Embracing Elderhood

Undeniably, growing old is challenging; the physical pain and emotional angst are unrelenting. The tendency is to think there is nothing left to live for; no point in defying the unforgiving mortality chart. Embracing Elderhood offers a palliative to the pessimism that leads to ‘dying before we die!’ It loudly proclaims, being old is about chronology; being an Elder is about attitude. The book is a genuine contribution to the narrative about aging that redefines the concept of Elderhood by answering three important questions. With our lives well past the halfway point, we ask ourselves: why am I here? We recognize how childhood and chance predetermined the role we played in life. Now the question becomes, ‘Is this how I want to live the rest of my life?’ The task is to exorcise the shame and regret of the past, finding forgiveness in your heart and redefining your relationship to family, money, society and your inner truth. Aging is a relentless process. Often burdened by illness or ill luck, we ask: why am I still here? Elders, however, find energy and motivation by making the behavioral change from self-service to being of-service, using their life’s experiences to find purpose, making a positive difference in the lives of others. After we have passed, our loved ones will provide the answer to our final question: why was I here? Will we be remembered kindly; did we make a difference in people’s lives? It’s now or never to do what remains to be done and to finally confront any unresolved issues. We are the sages, the teachers, the philosophers with the perspective that only comes with age. But we must speak out. As elders we have an elemental responsibility to teach others and share our gifts. In this book, we learn how to address each question and find purpose and meaning in our elder years.

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction A New York Times Bestseller Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Winner of the WSU AOS Bonner Book Award Winner of the 2022 At Home With Growing Older Impact Award As revelatory as Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, physician and award-winning author Louise Aronson's Elderhood is an essential, empathetic look at a vital but often disparaged stage of life. For more than 5,000 years, "old" has been defined as beginning between the ages of 60 and 70. That means most people alive today will spend more years in elderhood than in childhood, and many will be elders for 40 years or more. Yet at the very moment that humans are living longer than ever before, we've made old age into a disease, a condition to be dreaded, denigrated, neglected, and denied. Reminiscent of Oliver Sacks, noted Harvard-trained geriatrician Louise Aronson uses stories from her quarter century of caring for patients, and draws from history, science, literature, popular culture, and her own life to weave a vision of old age that's neither nightmare nor utopian fantasy--a vision full of joy, wonder, frustration, outrage, and hope about aging, medicine, and humanity itself. Elderhood is for anyone who is, in the author's own words, "an aging, i.e., still-breathing human being."

Buy now to get the main key ideas from Louise Aronson's Elderhood Geriatrician Louise Aronson explores the complexities of aging, healthcare system inadequacies, and societal attitudes toward seniors in the Pulitzer Prize finalist Elderhood (2019). Through encounters with patients and reflections on historical perspectives on aging, she highlights the evolution of medical understanding and the challenges of providing adequate care for older adults. Aronson advocates for a compassionate, holistic approach to elder care that addresses broader aspects of patients’ lives, critiquing the medical education system and societal tendencies to marginalize old age in an era of human longevity.

This book is designed to foster quality care to home care recipients. It is written for companions, home health aides, and other care givers who deliver non-medical home care. Prieto provides information, tips, and techniques on personal care routines as well as additional responsibilities that are often necessary in this work, including home safety and maintenance, meal planning, errand running, caring for couples, and making use of recreational time. Going beyond standard nurses' aide training manuals, the book focuses on the psycho-social needs of home care recipients, stressing the need to maintain the house as a home and sustaining the recipient's way of life throughout caregiving situations. Prieto stresses interpersonal skills that benefit recipient and caregiver, creating a systematic, easy-to-follow plan for delivering quality service and maintaining, or improving, quality of life.

Today, many churches and their related agencies and ministries are shrinking. Often a large portion of those who remain are older adults. Celebrating the Graying Church suggests that this is an opportunity for a new and different kind of ministry—a ministry to, with, and from older adults who may have wisdom to pass on to the legacy of the future generations. This book offers opportunities, ideas, and guidance for this new vision and practice of ministry, while also describing how aging adults in ministry can support each other and their faith communities.

"Using her years of experience as an Elder Law and Estate Planning attorney, and the personal lessons she learned walking her own parents through this process, Laurie Menzies explains, in practical terms, the best way to plan for this stage of life. You may be asking questions like: "Who will care for me?", "Where will I live?" and "Will I have enough money?"...Brings together the essential information in an integrated, coordinated approach to help you navigate the legal, financial and long-term care needs of your loved ones." -- from publisher

This book is the story of one woman’s spiritual awakening. I was born into a Christian household, so I have always known “about” God, and for many of my early years I thought that was enough. I participated in the rituals common to my faith, and I engaged in activities of daily living much like other humans. I identified my life goals, and I diligently implemented the strategies to achieve them. I was taught that education and hard work were the tickets to happiness, so that is the direction I traveled. I became a wife and mother, and both roles brought joy into my life in ways I could not have imagined. At some point during my middle years, though, it became clear that something important was missing. What started out as a faint feeling of emptiness grew into a keen awareness that the calling on my life included more than working long hours in one stressful job after another. There was a loneliness deep inside that I could not explain. By secular standards, I should have been happy and content. I was ashamed to admit my feelings of uneasiness to anyone because, in accordance with worldly norms, I was living a dream life. So, I kept quiet and went about my days as expected, all the while, I was hoping the disturbance in my spirit would subside. But it did not. Over time, I became more and more uncomfortable with the lifestyle I had settled into. I prayed for divine guidance, and, after much self-examination and soul searching, I got the clarity I needed. I came to the realization that knowing “about” God and “knowing” God are not the same. It was no longer enough for me to have a relationship with Him based on rituals. I needed a more intimate friendship. With this recognition, I set out on a lifelong spiritual journey of growing whole.