I Like Being Old
A Guide to Making the Most of Aging
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I Like Being Old: A Guide to Making the Most of Aging paints a picture of old age that doesn't fit the stereotypes. K. Eileen Allen actually likes being 90 (and still going). She has found she gets satisfaction from solving the problems that have increased with her years. She's excited by the discovery that she can keep learning. She's surprised to find she enjoys the slowed-down pace that lets her focus on new interests and new dimensions of herself.
Readers look over Eileen's shoulder as she tells how she's faced major old-age decisions, such as when to give up driving, when to move to a retirement center, how to stay fit and involved, and how to adjust to decreasing independence. She also describes less-typical, life-enhancing adaptations she's made: teaching herself to be more humorous, memorizing poetry when loss of vision meant she could no longer read, and building up to walking three miles around the lake across from her retirement center...with her walker.
Many of Eileen's age mates will find this book useful because of the specifics it offers. Or they will find it an affirmation of behaviors they've already adopted. They'll be joined by those in their 50s, 60s, and 70s in relating to Eileen as an interesting and inspiring person, one who makes no effort to hide how much work it takes to adapt to the changes old age often brings.
Readers look over Eileen's shoulder as she tells how she's faced major old-age decisions, such as when to give up driving, when to move to a retirement center, how to stay fit and involved, and how to adjust to decreasing independence. She also describes less-typical, life-enhancing adaptations she's made: teaching herself to be more humorous, memorizing poetry when loss of vision meant she could no longer read, and building up to walking three miles around the lake across from her retirement center...with her walker.
Many of Eileen's age mates will find this book useful because of the specifics it offers. Or they will find it an affirmation of behaviors they've already adopted. They'll be joined by those in their 50s, 60s, and 70s in relating to Eileen as an interesting and inspiring person, one who makes no effort to hide how much work it takes to adapt to the changes old age often brings.
The book's main message:
As long as the old brain is still functioning reasonably well, there are options, there's alway choice. Too many people believe they can no longer be happy and involved because they can't go about their lives the way they used to. Their reasons: "I can't remember, I can't hear, I can't see, I don't have enough energy." For Eileen, these claims are beside the point. She encourages people to get on with the real business of making the most of aging.
