Aging Our Way Lessons for Living from 85 and Beyond

by Loe, Meika

• ISBN13: 9780199797905
• ISBN10: 0199797900
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-10-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

America is graying: people are living longer, and our population is aging. Between now and 2030, the number of people in the U.S. over the age of 65 is expected to double, and the number of people over 80 is expected to almost triple.Aging Our Wayfollows thirty elders (ages 85-102) living alone, at home, to understand how they create meaningful lives in old age. Drawing on the latest interdisciplinary scholarship on aging, Meika Loe examines how the very old navigate the challenges of loneliness, disability, and loss, while staying healthy, connected, and comfortable. Whereas many popular books approach old age as a social problem and old people as dependent, depressed, and disabled,Aging Our Wayviews them as they really are, actively negotiating aging, ageism, and health. Many self-help books revolve around successful or productive aging, but rather than focus on the holy triumvirate of diet, exercise, and medicine to defy age, the elders in this book mobilize a much wider range of resources. In their own voices, we hear how the oldest old achieve comfort and quality of life by striving for continuity, touch, connections, support, control, dignity, learning, and new challenges. In many ways, these elders are role models: they represent the vast majority of Americans who hope to and are currently aging in their own homes and communities.

Author Biography

Meika Loe is Associate Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at Colgate University and the author of The Rise of Viagra: How the Little Blue Pill Changed Sex in America.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Prologue: 30-60-90: On Age and Perspective	p. xi
Introduction: Living at Home and Making it Work	p. 3
Continue to Do What You Did	p. 30
(Re) Design Your Living Space	p. 47
Live in Moderation	p. 68
Take Time for Self	p. 84
Askfor Help; Mobilize Resources	p. 108
Connect with Peers	p. 131
Resort to Tomfoolery	p. 145
Care for Others	p. 160
Reach out to Family	p. 177
Get Intergenerational; Redefine Family	p. 193
Insist on Hugs	p. 213
Be Adaptable	p. 224
Accept and Prepare for Death	p. 245
Conclusion: New Perspectives on the Oldest Old	p. 255
Postscript: On Doing Ninety (by Ann)	p. 270
Epilogue: Updates on Study Participants	p. 272
Appendix: Best Practices in Supporting Aging in Place	p. 278
Notes	p. 287
Index	p. 311
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.