Time of Your Life: Why Almost Everything Gets Better After Fifty
By Jane Glenn Haas (Seven Locks Press, 338 pages, $17.95)
Originally published as columns in the Orange County Register in California, journalist Jane Glenn Haas’ book covers universal topics just about everyone over 50 can relate to.
Some of this work is borne of Haas’ personal experiences, such as undergoing cosmetic surgery and surviving breast cancer. Most is based on experiences common to those of us facing the second–and what Haas believes to be the most productive and rewarding–half of life.
As the author demonstrates in her columns, so much depends on acquired knowledge, or the wisdom we didn’t have during the first half of life, especially our 20s, 30s and 40s. Just think about this: Given what you know now, what would you do to prevent a rift that could destroy a friendship or break a family tie? Bet you’d handle it differently than 20 years ago.
Haas also makes an important point about attitude and the way people approach life in general. Are you as old as you feel, or as young as you think? Is retirement the beginning of the end or is it an opportunity to begin a new career? It’s all in your perspective.
There’s also humor–especially in the selections from Haas’ annual “No-Geezer, Over-50, Light-Verse Contest” that are included in the book. (“Aging brings two major troubles: Time halves, gravity doubles.” Robert J. Eichenberg, Newport Beach, Calif.)
Her columns are brief and to the point. This makes the book a good choice for a trip to the doctor’s office, a short plane ride or a 15-minute late-night read.
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What’s Worth Knowing
By Wendy Lustbader (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 243 pages, $22.95)
What makes a good life? The ordinary folk we meet in “What’s Worth Knowing” answer this question–and other questions about the way to live a meaningful life–with wisdom, humor and candor.
These people are individuals you know: your childhood friend, favorite teacher, great-uncle. They represent various walks of life, including track coach, piano teacher and casino dealer. The common denominator is insight and age–observations about love, regret, hardship and aging acquired during five, seven, nine and even 10 decades of living.
A geriatric social worker, Wendy Lustbader also is a speaker, media commentator and author on issues associated with aging. Her book is a collection of journal notes compiled during two decades of working with older clients. It is through her clients’ accounts that we learn about facing life’s challenges, embracing its joys and sorrows, and discovering what’s truly important.
Read, for example, what Edna Whitman Chittick, age 101, had to say about what really matters: “You spend half your life worrying about things that won’t concern you in the slightest at the end. When you’re lying in bed dying, you want people to sit by your side. That’s it.
“It’s easy to get tricked by dreams of money and success, but all the money in the world doesn’t buy you kindness. You get that because you gave it.”
Plain and simple advice from those who have been there.
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Rules for Aging: Resist Normal Impulses, Live Longer, Attain Perfection
By Roger Rosenblatt (Harcourt Inc., 148 pages, $18)
Roger Rosenblatt refers to this quick read as a “little guide intended for people who wish to age successfully, or at all.” He adds that “grsowing older is as much an art as it is a science, and it requires fewer things to do than not to do.”
That description sets the tone for Rosenblatt’s 58 practical, insightful and often humorous “rules” for aging gracefully (and with as little angst as possible). Suggestions range from the straightforward (rule #2, “Nobody is thinking about you”), to the philosophical (rule #42, “The unexamined life lasts longer”), to the inspired (rule #57, “The game is played away from the ball”).
Rosenblatt’s guide, which originated with a column he wrote for Modern Maturity, is composed of short chapters that read like a list of do’s–with a few don’ts–for those in the golden years. It’s much like the Ten Commandments, “but without the moral base,” writes the author, who is editor-at-large of Time Inc.
This is the kind of don’t-take-life-too-seriously manual that you will share with friends, and revisit when you need a lift and a laugh. So much wisdom–and not a word on the benefits of exercise and a low-fat diet.
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Wonders of Solitude
Edited by Dale Salwak (New World Library, 122 pages, $12)
Dale Salwak, professor of religion and literature at Citrus College in Glendora, Calif., has compiled thoughts on finding solitude in nature, creativity and self-examination.
Gathered from an eclectic variety of thinkers–including philosophers, actors and scientists–this short book offers a respite from the stress of living in a fast-paced world. The idea is to find inner serenity, as well as peace in one’s environment. For example: “True silence is the rest of the mind, and it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.” (William Penn)
The book suggests being alone and at peace is an opportunity for self-discovery and rejuvenation. A good beginning for those who have difficulty slowing down the pace.
The message is that solitude, the state of being alone, is a means of spiritual and intellectual fulfillment; and that silence, the absence of sound, is a way to listen to one’s heart.
