How to Win at Aging
As baby boomers age big changes are in store for our communities. According to the U.S. Census Bureau by 2030 one in five residents will be retirement age. Use the books on this list to get the most out of your retirement years by staying informed, healthy, and mentally sharp. Don’t forget about Library events like Memory Cafes or crafts and exercise programs at the Senior Socials at the Library Station and the Schweitzer Brentwood Branch Library. See Bookends or the Library's Programs website for details.
Aging with care : your guide to hiring and managing caregivers at home by Amanda Lambert and Leslie Eckford
Finding the best and most appropriate in-home care for an aging loved one can be confusing and time consuming. This guide helps readers through the process of hiring a private caregiver, assessing needs and resources, and making difficult choices. Using real stories throughout, the authors reveal the benefits and pitfalls of in-home care.
The aging brain : proven steps to prevent dementia and sharpen your mind by Timothy R. Jennings, MD
While growing older is inevitable, many of the troubles we associate with aging--including dementia, disability, and an increased dependence on others--are not. The choices we make now can help us to maintain our vitality, a sharp mind, and our independence as we age. Based on solid, up-to-date scientific research, the interventions explained in this book not only prevent progression toward dementia even in those who have already shown mild cognitive impairment, they also reduce disability and depression and keep people living independently longer than those who do not practice these methods. For anyone hoping to slow the aging process, as well as anyone who acts as a caregiver to someone at risk of or already beginning to suffer from dementia and other age-related diseases, this book offers a hopeful, healthy way forward.
Aging gracefully : portraits of people over 100 by Karsten Thormaehlen
Fall in love with 52 wise, healthy, and joyful 100-year-olds in this celebratory and uplifting art book. A beautiful and fascinating exploration of what it is like to be over 100 years old,Aging Gracefully invites readers to look into the face of a century of life experience with portraits of centenarians captured by the compassionate, minimalist lens of photographer Karsten Thormaehlen. The striking photographs are accompanied by short bios of the centenarians, featuring quotes and wisdom on love, food, humor, and living with grace.
Dynamic aging : simple exercises for whole-body mobility by Katy Bowman, with Joan Virginia Allen, Shelah M. Wilgus, Lora Woods, and Joyce Faber
What if your lack of mobility isn't due to your age, but simply the number of years you haven't been moving well? Dynamic Aging presents a new paradigm in senior fitness: your age isn't responsible for your lack of mobility; your habits are! In this powerful and effective guide to moving better, geared specifically for those 50-plus, biomechanist and movement teacher Katy Bowman details how readers can regain their balance, maintain their ability to drive, keep their feet healthy and functional, and regain mobility and reduce pain throughout their bodies. Bowman's exercises are straightforward, require no special equipment, and include modifications for readers of all fitness levels. To combat the idea of being 'too old' to make great improvements, Dynamic Aging is filled with stories and advice from four septuagenarians who have been following Bowman's program for a decade, avoiding surgeries, eliminating pain, and regaining freedom and ease in their bodies they thought they had lost permanently to "old age." From hiking mountains to climbing ladders and walking on cobblestones with ease, each of these women embodies the book's message: No matter where you're starting, if you change how you move, you can change how you feel.
Aging thoughtfully : conversations about retirement, romance, wrinkles, and regret by Martha C. Nussbaum ; Saul Levmore
A philosopher and a lawyer-economist examine the challenges of the last third of life. They write about friendship, sex, retirement communities, inheritance, poverty, and the depiction of aging women in films. These essays, or conversations, will help readers of all ages think about how to age well, or at least thoughtfully, and how to interact with older family members and friends.
Brain rules for aging well : 10 principles for staying vital, happy, and sharp by John Medina
How come I can never find my keys? Why don't I sleep as well as I used to? Why do my friends keep repeating the same stories? What can I do to keep my brain sharp? Scientists know. Brain Rules for Aging Well, by developmental molecular biologist Dr. John Medina, gives you the facts, and the prescription to age well, in his signature engaging style.
Enlightened aging : building resilience for a long, active life by Eric B. Larson, MD, and Joan DeClaire
Larson and DeClaire offer practical advice for growing old with resilience and foresight. They examine the scientific evidence behind new perspectives on aging, and offer ideas for building better communities for our aging population.
The upside of aging : how long life is changing the world of health, work, innovation, policy, and purpose edited by Paul H. Irving with Rita Beamish
The authors, like the baby boom generation itself, posit new ways of thinking about aging, as longevity and declining birthrates put the world on track for a mature population of unprecedented size and significance. With a positive call to action, they illuminate the upside for health and wellness, work and volunteerism, economic growth, innovation and education.
Aging wisely : strategies for baby boomers and seniors by Robert A. Levine, MD
Everyone ages. Not everyone ages well. Aging Wisely explains that much of what happens to our minds and bodies as we grow older depends on our approach to life and our attitudes and feelings about ourselves. Though there are elements beyond our control, we must take advantage of those things we can control while dealing competently with adversity. In describing the impact of aging and various conditions associated with the aging process upon our minds and bodies, Aging Wisely provides readers with the knowledge needed to fight back and maximize their relevance and independence. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining the quality of our lives in addition to longevity, for survival alone does not matter if the quality of survival is poor. To age successfully, we must find satisfaction and pleasure in what we do in the time available to us.
Conscious living, conscious aging : embrace and savor your next chapter by Ron Pevny
We financially plan for our retirement, but do we plan for our wellbeing? Here is an empowering guide with practical tools to help you live a passionate, fulfilling second half of life.
If you're part of the Baby Boomer generation, then you belong to 26 percent of the US population that is retiring healthier than any generation before. And that means retirement is starting to look a whole lot different.
No longer satisfied with a quiet life of sitting on the porch or puttering around the house, retirees (or soon to be) are looking to create a passionate, active, fulfilled, and engaging later life. That's where Ron Pevny comes in. His inspiring guide helps you do what he calls "conscious aging"--or making a reality the life of growth, purpose, service, and spiritual exploration you've always imagined for yourself. In addition to wisdom for navigating loss and grief, Pevny offers advice that helps you identify your goals, contribute to society, remain engaged and relevant, and spend your later years in profound personal development.
Today's seniors are reshaping what retirement is all about. It is a whole new opportunity to engage with family, community, and the world with vigor. Don't just grow older--age consciously.
Lighter as we go : virtues, character strengths, and aging by Mindy Greenstein, Jimmie Holland
The fears of aging have been one long cascading domino effect through the years: twenty year-olds dread thirty; forty year-olds fear fifty; sixty fears seventy, and so it goes. And there is something to worry about, though it isn't what you'd expect: research shows that having a bad attitude toward aging when we're young is associated with poorer health when we're older. These worries tend to peak in midlife; but in "Lighter as We Go", Mindy Greenstein and Jimmie Holland show us that, contrary to common wisdom, our sense of well-being actually increases with our age - often even in the presence of illness or disability. For the first time, Greenstein and Holland - on a joint venture between an 85 year-old and a fifty year-old - explore positive psychology concepts of character strengths and virtues to unveil how and why, through the course of a lifetime, we learn who we are as we go. Drawing from the authors' own personal, intergenerational friendship, as well as a broad array of research from many different areas - including social psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, humanities, psychiatry, and gerontology - Lighter as We Go introduces compassion, justice, community, and culture to help calm our cascading fears of aging.
Find this article at