Full Description
Growing old is often associated with negative images and commentary. Aging Well Through Storytelling explores the beauty of aging and identifies key strategies and practices to age well. Weaving professional analysis and personal experience, Rosemary J. Link tells the story of a lifespan from infancy to seniority. Each chapter focuses on a life stage, laying the conceptual foundations from psychosocial theory and then marrying research to reality with a pair of personal pieces by Link and her mother, Gwendoline--some correspondence between the two, and others as separate reflections on the same stage of life. The stories touch themes such as being trusted with tasks as a child, truanting, questioning authority, being absorbed in the joys and stings of beekeeping, being overwhelmed midlife, recovering from the death of a child, and embracing gender and reconciliation. Through this tale of two lifetimes, Link harnesses the science of lifespan development and her own life journey to present aging as a positive process of discovery and acquiring wisdom. Linking real-life stories to concepts, she shares practice interventions and practical ways to age with vitality and embrace this precious aspect of life.
Contents
Introduction to the Psychosocial Theory of Aging and the Value of Storytelling
Contemporary Attitudes to Aging and Psychosocial Theory Stage One: Trust and Mistrust
Psychosocial Theory Stage Two: Autonomy and Shame
Psychosocial Theory Stage Three: Initiative and Guilt
Psychosocial Theory Stage Four: Industry and Inferiority
Psychosocial Theory Stage Five: Identity and Foreclosure
Psychosocial Theory Stage Six: Intimacy and Isolation
Psychosocial Theory Stage Seven: Generativity and Stagnation
Psychosocial Theory Stage Eight: Integrity and Despair
Conclusion and Tip Sheet for Aging Well
