Aging Wisely... Wisdom of Our Elders

by Irving Silverman, Ellen Beth Siegel

Overview

Aging Wisely… Wisdom of our Elders is a unique resource that reflects the ideas, opinions and experiences of a diverse group of senior citizens. Each story provides a unique perspective on the physical, emotional, and social aspects of growing old from those who have made the journey. Caring professionals, family and friends also come together to share their experiences working and caring for the aging population. There are also unique perspectives provided by faculty members and graduate students form the William James College of Psychology as well as a foreword by Stephen Colwell, Executive Director of NewBridge senior living community.

Each chapter presents an aspect of aging including a discussion of physical changes, emotional losses, financials, as well as what contributes to satisfaction and happiness in later years and what may assist older adults as they continue to age. Every personal story closes with “Reflections for the Readers”, a series of questions correlated to the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) Core Competencies.

AUDIENCE
- This text is appropriate for anyone working or caring for the elderly as well as a valuable resource for undergraduate courses focused on:
- Retirement and Living Communities
- Psychology of Aging
- Aging and Society/Social Gerontology
- Long Term Care Administration
- Intro to Gerontology
*Also a valuable resource for residents and staff members of acute and non-acute care facilities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781284141733
Publisher:	Jones & Bartlett Learning
Publication date:	06/08/2017
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	498
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Irving I. Silverman was born in 1920, the son of immigrant parents, and visually handicapped from birth. He attended a special sight conservation class in elementary school, then went on to high school and the City College of New York’s Baruch School of Business, where he majored in Advertising and Publishing. Following his graduation from college, Irving began a 45 year career at National Knitwear Association (NKA), a trade association in the knitting industry. But his proudest achievements came in his community service. After the death of his first wife, Henrietta, at the age of 35, he established and led the Long Island chapter of Parents without Part ners; and it was through that organization that he met Nancy, his second wife. At age 56, he became President of the New York Region of Unit ed Synagogue, the governing body of the Conservative Jewish movement, and in 1980 he led an effort to allow Jews to emigrate from the Soviet Union. After retiring from NKA, Irving created the Kosher Food and Jewish Life Expo which “brought kosher out of the closet.” He also indulged his collector instincts by establishing collections of antique printers’ wood type, lighthouse replicas, and giraffe figurines. Along with Nancy, Irving vacationed in Maine for almost five decades. Nancy had a lighthouse built on their property and following her death in 2002, Irving designated the lighthouse as a wedding chapel, officiating at 35 wedding ceremonies there. Irving’s previous book, A Trilogy . . . Three Hearts . . . One Soul, contains his autobiography and tributes to each of his wives. He now lives at NewBridge on the Charles in Dedham, MA and is 97 years old.

Ellen Beth Siegel, JD, Psy.D. is a clinical psychologist and a former lawyer. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Law School, and William James College (formerly, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology) and currently serves as a Teaching Associate in Psychology at Harvard Medical School. For many years on staff at Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, MA, she now maintains a private practice with offices in Cambridge and Newton. She is on the Advisory Board of the Endowment for the Advancement of Psychotherapy at Mass. General Hospital and the Alumni Advisory Board of William James College. Ellen is also a poet. Her poems have been published in Bellowing Ark, The Christian Science Monitor, Concrete Wolf, Poetpourri, and The Warwick Anthology. A nominee for a coveted Pushcart Prize, she is a co-editor of Do Not Give Me Things Unbroken (2002), a poetry anthology, and co-author of Unlocking the Poem (2009), a collection of poetry “assignments” illustrated by selected poems, her own and from 101 other poets. Ellen’s chapbooks Remembering Endymion and The Sweet Moth Kisses Never Traded have been finalists in various chapbook contests and are looking for a publisher; she is also hoping for enough time to put together a full-length volume of her poems. Ellen lives in Waban, Massachusetts with her husband Don and has three grown children who delight her every single day. She is also Irving Silverman’s daughter.

