Cele Keeper's memoir, It's Never Too Late to Grow Up, an unflinchingly honest and irreverent history of a life well lived, is an enthralling read.
Ms. Keeper never extinguishes the bright light of her candor. From the death of a beloved child to the vicissitudes of aging, she is never an object of pity. Rather, to borrow from the hilariously unforgettable quote of Meg Ryan's eavesdropping neighbor in When Harry Met Sally, "I've like to have what she's having!"
Elizabeth B. Knight, LCSW, CGP, Immediate Past President,
American Group Psychotherapy Association
Take a very intimate journey with Cele through a landscape of relationships and a lifetime of personal development. Her observations tickle and touch, her frank and playful words evoke discoveries made in moments small and large, and love in its many guises is always close at hand. She dares to convey important lessons learned over time in psychotherapy, the ones that open us to the other side of our stories about self and others and that ultimately free us to experience life with greater clarity and tolerance. This is an inspiring, thought-provoking and certainly entertaining memoir.
David Hawkins, MD, Psychiatrist in Private Practice
It's Never Too Late To Grow Up is a wonderful journey into the human experience through the eyes and wit of an extraordinary person. Short stories ranging from an orangutan at the zoo hurling a "large wad of tobacco spittle" on her mother's fur coat to wonderful verses (my favorite: This is It, an ode about Cele's power struggle with her two cats!) create honest moments for self-introspection. You will close this book with a smile and I fully suspect you will learn something about yourself and your own life's journey.
Ira C. Colby, Professor and Dean, Graduate College of Social Work,
University of Houston
In this exceptional account, growing up is a fluid and unending process. Keeper's tale of her journey from being tied to Mother's Message Board to becoming an elderly butterfly is vividly and briskly told. In poetry and prose, she recounts a lifetime of love, loss and renewal. Her's is a wise, sad, funny, outspoken and bluntly honest memoir. From personal stories, she draws general truths about human development over a lifetime. Keeper proves beyond any reasonable doubt that it is never too late to grow up.
Gary A. Lloyd Ph.D, Professor Emeritus,
Tulane University (Social Work)
