Starting Strength is good but IMO the best way to start is to book some sessions with a trainer and go and actually lift some heavy things. In my experience it is very helpful to have someone knowledgeable help you with your form early on and it also gives you someone to spot you and to push you.
A good lifting coach is much better than DIY Starting Strength, because they'll help you develop good form before you start lifting really heavy weights. Agreed.
However, there are a lot of unqualified lifting coaches out there, and many fitness certifications don't cover lifting well. So if you just walk into your local fitness club and ask for a trainer, you can easily wind up with the incompetent leading the ignorant.
A practical compromise might be to buy a phone tripod, record your lifts, and work online with a qualified coach. Just looking at the larger Starting Strength community, I've been deeply impressed by Barbell Medicine, and some people seem to like Starting Strength Online Coaching.
There are lots of other good programs out there besides Starting Strength, obviously. And honestly, all the uninjured, grey-haired lifters I've met were careful bodybuilders and not powerlifters (but my sample size is small).
