Tagged: Facing Forty Upside Down

When Patty Chang Anker found herself in her 40s and still afraid of heights, water, and biking, she decided to do something about it. In her book Some Nerve: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave, Patty recounts how she faced down myriad fears and how everyone can become braver, happier and stronger by facing theirs. Oprah.com called her journey "downright inspiring."

The morning of my Bike New York Adult Learn to Ride lesson in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx it was thirty-seven degrees and I was feeling jumpy and cold as I entered the yard, tugging my pants up and jacket firmly down. My yoga pants, I realized, were starting to lose their stretch.