Table of Contents

Part I Life Stories
Chapter 1 Sharing our Stories: Emotional Comfort for Survivors
Chapter 2 Burn and Rave
Chapter 3 Serendipity
Chapter 4 Exercising One’s Mind, Counting One’s Blessings
Chapter 5 Elwood and His Golden Nature
Chapter 6 Reflections at Age 95
Chapter 7 The 80s Are the New 60s
Part II The Biology of Aging
Chapter 8 The Second Fifty: Successful Aging
Chapter 9 Health Changes in Older Age
Chapter 10 Brain Health: 21st Century Science On Sustaining Memory and Thinking as We Age
Chapter 11 Cognitive Skills: What to Expect As We Get Older
Chapter 12 Will I Be in Good Health in My 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 100’s?
Chapter 13 Vision and Hearing Loss in the Elderly
Chapter 14 Everything You Would Like to Know about Medications and Their Effect on Aging
Part III Emotional Responses to Aging
Chapter 15 Aging: From Aging to Adolescence and Back Again
Chapter 16 Notes from the Far North
Chapter 17 Time Caught Up on Me
Chapter 18 The Other Side of Time
Chapter 19 From Generation to Generation
Chapter 20 My Thickest File
Part IV Coming to Terms with the Changes Caused by Aging
Chapter 21 Aging Easier
Chapter 22 Eldercare Strategies: Useful Thoughts and Actions When You are the "Elder," When You are the "Care," When You are Both
Chapter 23 Dealing with Hearing and Vision Loss as We Age
Chapter 24 Adaptations
Chapter 25 Brooding
Part V Using Internal Strengths
Chapter 26 Becoming a Good Listener
Chapter 27 Developing the Skill of Optimism
Chapter 28 Making Each Day Count
Chapter 29 Mastering the Art of Aging
Chapter 30 Accepting Rejection: Finding Meaningful Replacement of What One Doesn't or Can't Have
Part VI Broadening Horizons
Chapter 31 The Benefits of Volunteering as an Older Person
Chapter 32 Prolong Your Life—Get in the Pool
Chapter 33 Exercise and Aging: But I Don’t Wanna— How to Get Unstuck from that Easy Chair
Chapter 34 The Importance of Travel
Chapter 35 Accepting People with Different Backgrounds
Chapter 36 Fitting in and Standing Out
Part VII Aging and Interpersonal Relationships
Chapter 37 Intergenerational Dialogue
Chapter 38 Reversal of Roles… Listening to My Children
Chapter 39 Moving to be Closer to Family: Pluses and Minuses
Chapter 40 We Were Never Afraid to Try Something New
Chapter 41 Love and Loneliness in Older Age
Chapter 42 Love and Life
Chapter 43 Finding New Relationships in Later Life
Chapter 44 Grandparenting is a Perk
Chapter 45 Water Play: Being Alec's Grama
Part VIII Overcoming Obstacles, Living Life to the Fullest
Chapter 46 Caring and Being Cared For: A Reciprocal Relationship
Chapter 47 Living in the Real World, Not an Imaginary One
Chapter 48 Finding Meaning in the Face of Life Difficulties
Chapter 49 Accepting Help
Chapter 50 Occupational Therapy and Productive Aging
Chapter 51 How I Learned to Cope with Depression
Chapter 52 How Not to Make Mistakes
Part IX Work and Retirement
Chapter 53 The Golden Years: Retirement and the Years That Follow... A Personal Reflection
Chapter 54 Planning Ahead
Chapter 55 Aging and Retirement
Chapter 56 Prospering in Retirement versus Coping with Retirement
Chapter 57 Once a Writer, Always a Writer
Chapter 58 A Scientist Retires
Part X Housing Options and Solutions
Chapter 59 Housing for Older Adults … HSL's Communities
Chapter 60 Why Moving to a Retirement Community Was the Right Choice for Me
Chapter 61 Living and Learning in a Retirement Community
Chapter 62 Maintaining Independence: Staying in My Home
Chapter 63 Treasuring the Past, Enhancing the Future
Part XI To Drive or Not to Drive
Chapter 64 Continuing to Drive Keeps Me Independent
Chapter 65 We Need to Talk—When is it Time to Hang up the Keys?
Part XII Money Matters
Chapter 66 When Social Security is Not Enough
Chapter 67 Living Well on a Fixed Income
Chapter 68 Challenges for Low-Income Seniors: The Not So Golden Years
Chapter 69 Living on the Edge: The New Economy for Aging Americans
Part XIII The Meanings of Success
Chapter 70 How Does One Achieve a Successful Life?
Chapter 71 Thoughts on Success and Failure
Chapter 72 My Thoughts on Success, Developed in Childhood
Chapter 73 Success Means Having a Positive Impact
Chapter 74 Passion, Authenticity and Dedication: The Formula for Success
Part XIV Finding Fulfillment in Older Age
Chapter 75 Life's Legacy
Chapter 76 Still Finding Pleasure after 90
Chapter 77 Being Passionate About the Things You Love
Chapter 78 Making Violins, Learning Patience
Chapter 79 Schubert at Harbor View
Chapter 80 Art as an Aid to Senior Living
Chapter 81 All Aboard!
Chapter 82 Heal Yourself, Heal the World
Chapter 83 Why Live a Long Life?
Part XV Religion, Prayer and Spirituality
Chapter 84 Aging and Spirituality
Chapter 85 Religion as a Resource for Comfort in Bereavement
Chapter 86 Care of the Dying, Deceased and Grieving
Chapter 87 Looking at Aging from a Catholic Perspective
Chapter 88 The Value of Prayer, A Christian Perspective and Beyond
Chapter 89 Is Prayer Helpful in Your Life?
Chapter 90 Is There an Afterlife?
Chapter 91 What Is Heaven Like? Does It Exist? Will We Meet our Loved Ones?
Part XVI End of Life Issue s and Care
Chapter 92 Coping with Terminal Illness
Chapter 93 A Meditation on Death and Aging
Chapter 94 A Time to Speak
Chapter 95 Leaving Nothing Unfinished in Life and Death
Chapter 96 Making End-of-Life Decisions
Chapter 97 Living Fully to the End of Life: The Hospice Choice
Chapter 98 Old Age... A Mixture of Happy and Sad
Chapter 99 Death with Dignity
Part XVII Coping with Losses
Chapter 100 Loss of a Spouse: Claire
Chapter 101 When You Lose a Spouse: Wayne
Chapter 102 When an Elderly Parent Dies: Impact on Adult Children
Chapter 103 The Lonelinesses of Long-Distance Elders
Part XVIII How Do We Want to be Remembered?
Chapter 104 Writing Your Own Memoir
Chapter 105 Remembering Our Loved Ones
Chapter 106 How Will I Be Remembered?
Chapter 107 My Generations of Women
Chapter 108 On Old Age, Friendship and Loss
Part XIX Wisdom
Chapter 109 Mental Health as I Age
Chapter 110 Sharing Experiences Through Talking
Chapter 111 Development of a Positive Outlook
Chapter 112 Words to Live By: Today, Tomorrow, and the Future— My Final Legacy at the Age of 97
Part XX Addendum