At Senior Living Systems, our mission is aging well. In support of that mission, we love to share some of the books we feel speak to a positive and dynamic approach to aging, and help support the concept of ageless living.
Today, we’d like to talk about The Fountain of Age by Betty Friedan. Best known for her groundbreaking book, The Feminine Mystique, Friedan has once again broken new ground with her revolutionary exploration of what it means to age well, and the positive effects that aging actually creates.
If you are operating under the misconception that growing old equates to being lonely, powerless, unattractive, and dependent on others, this is the book for you. Friedan turns the tables on the idea that aging is the end. In interviews with dozens of women and men in middle or old age who are still leading vibrant, passionate, creative lives, she challenges everything we think we know about what it means to grow older – and then invites us to explore the dynamic lives that aging people are leading today.
Friedan also presents aging as a new adventure, one we are still learning about. She explores research on aging from experts in gerontology, social science, and psychology – to learn more about the aging process, and how we deal with the milestone events of aging, such as retirement, menopause, empty nest syndrome, and health care.
As our life expectancy continues to grow (people are living 30 years longer in this century than in the previous one) and so does our aging population, individuals and society are rewriting the script on what it means to age, and how it affects our lives, our personalities, and our physical and mental health in positive ways we’ve never fully witnessed in the past. Our aging population today is laying the groundwork for the next generations to continue to age well and live agelessly. The Fountain of Age is a good primer on what it really means to grow older.
