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87 reviews for:
Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old
John Leland
3.77 AVERAGE
87 reviews for:
Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old
John Leland
3.77 AVERAGE
Terrific book for those of us of a certain age and with aging parents. Lots of wisdom and good common sense ways to look at aging and becoming old without freaking out. It's just a stage - like teenage-hood, parent-hood, empty-nest-hood. I admire Mr. Leland for taking this journey as it must have been difficult to listen to these old folks with patience and compassion and empathy - but he does it well. If you're young don't read this book just live your life. If you're old thinking about aging and dying this is a good book to give perspective. It's poignant, heart-felt, and well written. I really enjoyed learning about these elders and it reinforced what I've know for a while now - happiness is a choice.
I enjoyed this book very much. It shed a light on an oft-forgotten people. It is easy to forsake the old old - the young folk are beautiful and irressistible, babies are cute and full of possibility. But no matter their age, all humans have inner lives that are rich and true.
Old age is the last thing we'll ever do and it might teach us about how to live, now.
A welcome dose of perspective to help shift mindsets from "what you lose to aging" to "what you gain by living longer" — a small but significant change.
3 stars. It felt warm and encouraging while it lasted, but the specific details already elude me. (I did this one as an audiobook)
A welcome dose of perspective to help shift mindsets from "what you lose to aging" to "what you gain by living longer" — a small but significant change.
3 stars. It felt warm and encouraging while it lasted, but the specific details already elude me. (I did this one as an audiobook)
A very interesting, quick read. Some of the "advice" or practices of the elders were in contrast with each other (for example, one man was all about having purpose, and another just lived day-to-day with no particular goal other than expressing gratitude), which leads me to believe there a lot of different ways to grow old and to be happy (just as there are a lot of different ways to be young and to be happy). I also don't think anyone who is middle aged really needs to adopt any of these strategies--it's unlikely that these elders adopted these ways of approaching aging until they found themselves old. On the other hand, I like the reminder not to sweat the small stuff and the recommendation to appreciate the good we already have--though that's probably because this thinking already aligns with my perspective. Definitely worth a read!
This is one of those rare books I think everyone should read. I mean everyone. I know the title sounds a little cheesy but the lessons in this book apply to all. The author follows 80 & 90 somethings for a year and learns how they overcome various ailments and disabilities brought on by old age as well as the deaths of loved ones to find everyday happiness. Some of my favorite nuggets include:
Make yourself happy, nobody else can do that for you.
Be flexible and willing to recalibrate goals.
Travel, spend your money (but save for old age).
Focus on those things that are most rewarding to you.
Let go of things that don't make you happy.
Live in joy, no matter the circumstances that surround you.
I listened to the audio book and enjoyed the bonus of hearing some actual interview snippets. This wasn't a long or difficult book, you won't regret reading it.
Make yourself happy, nobody else can do that for you.
Be flexible and willing to recalibrate goals.
Travel, spend your money (but save for old age).
Focus on those things that are most rewarding to you.
Let go of things that don't make you happy.
Live in joy, no matter the circumstances that surround you.
I listened to the audio book and enjoyed the bonus of hearing some actual interview snippets. This wasn't a long or difficult book, you won't regret reading it.
Listening on Overdrive. Very though-provoking - how could I engage with my elders now? How will I show up to engage with my parents as they age (which still seems a zillion years away). How will I approach my aging-self - with positivity and grace? Would very much like for my friends and family to read soon so we could discuss some of these topics.
This offered more lessons than I anticipated. I'd love to talk to others who read it in the near future or who are ready to chat about the subjects in general.
This offered more lessons than I anticipated. I'd love to talk to others who read it in the near future or who are ready to chat about the subjects in general.
I have recommended this book to more people than any other I have read recently! Being middle aged, and having parents in in-laws getting older, and friends retiring, I think this book is full of wisdom on how to process that last part of life. Not as something to dread, but the life to be celebrated. Death is something to be feared in our culture, but we all know it is inevitable. A year among the oldest old is enlightening because these people have accepted this inevitability. It is a great learning experience for those of us approaching this time. I will continue to recommend it to many others as the days progress. I am so happy to have received this book free from the giveaways, and to pass its lessons to others.
Being in the moment, enjoying what I have, and not lamenting what I don't are all lessons I can get behind. I don't gain anything by wishing circumstances were different.
Like Tuesdays With Morrie, this was one of those books that reinforced things you already know to be true, and everyone I know (myself included) could do with a refresher! The "elders", as Leland calls them, remain happy in the face of poverty, loss, pain, grief, and failing minds and bodies. How? By seeing the good, even in losses, and recognizing that we already have the makings of a good life: companionship (or its memory), purpose, contentment, the ability to appreciate beauty, and love. As Leland says in his conclusion, "Good food, friends, warmth, self-worth: these are the things we have already. We just need to choose them as our lives."
A special shout-out to two takeaways from this book:
(a) Purpose is really important physically and mentally as we age! People with purpose have more happiness than others AND better memories, Leland says, EVEN when dementia begins to take over! (Here he talks about biology and plaque and brain cells, and it wouldn't be a short quote, so take my word on it!)
(b) In a brief portion where he discusses Alzheimer's, he says that studies have been conducted where researchers ask the patient about his/her happiness, and they report good levels of happiness, even when those around them might think that their quality of life is diminished and miserable. That was good to read! :)
A special shout-out to two takeaways from this book:
(a) Purpose is really important physically and mentally as we age! People with purpose have more happiness than others AND better memories, Leland says, EVEN when dementia begins to take over! (Here he talks about biology and plaque and brain cells, and it wouldn't be a short quote, so take my word on it!)
(b) In a brief portion where he discusses Alzheimer's, he says that studies have been conducted where researchers ask the patient about his/her happiness, and they report good levels of happiness, even when those around them might think that their quality of life is diminished and miserable. That was good to read! :)