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A review by candecast
Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life by Louise Aronson
5.0
I was happy to discover with in the first few pages of Dr. Louise Aronson's book Elderlhood; that I am still middle-aged at 70 years of age. Barring any biological missteps, I can look forward to a happy middle-age for the next 15 years. Good news, even if I still get out of bed in the morning with a new ache or pain. I felt guilty reading "Elderhood," because as a young man, I disliked old people and didn't care to be around them. Old age was not as common in my youth, as it is today; the former was anyone over 65. The elderly that I knew were infirm, were not friendly, and smelled. I never considered that one day I would be one of them.
As you might guess, things have changed dramatically. The silver tsunami has hit the shore, and the aged constitute the majority of our population. The year I signed up for Medicare, Kaiser-Permanente discontinued their geriatric program. I thought this odd; after all, there are so many patients over 80 years of age. Our aging population and the care they receive is a crisis and is the basis for Aronson's excellent book on aging. Aronson weaves an intriguing journey of personal discovery, history, philosophy, and testimony about ageism. Ageism, a neologism I'd never heard of ten years ago, has one of the issues that we need to confront now, not tomorrow.
Unfortunately, since the big bucks in medical practice do not line up with gerontology, I don't think we will see any change shortly. Oxymoronic given that both white males running for president are just about to cross over this great divide. Of course, both are men of privilege and wealth, and you can bet they both have the best gerontologists that money can buy.
As you might guess, things have changed dramatically. The silver tsunami has hit the shore, and the aged constitute the majority of our population. The year I signed up for Medicare, Kaiser-Permanente discontinued their geriatric program. I thought this odd; after all, there are so many patients over 80 years of age. Our aging population and the care they receive is a crisis and is the basis for Aronson's excellent book on aging. Aronson weaves an intriguing journey of personal discovery, history, philosophy, and testimony about ageism. Ageism, a neologism I'd never heard of ten years ago, has one of the issues that we need to confront now, not tomorrow.
Unfortunately, since the big bucks in medical practice do not line up with gerontology, I don't think we will see any change shortly. Oxymoronic given that both white males running for president are just about to cross over this great divide. Of course, both are men of privilege and wealth, and you can bet they both have the best gerontologists that money can buy.