Eldering — A New Vision of Aging

Angeles Arrien, The Second Half of Life: Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom
     Sounds True, 2005          ISBN 1591792525
  There comes a turning point in human life. At this threshold, when you see fewer days ahead than have already passed, you begin the greatest adventure: the second half of your life. On The Second Half of Life, cultural anthropologist and superb teacher Angeles Arrien retrieves a bracing shower of the world’s vital wisdom teachings that have opened people at midlife to the deeper mysteries of who we really are, and why we are truly here. Healthy human societies, she notes, possess crucial “rites of passage” not just for the threshold of birth and young adulthood, but also for the next milestone: our transformation into wisdom-holders and creative wellsprings for our communities.
      We are all born with a great dream for our lives, a dream which may have been submerged or derailed along the way by family and career realities. In the second half of life, after your roots have gone deeply into the world, it is time to resurrect this dream. For now the blossom of your “wild and precious life” is ready to bring forth the fruit of your special creative gifts.
      When you find the courage to change at midlife, Arrien teaches, a miracle happens. Your character is opened, deepened, strengthened, softened. You return to your soul’s highest values. You are now prepared to create your legacy: an imprint of your dream for our world—a dream that can only come true in the second half of life.

Jimmy Carter, The Virtues of Aging:
     Ballantine Books, 1998          ISBN 0345425928
  As he enters what he considers to be his most influential and happiest time, Jimmy Carter gives us a deeply personal meditation on the new experiences that come to us with age. He paints a glowing portrait of his long, happy marriage to Rosalynn, a relationship that has grown deeper as they have grown older. He confronts issues we all experience as we age: retirement planning, new diet and exercise regimens, coping with age prejudice. Here, too, are fascinating sketches of world leaders and great thinkers President Carter has been privileged to know, and the valuable lessons on aging that they have shared with him. A gentle, humorous, moving book, The Virtues of Aging is a treasure for readers of all ages.

Gene D. Cohen, The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life
     Avon Books, 2000          ISBN 0380800713
  In a single generation, the view of life after fifty has changed dramatically. Today's society is shaped by unprecedented growth in the number of people living in their "golden years, " shifting patterns of work and home life, and advances in health care that offer the promise of longer, more active lives. In this fascinating, life-affirming book, Dr. Gene Cohen debunks harmful myths about aging and illuminates the biological and emotional foundations of creativity. He shows how the unique combination of age, experience, and creativity can produce exciting inner growth and infinite potential for everyone. Interweaving history, scientific research, inspiring true-life stories, and his own fresh insights, Dr. Cohen takes us into the previously uncharted territory of human potential in the "second half" of life.

Gene D. Cohen, The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain
     Basic Books, 2006          ISBN 0465012035
  “Old dogs can learn new tricks,” says psychiatrist Cohen, drawing on the latest studies of the aging brain and mind. In fact, new scanning technologies show that in some ways the aging brain is more flexible than younger ones. How we look at the ‘mature mind’ may change with the theories and research presented by Cohen, author of The Creative Age and, founding chief of the Center on Aging at the National Institute of Mental Health. Aiming to debunk the myth of aging as an inevitable decline of body and mind, Cohen introduces the concept of developmental intelligence, a ‘maturing synergy of cognition, emotional intelligence, judgment, social skills, life experience, and consciousness.’
     Expanding on Erik Erikson’s developmental psychology, Cohen postulates that there are four phases of psychological development in mature life: midlife re-evaluation, ‘a time of exploration and transition’; liberation, a desire to experiment; the summing-up phase of ‘recapitulation, resolution, and review’; and ‘encore,’ the desire to go on. Drawing on the results of two groundbreaking studies, Cohen illustrates that the years after age 65 are anything but ‘retiring,’ and that creativity, intellectual growth and more satisfying relationships can blossom at any age.

Ram Dass, Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing and Dying
     Riverhead Books, 2000          ISBN 1573228710
  More than thirty years ago, an entire generation sought a new way of life, looking for fulfillment and meaning in a way no one had before. Leaving his teaching job at Harvard, Ram Dass embodied the role of spiritual seeker, showing others how to find peace within themselves in one of the greatest spiritual classics of the twentieth century, Be Here Now. Now, as many of that generation enter the autumn of their years, the big questions of peace and of purpose have returned, demanding answers. And once again, Ram Dass blazes a new trail, inviting all to join him on the next stage of the journey.

