Louise Aronson's Elderhood: A Revolutionary Look at Aging, Transforming Medicine, and Reimagining Life

LC: The print is smaller than I expected, but it arrived as promised.

United States on Jul 26, 2023

Amazon Customer: Prints are too small for old people like me.

United States on May 18, 2023

Christina: There is more to a lifetime than childhood and adulthood ... elderhood. Extremely well written.

Canada on Nov 20, 2022

Serious reader: This has to be one of the most impactful books I have ever had to good fortune to read. I'm 85 now and this book hit me on so many levels it hard to state all of them. But what impressed me most about Elderhood was the depth of compassion, empathy, and knowledge Dr. Aronson brings to her interest in older people. When I read her book I started to understand how long I'd been waiting to read what she had to write. And she's a wonderful writer besides being a role model for her field of Gerontology. If you are a human being who hopes to live to be old, read this book and become enlightened. Thank you Dr. Aronson.

United States on Sep 08, 2022

Chris Landry: This was suggested to me by my therapist who has been helping me to adjust to the recent loss of my long-time partner. This has been particularly difficult when coupled with some losses of mobility and interests as I age. This surprisingly evocative text has helped me to understand what I am experiencing and can expect to experience as I move along through my “ rusting” years. It provides hope and joy along with greater understanding. I find I smile more now and have really looked hard at the drugs that I am taking as well. An excellent “self-help” for the aging and aged. Thank you Dr . Aronson!

Canada on Aug 26, 2022

Laura Bermejo Garcia: Imprescindible para la geriatría.

Spain on Jul 07, 2021

Leggs LaRoux: When I picked up this book, I was expecting the message to be something like: getting old is not as bad as we think it is. Embrace your age! The truth presented in Elderhood is of course much more nuanced and complicated.

Elderhood starts by defining what it means to be old and when it happens. The answer isn't as clear cut as other phases of our lives, and it can mean different things to different people. Part of the problem is the pervasiveness of ageism in our society, a topic which the book delves into in detail. We don't want to call ourselves old because the word has become such a pejorative. Ageism is a problem not just in our attitudes toward our own aging and the aging of others. It's inherent in the world around us from how loud restaurants are (not easy on aging ears) to the way many hospitals are set up (think long hallways with nowhere to stop and rest). Our modern world isn't set up for the elderly even though most of us will live long into old age.

This book has changed my thinking about aging. I'm more aware now of the needs of the elderly and the soon-to-be elderly. Chief among those concerns is the need to be seen and valued without being patronized...

United States on Apr 26, 2020

Alepo: Excelente libro para quienes tenemos adultos mayores en nuestras vidas, a la vez de prepararnos para comprender la tercera edad propia.

Mexico on Jul 29, 2019

Scott McKinnon: Broadly, I have greatly enjoyed reading "Elderhood". As a junior doctor in the UK with a vested interest in geriatrics, I heard about this book on the GeriPals podcast and the insights that Dr Aronson and her colleagues shared made me want to buy this book.

At first, I found this an incredibly engaging read - in many places, treading new ground in how we view the elderly and their care. Dr Aronson shares valuable insights into her experiences as a training doctor, as a geriatrician, and most importantly, as a caregiver. She engaged me throughout with many interesting stories of the many elderly patients she has taken care of over the course of her career - humanising them, sharing with the world the value that specialist geriatric care can provide, and showing through example why it is important to reshape the way we think about ageing and the elderly.

However, in spite of this initial engagement, I found the layout of the book slightly haphazard - jumping from topic-to-topic, from patient, to philosophy, to biography, to sociology. Dr Aronson shares with us her perspective on a great variety of topics - gender inequality, physician reimbursement, "privilege" and the...

United Kingdom on Jul 21, 2019

William J. Hall: Another book about growing old? Surely, isn’t there already a surplus of books on the subject? True enough. However, the quality and utility range from excellent to dull, and even dishonest. Once every decade or half-century a book appears that is so singular and informative that it falls into the “must read” category. I am a Geriatrician with 30 plus years of caring for older adults and personally just about to enter the ranks of my own Third Age. I have so enjoyed Dr. Aronson’s craft in “Elderhood”. If I had to pick one phrase to describe this book I would choose “Wisdom and Grace”. The Oxford English Dictionary defines wisdom as “capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct; soundness of judgement in the choice in the choice of means and ends.” The kind of Grace I see in this book resembles what Hemingway meant when he wrote “Courage is grace under pressure”. Dr. Aronson tackles the many structural issues that are impediments to the quality of life of older adults. She displays passion and frustration, but never losses her cool. Point after point is argued, but her candor is compassion-coated with the realization that social and...

United States on Jun 25, 2019