Spirited Ageing

Do you see ageing as a curse or a gift? Preparing for ageing is as important as preparing for childbirth, yet most people enter into the last stage of life without a clear intention. In Spirited Ageing you will learn how to embrace ageing so that it lifts you into a whole new stage of growth. Dr. Juliet Batten brings together the skills of a storyteller, scholar and psychotherapist. She includes a group of contributors, who responded to her questions for each of the ten chapters. With the breakthrough 'Star' model she powerfully redefines ageing so that it becomes an initiation into a path of deep satisfaction and inspiration. In each chapter she offers three 'supports', together with practical exercises and helpful examples. From Passion and Possessions to Dementia and Dying, her compassionate guidance takes the reader through the essential steps in preparing for a fulfilling phase of the life cycle.

Well-known authors in the field of ageing and spirituality present their considered contributions to current understandings in this fast-changing field.

Society has a deep fear of ageing. Old age is increasingly viewed as a biomedical problem, something to be avoided at all costs and then vanished away by medicine. Anne Karpf urges us to change our narrative. Exploring how our outlook on ageing is historically determined and culturally defined, she draws upon case studies, old and new, to suggest how ageing can be an actively enriching time of immense growth. She argues that if we can recognize growing older as an inevitable part of the human condition, then the great challenge of ageing turns out to be none other than the challenge of living. One in the new series of books from The School of Life, launched January 2014: How to Age by Anne Karpf How to Develop Emotional Health by Oliver James How to Be Alone by Sara Maitland How to Deal with Adversity by Christopher Hamilton How to Think About Exercise by Damon Young How to Connect with Nature by Tristan Gooley

This book presents in-depth investigation of the language used about women and ageing in public discourse, and compares this with the language used by women to express their personal, lived experience of ageing. It takes a linguistic approach to identify how messages contained in public discourse influence how individual women evaluate their own ageing, and particularly their ageing appearance. It begins by establishing the wider cultural context that produces prevailing attitudes to women, before turning to an analysis of representations of the ageing female body in beauty and cosmetic advertising and the lifestyle media. The focus then moves to a detailed investigation of women’s own perceptions of the process of ageing and of their ageing appearance as revealed through their personal narratives. The final chapters challenge dominant attitudes to women and ageing by presenting two case studies of women who for different reasons and in different ways refuse to conform to cultural expectations. This work provides a platform for further academic research in the fields of linguistics, gerontology, gender and media studies; as well as offering meaningful applications in the wider domains of business and advertising.

Using selected conference material, this text explores how well-being among the elderly does not depend solely on physical health but also on having purpose in life and ongoing spiritual growth, and offers guidance on meeting the spiritual needs of this age group and providing meaningful care and support.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by The Wellcome Trust. The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind charts changing cultural understandings of dementia and alzheimer's disease in scientific and cultural texts across the 20th Century. Reading a range of texts from the US, UK, Europe and Japan, the book examines how the language of dementia – regarding the loss of identity, loss of agency, loss of self and life – is rooted in scientific discourse and expressed in popular and literary texts. Following changing scientific understandings of dementia, the book also demonstrates how cultural expressions of the experience and dementia have fed back into the way medical institutions have treated dementia patients. The book includes a glossary of scientific terms for non-specialist readers.

Winner of the 2014 Nautilus Award represents “Better Books for a Better World”—the Gold Award (Best Book of the Year) in the category of Religion/Spirituality: Other Traditions & Practices. Here is a prayer book that offers you the wisest, most comforting of prayers, while also guiding you on how to pray. Whatever your experience of prayer, you will find a new depth of inspiration and support in these pages. From the most ancient heartfelt prayers to those newly written by the author herself, this is a collection that meets us where we are—and takes us where we most want to go. As a writer and spiritual leader who has supported and guided many thousands of people to live more hopefully, Stephanie Dowrick has a rare understanding of what prayer is and how faithfully it can support you, whatever your faith background or journey. Some of the world’s most beautiful words are gathered here—as are many of the most uplifting and consoling. From prayers to be shared with family, friends or community, to prayers that take you within to your own soul’s depths, this is a collection to be used and cherished.

An undercover billionaire’s sexy fling at sea could lead to the most important merger of his life in this romance by a USA Today–bestselling author. Billionaire businessman Daniel De Angelis’s plan was simple: a few undercover days at sea to uncover the weaknesses of the ship he plans to acquire. Instead he discovers a vulnerability of his own—gorgeous art teacher Delilah Shaw! The terms of their liaison were clear: two weeks of complete sensual surrender that ends the moment the cruise ship docks. But stepping back onto dry land brings Delilah back to earth in more ways than one. Now she’s facing two very shocking truths: Daniel lied about his identity while tempting her . . . and now she’s pregnant with his baby!