It’s never too late

Tigard resident Ana Ammann contributed one of the 32 stories to the book, “Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and work in Our 40s”

By Elena Boryczka

The Times, Nov 13, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Submitted photo / Times Newspapers

Tigard’s Ana Amman, a musician, a mom and an accomplished businesswoman, contributed to the book “Knowing Pains.”

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Tigard resident Ana Ammann believes in the power of following a dream, and her proof is included in the book “Knowing Pains: Love, Sex and Work in Our 40s.”

Ammann, a 41-year-old business consultant for software company Sybase, wrote an essay that details her own experience of realizing a dream the she had all but given up decades before.

“In March of this year, a good friend of mine in the Bay Area told me about a call for submissions for interesting stories about women who reach 40 and are doing some reflecting on their life. Knowing that my resume includes everything from being a corporate executive for a large high-tech company to politics and working with musicians, she encouraged me to write about my journey to rediscovering my true passion in life: rock and roll,” Ammann said.

“With only five days before the deadline to craft a story, I chose to write about a key moment in my life as a young girl when I gave up my love for guitars and instead started down the path of doing what others expected of me.

“My story, ‘Strung Together,’ is about how I found my way back to music after helping to organize the first Rock & Roll Camp for Girls in Portland in 2001 and how that experience allowed me to embrace all my different ‘personas.’”

Ammann is one of 32 women whose stories were selected to grace the pages of “Knowing Pains,” which range in topic from the serious (affairs, motherhood) to the more lighthearted (singlehood, obsession).

Molly Tracy Rosen is credited with the idea of this book, a concept she came up with after she turned 40 and was unable to find any books for that age group, what she calls “in between time – no longer too young to be appointed vice president at work, but almost too old to get pregnant.”

She said there were plenty of books about the physical and mental changes taking place, but nothing that dealt with the accomplishments made during those years. And so, with virtually no publishing experience, Rosen took the words penned by her peers to WingSpan Publishing and had it all published. Her journey to producing this book complements Ammann’s essay’s message of never giving up on your passion.

“I wrote the story for two reasons: I want women my age to know it’s not too late to reinvent yourself or pursue that thing in life you’ve always wanted to achieve . . . whatever it is,” Ammann said. “I also want to encourage young women to be inspired to pursue their soul’s dream from the moment they conceive it and feel it, rather than waiting for someone to give them approval to do it or waiting 30 years to make it happen like I did.”

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