The Privilege Of Aging

In The Privilege of Aging author Patricia Shapiro (M.S.W.) opens a window for us into the lives of women from 75 to 102 years old and explores their successes and challenges, longevity and vitality. Each woman has lived a different path of life, and their examples show us that the resources for successful aging are within us. Anthropologist Doris Francis says that we need "to seize the challenges and honors of growing old." "Patricia Gottlieb Shapiro introduces us to ordinary women who model growth, resiliency, creativity and vibrancy in later life. These women are our guides; they beckon all of us to age fearlessly." Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman, M.A., M.S.W., B.C.C. Author of Jewish Visions for Aging Director, Growing Older: Wisdom + Spirit Beyond Midlife "The Privilege of Aging presents the empowering life stories of twelve Jewish women, who courageously assess their advanced years not as a barrier but rather as a unique possibility for continued growth...a valuable guide how Jewish values, resilience and creativity offer immeasurable resources to forge new late-life paths and to redefine the meaning and dignity of the aged self." Doris Francis, Ph.D. Anthropologist Author of Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, When I'm 84?

What is it that most people want to become but nobody wants to be?

Actress Cameron Diaz opens a conversation with her peers on a topic that for too long has been taboo in our society: the aging female body. She shares the latest scientific research on how and why we age, synthesizing insights from top medical experts with her own thoughts, opinions, and experiences. The Longevity Book explores what history, biology, neuroscience, and the women's health movement can teach us about maintaining optimal health as we transition from our thirties to midlife. From understanding how growing older impacts various bodily systems to the biological differences in the way aging effects men and women; the latest science on telomeres and slowing the rate of cognitive decline to how meditation heals us and why love, friendship, and laughter matter for health, Diaz offers an all-encompassing, holistic look at how the female body ages -- and what we can all do to age better.

In an unprecedented series of studies, Harvard Medical School has followed 824 subjects -- men and women, some rich, some poor -- from their teens to old age. Harvard's George Vaillant now uses these studies -- the most complete ever done anywhere in the world -- and the subjects' individual histories to illustrate the factors involved in reaching a happy, healthy old age. He explains precisely why some people turn out to be more resilient than others, the complicated effects of marriage and divorce, negative personality changes, and how to live a more fulfilling, satisfying and rewarding life in the later years. He shows why a person's background has less to do with their eventual happiness than the specific lifestyle choices they make. And he offers step-by-step advice about how each of us can change our lifestyles and age successfully. Sure to be debated on talk shows and in living rooms, Vaillant's definitive and inspiring book is the new classic account of how we live and how we can live better. It will receive massive media attention, and with good reason: we have never seen anything like it, and what it has to tell us will make all the difference in the world.

• Shares the author’s inner adventure to face aging, illness, and death, along with hard-won wisdom on the art of resting, happiness, and letting go • Draws on stories from different spiritual traditions and offers strategies, tools, and ways of thinking to navigate the challenges of aging • Reveals how to examine your fears and regrets, declutter the mind of negative thoughts, and reframe reality with the powerful tool of unconditional self-love Presenting a clarion call to the aging to awaken before they die, Kamla K. Kapur explores how we can become warriors on the spiritual path in order to embrace and prepare for the truth of our mortality and the ultimate triumph of conscious living and dying. Set in both California and India, Kapur shares her inner adventure to navigate the hazardous battlefield of aging with the aid of spiritual guides that pilot her to safety and offer hard-won wisdom on the art of resting, happiness, and letting go. Revealing the arc of her own self-discovery, she examines her own shadows, fears, anxieties, and regrets, decluttering her mind of disempowering thoughts and reframing and co-creating her reality with the powerful tool of unconditional self-love. Drawing on stories from all traditions, Kapur demonstrates the power of self-examination, vigilance, and intentionality to have a successful old age and offers strategies, tools, and ways of thinking to ensure mental, physical, and spiritual strength to meet aging’s challenges and transform from the people we once were to the ones we are becoming on the penultimate stage of earthly life. Encouraging readers to proceed on their own journeys of awakening, Kapur describes how to confront, express, and embrace your darkness, consciously and honestly, to move forward into the ever greater wholeness of being that incorporates our animal, human, and divine nature. She shows how to make the final course of an ardent, empowered, and courageous journey into God’s heart, revealing how the privilege of aging is to fully experience this precious, painful life and to achieve vitality, satisfaction, and joy in the life we are fortunate to still have.

Never before in human existence have the aged been so numerous - and for the most part - healthy. In this important new book, two professionals, an anthropologist and a physician, wrestle with the complex subject of aging. Is it inevitable? Is it a burden or gift? What is successful aging? Why are some people better at aging than others? Where is aging located? How does it vary among individuals, within and between groups, cultures, societies, and indeed, over the centuries? Reflecting on these and other questions, the authors comment on the impact age has in their lives and work. Two unique viewpoints are presented. While medicine approaches aging with special attention given to the body, its organs, and its functions over time, anthropology focuses on how the aged live within their cultural settings. As this volume makes clear, the two disciplines have a great deal to teach each other, and in a spirited exchange, the authors show how professional barriers can be surmounted. In a novel approach, each author explores a different aspect of aging in alternating chapters. These chapters are in turn followed by a commentary by the other. Further, the authors interrupt each other within the chapters - to raise questions, contradict, ask for clarification, and explore related ideas - with these interjections emphasizing the dynamic nature of their ideas about age. Finally, a third "voice" - that of a random old man - periodically inserts itself into the text to remind the authors of their necessarily limited understanding of the subject.

By 2030 there will be about 70 million people in the United States who are older than 64. Approximately 26 percent of these will be racial and ethnic minorities. Overall, the older population will be more diverse and better educated than their earlier cohorts. The range of late-life outcomes is very dramatic with old age being a significantly different experience for financially secure and well-educated people than for poor and uneducated people. The early mission of behavioral science research focused on identifying problems of older adults, such as isolation, caregiving, and dementia. Today, the field of gerontology is more interdisciplinary. When I'm 64 examines how individual and social behavior play a role in understanding diverse outcomes in old age. It also explores the implications of an aging workforce on the economy. The book recommends that the National Institute on Aging focus its research support in social, personality, and life-span psychology in four areas: motivation and behavioral change; socioemotional influences on decision-making; the influence of social engagement on cognition; and the effects of stereotypes on self and others. When I'm 64 is a useful resource for policymakers, researchers and medical professionals.