Born of Impatience
There are many places to get weight loss tips. Certain Age is not one of them.
What you will find is wisdom, perspective, truth-telling, humor, opinion – lots of that – all with the discernment that comes from having lived.
We have known challenges, triumphs, inconsolable loss and profound reverence. Sometimes we’ve been successful, other times we’ve gone down in flames, but we come back for more. Because we can, because we want to, because we have cast off our useless insecurities – nonsense drilled into our heads so that we would never discover how powerful we are.
Newsflash: We know our power and we use it to change the world.
If that sounds like you, welcome to Certain Age.
Image: RabidArtWork & Phoebe New York
Meet the Editors
Jean Shields Fleming
Founder & Editor in Chief
Hi! I'm Jean. Glad you're here.
Before starting Certain Age, I held top editorial positions with two magazines, and ran communications for a large nonprofit organization.
In my late 50s, depleted by my “power through” life, I shifted to pursuing my own projects, including wildlife conservation, writing, and swimming as often as possible.
I am the author of Air Burial, a novel, and you can read some of my nonfiction here. I love street art, wildflowers, chocolate, and goats.
Learn more at jeanshieldsfleming.com.
Leanne Grabel
Poetry Editor
Leanne Grabel is a poet, illustrator and performer. She went to her first poetry open-mic in 1975 in Portland, Oregon, and her life instantly changed. In love with mixing genres, Grabel has written and produced numerous poetry-based, multi-media shows, collaborating with various performers, musicians and artists.
Grabel's graphic memoir, Brontosaurus Illustrated, was published by The Opiate Books in 2022. My Husband's Eyebrows, illustrated prose poems, was published by the Poetry Box in 2022. Grabel’s Old With Jokes, a performance and chapbook, was created for ArtLab 2023. Waiting to Hate, Maybe was finalized and turned into an illustrated book for a Text/Image show at GA Gallery in Portland. She is currently attempting to turn dozens of graphic prose poems into a full-length anthology.
Grabel is the 2020 recipient of the Bread & Roses Award for contributions to women's literature in the Pacific Northwest. A Stanford graduate and a retired special education teacher, Grabel spent 25 years working with at-risk youth in the Portland area.
