Margaret Giloth used to party to the tune Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now. Now the name of the McFadden & Whitehead song, is the title of a story she has written about getting older.

Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us is included in Third Act Encore: Inspirational Stories to Unleash Your Sage at Any Stage, a new anthology of writing by senior citizens.

The book is compiled by Pat Labez, actress, and founder of the International Mental Health Foundation in New York.

“My story is about how we don’t have to be sitting waiting for our day to meet our maker,” said Ms Giloth, 69. “If we are gifted with health, and a sense of self actualisation, then we have a purpose to live.”

She strongly believes that when our purpose is over, we die.

“I have learnt so much about life and enjoying this period,” she said. “I can see how everything that went before has shaped who I am now. It gives me this wonderful aura of just thriving.”

Ms Giloth described herself as a motivated and inspired person.

Third Act Encore encourages readers to look at where they are in life.

Ms Giloth retired in November 2019 after a decade as senior supervisor for the Bermuda Government’s after-school programme.

“I left on my 65th birthday,” she said. “We had a wonderful celebration.”

The next day, she sat down at her dining room table and started writing a book about the importance of fathers, a topic that fascinated her. Her plan was to finish the book on a writer’s retreat in Wales, in March 2020.

“My bags were packed and beside the door,” she said.

Then Covid-19 hit, and she her trip ws delayed until September of that year.

She published Who’s Your Daddy: 12 Steps to Rescuing the Next Generation from Father Absence Syndrome in 2021.

“I have just had the best time since I wrote that,” Ms Giloth said.

Since releasing it, she has been invited to numerous community speaking engagements and was a guest on educator Shangri-La Durham-Thompson’s podcast, The Need to Lead.

“She invited me to do what ended up being a nine-month talk show series,” Ms Giloth said. “That has really been amazing and very gratifying.”

Ms Giloth also started a women’s emotional and spiritual healing workshop, running on a 30-week cycle.

“I was talking to my editor and publisher about all the things I was doing,” she said. “Then, out of the blue, my editor wrote me a note and asked if I would be interested in writing a story for one of their clients, Pat Labez.”

Ms Giloth’s publisher thought it would be a good fit for her.

The book Third Act Encore was officially launched on Monday, as part of a celebration for Ms Labez’ International Mental Health Foundation.

“She used her platform to raise us up,” Ms Giloth said. She firmly believes the book has the potential to be a bestseller.

She is now on her way to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to present Third Act Encore to a women’s retreat there.

“I am working to get the book delivered to Bermuda, so it can be sold in local bookstores,” Ms Giloth said. “I will probably host a book signing when it comes in and hold a couple of events.”

For now, Third Act Encore is available on amazon.com.