Ashton Applewhite

Ashton Applewhite is the author of “This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism” and several other books that question age-old social beliefs that hold little validity in current times. Whilst she did not set out to be a writer, Ashton had an affinity towards jokes that made people cringe and guffaw simultaneously. This led to her publishing a bestseller “Truly Tasteless Jokes” under the name ‘Blanche Knott’, which made publishing history as it earned 4 of 15 spots on the New York Times Bestseller list.

In 1997, Ashton authored “Cutting Loose: Why Women Who End Their Marriages Do So Well” which challenged the idea that divorced women lead unhappy lives because she found that the reality was often au contraire. In a similar vein, “This Chair Rocks” and much of Ashton’s work as an activist is centred around ending ageism. Co-founder of Old School Anti-Ageism Clearinghouse, Ashton curates, creates and commissions resources to raise awareness of ageism and how to put an end to it.

TED speaker of “Let’s End Ageism”, Ashton speaks on how ageism is a prejudice that pits us against our future selves and urges people not to accept this prejudice any longer. She writes the “Yo, Is This Ageist” blog and is often a contributor to Harper’s, the Guardian, and the New York Times. Ashton has also been a Contributing Editor for the IEEE Spectrum Magazine. Forbes has regarded Ashton as one of the Forty Women to Watch over 40 in 2017.

In 2022, Ashton was named one of the Fifty Leaders Working to Transform the World to Be a Better Place to Grow Older by the UN’s Decade of Healthy Aging platform. Leading the movement against discrimination meted out based on age, Ashton is an author, activist and speaker who is bound to leave your audience with a new and well-informed perspective. Hire Ashton Applewhite today!