At the ripe and vibrant age of 101 (when she was interviewed in 2016 on The Sexual Reawakening Summit) Dr. Shirley Zussman was continuing to practice as an enlightened and highly experienced Sex Therapist, which she had done for over 50 years in New York City working with individuals and couples.  The following year, at 102, she published her new book: What’s Age got to Do With It?

This remarkable lady, I am proud to call my colleague, is one of the oldest sex therapists in the world and her entire life and career are extraordinary.  We can all learn from her words of wisdom based upon a life well lived.

Born at the beginning of World War 1, she graduated from Smith College in 1934, in the same class as the well-known TV chef, Julia Child.  Dr. Zussman was mentored through her graduate dissertation by the world renowned anthropologist and author, Dr. Margaret Mead.  Later, in the 1960’s, Dr. Zussman learned about sex therapy directly from William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the sex therapy couple whose work inspired the Showtime series Masters of Sex.

Dr. Zussman’s husband, a gynecologist, performed one of the first legal abortions in New York.  Talk about a power couple.  She was an independent woman and an educated woman long before women’s liberation became a household word.   She has also spent many years in service to national organizations.  She is a former 2 term President of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, co-director of the Human Sexuality Center of Zucker Hillside Hospital, past director of the Association for Male Sexual Dysfunction and I met Shirley Zussman many years ago at a meeting of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research where she has been an active member for decades.