You may know Suzanne Somers as the cute blonde, Chrissy Snow, on “Three’s Company,” a hit TV show in the 1970s, or as the entrepreneur behind the ThighMaster fitness device (yes, it’s still being sold!). But it might surprise you that Somers, now 75, has spent decades exploring breakthroughs in anti-aging that avoid chemical toxins and Big Pharma.
Fourteen of Somers’s 27 books have made it onto the New York Times bestseller list, and most of them center around natural health. Her journey with alternative treatments started 25 years ago, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She eschewed chemotherapy and found success with natural supplements. Her cancer went into remission. But take it from her, she’s no extremist when it comes to alternative medicine. “I go natural first,” Somers said. “And I take care of my body. I feed it right, I sleep it right, I think it right, I love it right. And then if none of the natural treatments work, then [I] resort to allopathic.”
Somers also believes it’s important to have a healthy mindset. Her infectious happiness about aging stems from how she thinks positively about what’s ahead of her.
When Somers was a young, single mother, her son was hit by a car and almost died. It caused terrible nightmares that led her to seek therapy for him. At the same time, the therapist helped her overcome the effects of her abusive, alcoholic father. “Maybe we have to go through this crud in life to realize all that we are. And in each of the circumstances in our lives is the basis for our wisdom, layering on itself.”
That healing process gave Somers the confidence to take on a major acting role on national television and set her on a lifelong path of self-improvement. “I looked at every negative as an opportunity and use[d] it as the next stepping stone to growth. So at my age now, when you think you’re going to start not thinking about growing, I’m thinking about ‘Wow, I wonder what’s ahead of me now? … What do I get to learn next?’ And there’s always, always something.”
Her life experience is why she’s so grateful to be the age she is now. “I almost want to say to people younger than me, ‘Wait until you get to be my age, it’s so great!’ You have the one thing young people can’t buy or have, which is wisdom and perspective.” She’s learned to shut out negativity. “I don’t think negative thoughts. … If [there are] people you’d like to be pissed off with, I immediately shut it out. And I think ‘It’s so not worth it.’ I wish them well.”
She’s excited for what the future holds. “I trust and have faith and I live a happy life. Every day I just thank God for this beautiful day. … I plan to be here till I’m in my hundreds.”
