The New Age of Ageing: How Society Needs to Change - Softcover

Lodge, Caroline; Carnell, Eileen; Coleman, Marianne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1447326830 ISBN 13: 9781447326830

Publisher: Policy Press, 2016

Synopsis

Society does something strange to us as we get old. We are no longer seen as valued participants in the world but marginalized as burdens and problems to be solved. We become the other. This book presents a different vision of the future. Drawing on fifty interviews with people aged fifty to ninety, it proves aging is not simply passive decline but a process of learning, joy, political engagement, challenge, and achievement. For example: Mary, 83, has resisted her children’s suggestion to downsize and is fostering two teenage boys. Joseph, 68, fights for the rights of small farmers worldwide. Through their voices and the voices of many others, we come to understand both the difficulties and possibilities of aging. Increased longevity has consequences for us all. By challenging our assumptions and stereotypes, this book proves that a society that takes better account of older people is better for everyone.

About this title

About the Author:

Caroline Lodge is a freelance writer, coach, and active grandmother. Eileen Carnell is a writer and consultant who works to support adult and youth learning, especially in the arts. Together they are coauthors of Retiring with Attitude: Approaching and Relishing Your Retirement. Since retirement, Marianne Coleman has continued to research and write on the subjects of gender, leadership, and diversity. All three previously worked at the Institute of Education, University of London.

Review:

“‘In attempting to counterbalance the ubiquitous images of decline, it is important not to create new, unachievable oppressions of physically fit, creative, active, adventurous ageing,’ Lodge warns. ‘This model may represent a new tyranny.’ She’s right. The most interesting thing about ageing and joy I’ve discovered while writing this series is that it comes in intensely personal ways.” (Amelia Hill Guardian)

"The New Age of Ageing is an important book, and our society would benefit from policy makers taking note of the authors' numerous recommendations." (Citizen's Income Trust)

"Grounded in academic literature, and in the powerful words of their research participants, the authors inspire readers to envision new possibilities for growth and development in later life." (Jacquelyn B. James, Boston College)

"Challenges many of society's rigid stereotypes of older people. It navigates the reader through the main debates on ageing in an accessible and informative way." (Tatiana Rowson, Heriot Watt University)

About this edition

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1447326830
• ISBN 13: 9781447326830
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224