Grace Bonney, author of the bestselling books In the Company of Women and Design*Sponge at Home, leads this conversation with three of the women from her newest book, Collective Wisdom: Lessons, Wisdom, and Advice from Women Over 50. Lisa Congdon, Ngọc Minh Ngo, and Sonoko Sakai discuss their sources of creativity, what makes them feel empowered, and how they view common misconceptions about aging.

Grace Bonney is the author of the bestselling books In the Company of Women and Design*Sponge at Home. She is passionate about equity, inclusivity, and supporting all members of the creative community: She founded Design*Sponge, a daily website dedicated to the creative community, which reached nearly 2 million readers per day for 15 years and is now officially archived in the Library of Congress; Good Company, a print magazine and podcast about creative entrepreneurs; and After the Jump, a podcast about creatives that has reached over 500,000 listeners per episode. Bonney lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her wife and their pets. She is currently working toward a graduate degree in marriage and family therapy at Syracuse University. Her latest book, Collective Wisdom, was published in October 2021.

Lisa Congdon is an artist and illustrator known for her colorful paintings, drawings, hand lettering, and pattern designs. Her books include Find Your Artistic Voice, Whatever You Are, Be a Good One, and Art, Inc., and most recently, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Elements. Lisa lives in Portland, Oregon.

Ngoc Minh Ngo is a celebrated photographer and the author of two books. Ngoc’s images have been published in publications such as T Magazine, Architectural Digest, Cabana, and House & Garden UK.

Sonoko Sakai’s cooking reflects her rich cultural upbringing. Born in New York and raised by Japanese parents, she lived in many places as a child, including San Francisco, Kamakura, Mexico City, and Tokyo. She is the author of two books, Rice Craft (Chronicle, 2016) and The Poetical Pursuit of Food (Potter, 1986). She has worked as a recipe developer, producer, creative director, cooking teacher, and lecturer. She is also a grain activist. Sonoko currently lives in Los Angeles and Tehachapi, California, with her sculptor husband, Katsuhisa Sakai.