As Our Parents Age So Do We

As an adult daughter, not to mention an individual who is moving inexorably, but not unwelcomingly, toward retirement years, I read a lot of books about philosophy, aging, transitions, and mindfulness. I have plenty of books to choose from on all sorts of aging and life topics.

Ronni Bennett over at Time Goes By has just updated the books section of her blog. She lists her favorites — published over a 30 year time span — along with short quotes, and her selections offer thoughtful, realistic, and even a few downright literary portrayals of the aging process during our senior years.

As a group, Bennet explains, her favorite books offer “collected wisdom and knowledge of their superb writers – thinkers and activists who aim a bright, shining light onto the realities of getting old.” It’s a pretty cool list, one that steers determinedly away from pop culture and promises of wrinkle-free elderhood.

Two of the books, What Are Old People For?, by Dr Bill Thomas, and The Longevity Revolution, by Dr. Robert N. Butler, have inspired a number of posts here on As Our Parents Age, and I’ve been privileged to hear both of these gifted physician authors speak. Dr. Butler died in 2010. To find out how much I  am influenced by Dr. Thomas’ book, please visit my Green House Homes page.           

I’ve been intending to create a page highlighting favorite books here on this blog, but so far I have not progressed much farther than maintaining a list (check it out on the far right-hand column). Some of the books on my list have inspired blog posts. On my other blog, MediaTechParenting.net, a site that has a lot to do with my professional life, I have created a favorite reads page, and it will be the model for what I do here on AsOurParentsAge.

When I first began blogging in 2009, a friend directed me to Time Goes By, telling me to learn as much as I could from the blog, and describing Bennett as the “Mother Superior of Elder Bloggers.” Boy have I learned a lot.

You, too, can learn and benefit from her experience and perspective by exploring Bennett’s book recommendations.

Happy reading!