George E. Vaillant

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Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life, from the Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development

George E. Vaillant

Synopsis:
The past century's advances in medicine and technology have added decades to our life expectancy. More and more of us can expect to live into our eighties, nineties, and beyond. But what most of us want to know is: How can we make the best of those extra years? What steps can we take now to make our final years happier, healthier, and more satisfying?
Now, with the results of the world's longest and most complete study of adult development at his disposal, George Vaillant has the answers to these questions, and the evidence to back them up. In Aging Well, the director of Harvard's landmark study of aging shares the secrets to ensuring that the golden years are truly golden.
In an unprecedented series of studies, Harvard Medical School has followed 824 subjects-men and women, some rich, some poor-from their teens to old age. In Aging Well, Vaillant uses these studies and the subjects' individual histories to illustrate why some people turn out to be more resilient than others, and to demonstrate which factors truly make the difference. He shows why our backgrounds have less to do with our eventual happiness than the specific life choices we make. He explores the complicated effects of marriage and divorce, and the importance of maintaining a network of friends, an open and curious mind, and a willingness to play. Vaillant offers step-by-step advice about how each of us can change our lifestyle and live a more fulfilling, satisfying, and rewarding life in the later years. Sure to be debated on talk shows, in classrooms, and in living rooms, Vaillant's definitive and inspiring book is the new classic account of how we live and how we can live better.

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Other editions: Hardcover - 2002, Softcover - 1995, Softcover - 1995, Softcover - 1995, Hardcover - 1995, Hardcover - 1993, Hardcover - 1992, Softcover - 1986, Softcover - 1978, 1977