Sara Davidson, Leap! What Will We Do with the Rest of Our Lives?
     Random House, 2007          ISBN 345478088
  Thirty years ago, Sara Davidson wrote the phenomenal bestseller Loose Change, the definitive book about the boomer generation's coming-of-age. Now this witty social observer has again turned her discerning eye to her contemporaries, with Leap! a no-holds-barred, illuminating, and hopeful look at the choices and challenges we face and the roads open to us. Davidson explores the major choices that she and her fellow boomers face at midlife: What next? Her interviews with famous (Jane Fonda, Iman) and not-so-famous boomers reveal that they will probably not make the same choices those of the previous generation made — nor should they. The interviewees speak of dreams and opportunities, as well as setbacks and life crises, as Davidson offers the encouragement to go for that second chance, seeking one's bliss out on the open highway of life.

James V. Gambone, ReFirement: A Boomer's Guide to Life After 50
     Kirk House Publ., 2000          ISBN 1886513260
  ReFirement gives Boomers a positive and optimistic vision of how to live a meaningful life as they grow older and leave a valuable legacy for future generations. ReFirement provides an exciting platform for anyone facing the challenges and opportunities of their Third Age. The book is also filled with over 80 Activities To Refire Your Life— practical suggestions on how you can take charge and energize the rest of your life. James Gambone challenges Boomers to re-examine the way the media has portrayed this generation for over forty years. He says Boomers can draw on their own values, their roots, and over a half a century of major societal changes to carry them through mid-life challenges and beyond.

James and Linda Henry, Transformational Eldercare from the Inside Out: Strengths-Based Strategies for Caring
     American Nurses Association, 2007          ISBN 1558102299
               In an intimate and engaging way, this book brings together some of the most experienced and respected voices currently at work in the fields of aging and long term care. Some are well-known; some, not. Yet each practitioner and researcher who has been selected as the subject of a chapter offers, through a discussion of her or his own work, a rich and unique perspective on the issues of aging and caring for older adults. The resulting collection is an altogether valuable and inspiring book. It is valuable because it offers many new ideas for practice that are the product of the creative thinking and on-the-ground experience of experts in our field; it is inspiring because, through the commitment to caring we witness in these extraordinary individuals we and our own work are enriched.

James Hillman, The Force of Character and the Lasting Life:
     Random House, 1999          ISBN 0345424050
  As iconoclastic and captivating as The Soul's Code, The Force of Character presents an enlivening new vision of life's mission in light of the aging process. James Hillman's magnificent new book is a profound reflection on the wisdom revealed by the body and psyche -- and how it emerges as we pursue and fulfill our callings. Hillman explains that the full development of our unique character requires that we age: "The last years confirm and fulfill character...Aging is no accident. It is necessary to the human condition, intended by the soul". Hillman explains the archetypes and myths that govern the later years and compels us to rethink our premises about maturity and aging. Steeped in the wisdom of a lifetime, radiant with Hillman's reading in philosophy, poetry, and sacred texts, "The Force of Character" has a piercing clarity that will change and affirm the lives of all who read it.

James Hollis, Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: How to Finally, Really Grow Up
     Gotham, 2005          ISBN 1592401201
  What does it really mean to be a grown up in today’s world? We generally recognize only three developmental periods of life — childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. We assume that once we “get it together” with the right job, marry the right person, have children, and buy a home, all is settled and well. But adulthood itself presents varying levels of growth, and is rarely the respite of stability we expected. Turbulent emotional shifts can take place anywhere between the age of thirty-five and seventy when we question the choices we’ve made, realize our limitations, and feel stuck — commonly known as the “midlife crisis.” In Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life, Jungian analyst James Hollis explores the ways we can grow and evolve to fully become ourselves when the traditional roles of adulthood aren’t quite working for us.
     Revealing a new way of uncovering and embracing our authentic selves, Hollis offers wisdom to anyone facing a career that no longer seems fulfilling, a long-term relationship that has shifted, or family transitions that raise issues of aging and mortality. Through case studies and provocative observations, Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life provides a reassuring message and a crucial bridge across this critical passage of adult development.

