Elderhood: Book Review

Published 11 June 2019.

Geriatrician Louise Aronson published a book recently that serves as a great overview for the field of gerontology.

Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimaging Life was published on June 11, 2019.

My Goodreads Review

Aronson presents 464 pages of observations about the aging process and health care in the US.

Yes, she has a medical degree; however, her outlook on aging comes very much from a humanities standpoint.

First, her book is structured like a memoir. She does talk about aging; however, she also includes a lot of autobiographical detail in chronological order.

Second, her book discusses case studies in a way that foregrounds the qualitative elements of the human experience, such as relationships, emotions, values, bias, limited perspective.

By even making this observation about her vocation, Aronson declares her preference for the more philosophical side of medicine.

Third, her book brings in a lot of material from non-medical sources. She quotes from works of literature, philosophy, psychology and sociology.

For example, this is how she frames the way physicians choose a specialty:

"How doctors choose to spend their careers may depend in part on their tolerance for ambiguity and complexity, and their interest in questions that lend themselves as much to philosophy, psychology, and sociology as to science and statistics." (p. 159)

This Chair Rocks: Book Review

Published 15 March 2016.

Ashton Applewhite is a force to be reckoned with.

Author, speaker, and advocate, Applewhite has become renown over the last few years as a significant critic of ageism.

However, she does not merely tear down ageist policies, programs, policies, and attitudes.

Applewhite also describes in rich detail the ways age contains strength, wisdom, sexuality, fun, and creativity.

I have observed Applewhite's work over the last several years by watching her TedTalk, reading her blog, reading several interviews in major magazines and news outlets, following her on Twitter, and even meeting her after hearing her give a keynote address.

I finally sat down to read her book, This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. 

Happy 8th Blogoversary

Photo by postbear.

Today marks 8 years since I launched this blog, The Generation Above Me.

Happy Blogoversary to TGAM!

Origins

I started this blog as a way to record my online research, primarily for my own reference.

This blog's content reflect my interest in managing wellness at midlife while supporting people a generation above me.

Nevertheless, a few people have joined me.

Over the last eight years, The Generation Above Me has garnished over a million views of its 425 posts.  

Bias towards the Humanities

I do have a master's in gerontology, earned from 2010 to 2012. Most of my classmates had undergraduate degrees in nursing or social work. However, I have a bias towards the humanities.

This explains the heavy presence of book reviews, film reviews, and the occasional poem or folktale.

Why this bias towards the humanities? I taught college English for over three decades (composition, rhetoric, literature, linguistics). But I also lean into a the social sciences a bit. I am also interested in psychology, sociology, communications, education, religious studies.

Trends

2019 Top 10 Posts

Photo by draml.

Another year is coming to a close. Many of the posts from 2019 are related to the university courses that I teach:

• During Fall 2019, I taught Spirituality and Aging for the first time. For years prior, I have intentionally published more blog posts about spirituality, mindfulness, and psychology because the search data shows reader interest. Two of the Top 10 are on this topic.
• I teach Death, Dying, and Bereavement every spring semester, which explains my persistent interest in topics such as advanced care planning and Tisdale's book Advice for Future Corpses--two posts in the Top 10.
• I am teaching Biology of Aging again, so continuing my series on biomarkers for longevity helps support that course material. Most recently, I wrote about Body Mass Index (BMI), which achieved #6 in views this year. 

Here are TGAM's Top 10 posts (by views) for 2019.