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Elderhood

Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life

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Elderhood

By: Louise Aronson
Narrated by: Eliza Foss
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Bloomsbury presents Elderhood by Louise Aronson, MD, read by Eliza Foss.

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
A New York Times Bestseller
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
Winner of the WSU AOS Bonner Book Award
Winner of the 2022 At Home With Growing Older Impact Award

As revelatory as Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, physician and award-winning author Louise Aronson’s Elderhood is an essential, empathetic look at a vital but often disparaged stage of life.

For more than 5,000 years, "old" has been defined as beginning between the ages of 60 and 70. That means most people alive today will spend more years in elderhood than in childhood, and many will be elders for 40 years or more. Yet at the very moment that humans are living longer than ever before, we’ve made old age into a disease, a condition to be dreaded, denigrated, neglected, and denied.

Reminiscent of Oliver Sacks, noted Harvard-trained geriatrician Louise Aronson uses stories from her quarter century of caring for patients, and draws from history, science, literature, popular culture, and her own life to weave a vision of old age that’s neither nightmare nor utopian fantasy—a vision full of joy, wonder, frustration, outrage, and hope about aging, medicine, and humanity itself.

Elderhood is for anyone who is, in the author's own words, "an aging, i.e., still-breathing human being."©2019 Louise Aronson, MD (P)2019 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Long-Term & Elder Care Medical Medicine & Health Care Industry Policy & Administration Politics & Government Professionals & Academics Public Policy Social Social Policy Social Sciences Medicine Health Care Health Aging
Insightful Resource • Empathetic Perspective • Practical Solutions • Comprehensive Guide • Thoughtful Reflection
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Well written book. Great ideas. Reading was excellent. But the book went on far too long for my tastes.

Well written but too long

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A bit too long and repetitive but still worth listening or reading—especially if you are old!!

The truth about geriatrics in the USA

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Louise, pls move to So FL, I’ll be your first patient in your new practice AND we have no state income tax

Scary what lies ahead at my ripe age of 78

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I appreciated the depth of knowledge and experience of this author, but even more her empathy and honesty.
This book helps me begin to look more deeply into my situation and do what I can to plan thoughtfully and realistically with my family as to my remaining years. The systemic issues are daunting and certainly will not be addressed and resolved in the near future but at least I know a little of what I am dealing with.

Enlightening and Disturbing

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I could to relate to everything in this book.I am 79 and learned a lot about what and why I have been experiencing for the last 20 years. I hope this book brings about the change that is needed in the Healthcare Industry.

This book spoke directly to me

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needed this book, and giving to my adult children to read, and my docs! there’s a minimum on this review haha

details

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I listened to Elderhood as I'm navigating life supporting my 90-year-old mother and 94-year-old father. I'm in the thick of it. I'm grateful for the empathetic companionship, vision and advocacy of Louise Aronson as I strive to honor my incredible parents as they grow more vulnerable and more dear. I'm grateful for her calls for systemic transformation in our healthcare institutions. Hers is a much needed voice in these times.

A Map for Our Third Act -- Elderhood

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As I now find myself having to look out for my father who is in his 90s and dealing with my own reflections on approaching retirement age, this book is a great resource for finding positive energy and reconnecting with things that are important and enjoyable in life. When one gets past the more well known decades one gets exposed to in family and dealings in life, there is yet more to experience and grow from. I was not expecting such a journey with this book, but it is that and more. This book crushed the fears I was harboring and gave me insights into attitudes and the strength that comes from hope for the future.

Truly a great book

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This book was beautifully written and narrated. It takes us through the authors childhood, youth, adolescents, young adulthood, medical school, residency, and final career paths. She discusses the areas in medicine that are lacking and not lacking, the prejudices in the medical world. She is factual and objective while giving an understanding to why these behaviors are prevalent in medicine still today. The book makes me sad because it lends very little hope for the future of medicine. Everything is so ingrained in our culture and the culture of medicine, it will take nothing short of a miracle to fix it. My eyes have been opened to the need for change. I am a nurse, and I too recognize the need for a revamping of the medical culture. Until it stops being a business and goes back to taking care of patients instead of our wallets…. Change will cease to happen. It’s a great book that all nurses, and medical students, and doctors young and old, new and experienced should read. Maybe then we will see much needed changes. Great book! Fabulous content!

Very thought provoking

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I'm a physician who has practiced geriatrics and believe Dr. Aronson's book is an excellent primer for the caring of older adults in the United States. The author is critical of current practices and offers reliable, practical and pragmatic solutions. It is not easy reading (listening) and has its depressing ;sections and moments; I had to listen to the book in short sections. One of my suggestions is to alternate listening to this book and another one that would be more diverting. I recommend this book, along with Arrowsmith (Sinclair Lewis) as required reading for first-year medical students.

A Primer On Caring for Older Adults

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