

"I decided to believe that I could get younger and act on that belief," says Moran. "I learned everything I could. I started reminding myself that I was growing younger and taking action in terms of my diet, exercise, rest and sleep, nutritional supplements, personal care and mental attitude. By 51 I was better. By 52 I was lots better. By 52 1/2, I was ready to write about it. And now, turning 55, I'm ready to tell the world."

A Lifetime of Research
In a way, Moran's other books have prepared her for this Younger by the Day. The young girl who wanted to meet the Beatles has learned to live life thoughtfully and with purpose and felt compelled to tell others of her findings.

Her other titles include Fit From Within: 101 Simple Secrets to Change Your Body and Your Life – Starting Today and Lasting Forever (McGraw-Hill, 2002), which incorporates everything she knows about getting free from food troubles; Lit From Within: Tending Your Soul for Lifelong Beauty (Harper, 2001), about discovering and bringing out your inner beauty; Shelter for the Spirit: Create Your Own Haven in a Hectic World (Perennial, 1998), which grew out of her experience as a single mom trying to create a nurturing home for her daughter and herself; and Creating a Charmed Life, a book filled with the wisdom of living authentically.

With her latest work, Younger by the Day, Moran offers day-by-day advice and guidance for living a life of youthful vigor, no matter what your age. Aches and pains along with gradual reduction in activity don't have to be accepted as our lot in life. Moran says that until recently, being physically active was required to sustain life. People didn't exert themselves for fun or vanity; they did it for survival. But now it's easy to be close to catatonic and see that as normal.

"On the other hand, I don't think my generation accepts 'aches, pains and fatigue' as normal," says Moran. "We're a feisty bunch and we've got spunk to spare. That's why more of us are exercising in our 40s, 50s and 60s than we were when we were young. We're using diet and supplements, alternative health care modalities like acupuncture, and we expect our health care providers to actually do something and not tell us we're supposed to put up with whatever it is because of our age."

Younger by the Day was written to be used over the period of a year with little pieces of advice to be read daily. Often Moran includes an activity that helps put you on the road to health and vitality. The June 17 entry, for example, is called the Seven Eating Habits of Highly Youthful People and gives advice on how to eat in such a manner as to promote health and youth. The March 4 entry, in contrast, tells one to invent one's own holiday to celebrate and October 25 invites one to see bath time as more than a time to get clean by using different mixtures to relax.

Open to New Experiences
Moran doesn't promote the kind of youth that makes people dissatisfied with who they are, but rather the kind of youthful openness that leads to a happy acceptance of new experiences and ideas.

Moran spent most of her life in Kansas City, Mo., then moved to New York City several years ago when she got married. Though she will always consider herself a Kansas City native, something in her has responded joyously to New York City. She approached her move as a great adventure to be cherished.

"When I open my shades in the morning and see the Chrysler Building, I still get a thrill," says Moran. "When I'm in Times Square and know I'm at the center of the Western world at this time in history, I feel so lucky. It doesn't have to take moving 1,200 miles, but it does mean going for your dream, no matter who disapproves."

Moran has come to a happy medium about aging that comes through in her book. Accept who you are, love where you are at and take care of yourself so that you can truly be your best self. And take what other people think about you with a grain of salt.

"That's what's great about middle age: You care less about getting approval," says Moran. "The funny thing is, you do what you want, it turns out to be right and people end up approving of you in spite of yourself."

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