Drew S. Leder, Spiritual Passages: Embracing Life’s Sacred Journey
     Tarcher/Putnam, 1997          ISBN 087477835
  Opportunities for personal growth and a deeper understanding of self and spirit increase as we experience each stage of life. In Spiritual Passages, philosopher/scholar Drew Leder uses stories from sacred traditions, both Eastern and Western, to guide us on the journey of aging. We will learn from a Taoist sage, the Biblical Sarah, the story of Buddha, Jesus on the Cross, a Native American clan mother, and many others, how to age spiritually and creatively. Following each narrative are thought-provoking questions and meditations designed to help us integrate such lessons into our daily life. In the words of one reviewer, Spiritual Passages “Promises to become a classic. Designed to be read privately or used as a workbook guide for small groups. I find this a wonderful book, full of hope. This book could revolutionize the aging of society and precipitate a paradigm change from [its] medicalization to its spiritualization.”
     Dr. Leder’s newest book has just been released, Sparks of the Divine: Finding Inspiration in Our Everyday Life. It explores the sacred lessons hidden all about us in the things of our everyday world — pajamas, contact lenses, cars, garbage — and the wonders of the natural world. Through brief essays, quotes, and “shape-shifting” meditations, we learn how to be a “slow motion mystic” uncovering everywhere sparks of the divine.
     For more on Dr. Leder’s work on aging, spirituality, prison-work, health-care, etc. see his website.

Theodore Roszak, Longevity Revolution: As Boomers Become Elders
     Warner Books, 2001          ISBN 1893163504
  Three decades after publishing his classic The Making of a Counter Culture -- and after two brushes with death -- Theodore Roszak was forced to confront his mortality and that of a generation of baby boomers who never realized they were subject to the same laws of aging as their predecessors. In Longevity Revolution, Roszak turns his critical eye to what he calls "the implications of mass longevity as a social phenomenon". Revised for paperback publication, the book counters conventional views of elders as burdens, seeing them instead as the culture's great resource. Roszak explores in detail such critical issues as economics, politics, medicine, ethics, biotechnology, the class divide, and the fetish for youthfulness that dominate American culture. He envisions a world in which elders are honored for their insights, values, and abilities in creating a more compassionate society

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older
     Warner Books, 1995          ISBN 0446671770
   In this revolutionary and compassionate book, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi of the Spiritual Eldering Institute in Boulder, guides older Americans through a spiritual transformation. He teaches readers how to use their life experiences to enrich their elder years, face mortality, repair relationships, develop a regenerative spirit and transmit wisdom to future generations. From Age-ing to Sage-ing is a glowing testament to the ever-expanding potential of the human spirit.

Sarah Susanka, The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters
     Random House, 2007          ISBN 1400065313
   The bigger-is-better idea that triggered the explosion of McMansions in home design has spilled over to give us McLives. In her bestselling Not So Big House series, Sarah Susanka showed us how to change the way we live by adjusting the physical space we inhabit. Now, in The Not So Big Life, Sarah takes her revolutionary philosophy a giant step further by showing us how to change the way we live by fully inhabiting each moment of our lives. The Not So Big Life reveals that form and function serve not only architectural aims, but life goals as well. Just as we can tear down interior walls to open up space, Susanka shows us that we can tear down our fears, assumptions and conditionings in a way that opens us up to new possibilities so we can start passionately engaging the things we long to do.
   Go to notsobiglife.com.

William H. Thomas, M.D., What Are Old People For: How Elders Will Save the World
     VanderWyk and Burnham, 2004          ISBN 1889242209
  In What Are Old People For?, Dr. Thomas introduces a new vision of "intentional communities," of up to 10 elders who chose to live together with the help of several younger adults and strive to become a true community. "Baby boomers are the ideal generation to create this new model," says Thomas. "With a higher level of education than any previous generation, a higher level of wealth, and the well-established habit of re-inventing social norms, I think baby boomers are going to find the concepts of intentional communities and the approach to old age as a development stage instead of decline appealing and consistent with their values. I just don't see boomers accepting the fate of a nursing home."
     The "Eldertopia" that Dr. Thomas imagines is encouraged by evidence from a number of extremely successful intentional communities, called Green Houses, that Thomas has created in collaboration with partners around the country. "The idea that only large-scale nursing homes can be cost-effective and provide adequate medical care is false. It is time to liberate elders from institutionalization that saps their dignity and breeds helplessness," says Thomas.
     In their place, Thomas advocates small group homes for the aged mainstreamed into residential neighborhoods where elders can maintain their status as part of the community, share a meal and a story with familiar companions, and relish the simple pleasures and satisfaction of being old. With this new model, elders will be able to share their wisdom and their legacy with the children and adults who surround them, restoring them to an important place in our society.
     Dr. William H. Thomas is an international authority on geriatric medicine and eldercare. He currently serves as president of The Center for Growing and Becoming, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and developing constructive, holistic approaches to aging and the care of our elders. He is also president of The Eden Alternative, a research, consulting, and advocacy group committed to improving the care received by people who live in institutions everywhere.