Midlife Myths


Book Description

Although research has been done on the midlife period for about 15 years, literature in the area is limited and often contradictory. Midlife Myths provides factual knowledge about some of the most pertinent midlife issues, encouraging reevaluation of ideas about 'predictable' attitudes and beha.




Midlife Myths and Realities


Book Description

The middle years in life are often associated with disturbing terms such as midlife crisis and middle-aged crazy. But these catchy terms are only misleading myths, Dr. Van Hoose claims, citing research and case histories to support this positive look at midlife. Midlife is a time filled with opportunity for personal fulfillment. Most midlife-age people are more independent and financially secure than they have ever been before. Midlife adults are reaching the peak of productivity, and they occupy most of the positions of power and influence in our society. This common sense and upbeat look at midlife should dispel the fears so many people share as they approach middle age.




Once Upon a Midlife


Book Description

STORIES FOR THE MIDLIFE TRAVELER In fairytales, the Prince and Princess marry and live happily ever after. But what really happens then? The unique stories in this book, collected from around the world, provide the answer. They portray men and women at midlife, and offer timeless wisdom for surviving and growing in this often turbulent time. This expanded edition of the popular, international classic contains further commentary, especially useful for a post 9/11 world. "These are tales of the surprising twists and turns of life that occur between the loss of youthful magic and the gaining of elder's wisdom delightfully told by a wise and witty psychiatrist." -June Singer, Ph.D., author of Boundaries of the Soul and Seeing through the Visible World. "This book contains storytelling at its best. The tales can guide the reader through the trials and tribulations of this time by shining a light into the darkness." -Robert A. Johnson, author of He and She.




Narrating Midlife


Book Description

Narrating Midlife: Crisis, Transition, and Transformation is rooted in a discussion about why it is important to address the midlife years in ways that challenge and interrogate the myths that surround this phase of life. Although readers are free to construct their own meaning after reading each narrative, they are encouraged to attend to the ways in which each narrative reveals how the author grapples with their particular issues communicatively. More important, readers are invited to see the power of narrative re-framing as authors seek to understand, interpret and “live” midlife change(s) in ways that are empowering and life affirming. In this book, contributors spin compelling and meaningful narratives about change at midlife. The empty nest, the surprise discovery of cancer, re-defining one's life at midlife and re-imagining long term commitment after divorce are just some of the topics explored in this book. Auto-ethnographically crafted, the narratives presented throughout the book aim to show how managing and living through change at midlife is very much a communicative endeavor.




Not Your Mother's Midlife


Book Description

Aging ain't what it used to be. For one thing, people are staying younger longer. For another, countless baby boomers are rising up against the notion that with age comes worthlessness. In fact, Not Your Mother's Mid-Life: A Ten-Step Guide to Fearless Aging is more than a book; it's a movement. This gloriously gutsy volume challenges society's worn-out perceptions that women become less valuable as they age. Instead, authors Nancy Alspaugh and Marilyn Kentz celebrate the fact that today's women can be more powerful, more efficient, more capable, and even more desirable as they age. In Not Your Mother's Mid-Life, readers will find 10 practical recommendations to help women face middle age with confidence and a positive attitude. From chapters like Let Go of What's Not Working, Shore Up Spiritually, and Find a New Passion, Not Your Mother's Mid-Life contains personal growth exercises, humorous and poignant stories, and questions and visualizations to inspire new ways of thinking. Not Your Mother's Mid-Life takes the crisis out of mid-life, replacing it with passion, fearlessness, and unlimited possibilities.




This Chair Rocks


Book Description

Author, activist, and TED speaker Ashton Applewhite has written a rousing manifesto calling for an end to discrimination and prejudice on the basis of age. In our youth obsessed culture, we’re bombarded by media images and messages about the despairs and declines of our later years. Beauty and pharmaceutical companies work overtime to convince people to purchase products that will retain their youthful appearance and vitality. Wrinkles are embarrassing. Gray hair should be colored and bald heads covered with implants. Older minds and bodies are too frail to keep up with the pace of the modern working world and olders should just step aside for the new generation. Ashton Applewhite once held these beliefs too until she realized where this prejudice comes from and the damage it does. Lively, funny, and deeply researched, This Chair Rocks traces her journey from apprehensive boomer to pro-aging radical, and in the process debunks myth after myth about late life. Explaining the roots of ageism in history and how it divides and debases, Applewhite examines how ageist stereotypes cripple the way our brains and bodies function, looks at ageism in the workplace and the bedroom, exposes the cost of the all-American myth of independence, critiques the portrayal of elders as burdens to society, describes what an all-age-friendly world would look like, and offers a rousing call to action. It’s time to create a world of age equality by making discrimination on the basis of age as unacceptable as any other kind of bias. Whether you’re older or hoping to get there, this book will shake you by the shoulders, cheer you up, make you mad, and change the way you see the rest of your life. Age pride! “Wow. This book totally rocks. It arrived on a day when I was in deep confusion and sadness about my age. Everything about it, from my invisibility to my neck. Within four or five wise, passionate pages, I had found insight, illumination, and inspiration. I never use the word empower, but this book has empowered me.” —Anne Lamott, New York Times bestselling author




The Middlescence Manifesto


Book Description

Increased longevity has created 30 extra years of life. These years are not tacked on to the end of life, but have created an expanded midlife that I call Middlescence. Learn about the importance of understanding and embracing this life stage.




Gods and Robots


Book Description

Traces the story of how ancient cultures envisioned artificial life, automata, self-moving devices and human enhancements, sharing insights into how the mythologies of the past related to and shaped ancient machine innovations.




How Healthy Are We?


Book Description

Childhood, adolescence, even the "twilight years" have been extensively researched and documented. But the vast terrain known as midlife—the longest segment of the life course—has remained uncharted. How physically and psychologically healthy are Americans at midlife? And why do some experience greater well-being than others? The MacArthur Foundation addressed these questions head-on by funding a landmark study known as "Midlife in the U.S.," or MIDUS. For the first time in a single study, researchers were able to integrate epidemiological, sociological, and psychological assessments, as well as innovative new measures to evaluate how work and family life influence each other. How Healthy Are We? presents the key findings from the survey in three sections: physical health, quality of life and psychological well-being, and the contexts (family, work) of the midlife. The topics covered by almost forty scholars in a wide variety of fields are vast, including everything from how health and well-being vary with socioeconomic standing, gender, race, or region of the country to how middle-aged people differ from younger or older adults in their emotional experience and quality of life. This health—the study measures not only health-the absence of illness—but also reports on the presence of wellness in middle-aged Americans. The culmination of a decade and a half of research by leading scholars, How Healthy Are We? will dramatically alter the way we think about health in middle age and the factors that influence it. Researchers, policymakers, and others concerned about the quality of midlife in contemporary America will welcome its insights. * Having a good life means having good relationships with others to almost 70% of those surveyed. Less than 40% mentioned their careers. * Reports of disruptive daily stressors vary by age, with young adults and those in midlife experiencing more than those in later adulthood. * Men have higher assessments of their physical and mental health than woman until the age of 60.




Midlife Eating Disorders


Book Description

Explores the nature of midlife eating disorders, looking at why they develop, how their unique challenges set them apart from those that occur earlier in life, and the path to recovery.