Aging Gracefully
Posted on January 22, 2018
by Amy H
It’s going to happen to us all, so why not find ways to age gracefully? Here are some resources that could help!
Books
Aging Gracefully: Portraits of People over 100 by Karsten Thormaehlen Fall in love with 52 wise, healthy, and joyful 100-year-olds in this celebratory and uplifting art book. A beautiful and fascinating exploration of what it is like to be over 100 years old, Aging Gracefully invites readers to look into the face of a century of life experience with portraits of centenarians captured by the compassionate, minimalist lens of photographer Karsten Thormaehlen. The striking photographs are accompanied by short bios of the centenarians, featuring quotes and wisdom on love, food, humor, and living with grace. |
Chair Yoga: Sit, Stretch, and Strengthen Your Way to a Happier, Healthier You by Kristin McGee From celebrity yoga instructor Kristin McGee comes this fun, accessible guide to 100 yoga poses and exercises that can be done in your chair and take just minutes a day. For the majority of Americans living a sedentary lifestyle (from the card-carrying couch potatoes to the 86% of American workers who sit all day at their job) comes a comprehensive guide to the most accessible form of yoga. |
Relax into Yoga for Seniors: A Six-Week Program for Strength, Balance, Flexibility and Pain Relief by Kimberly Carson Based on the pioneering Yoga for Seniors program offered at Duke Integrative Medicine and the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, this book teaches seniors the twelve principles of practice—guiding them step-by-step, along with posture illustrations, on a six-week program for improved balance, flexibility, and overall well-being. |
The Age of Longevity: Reimagining Tomorrow for Our New Long Lives by Rosalind C. Barnett and Caryl Rivers With longer life spans, adult vigor can be extended well into the ninth decade of life. What does this mean for us as individuals and as a society? From re-imagining the workplace to rethinking marriage, sex, and social connections, this book examines how our institutions and attitudes must change to accommodate our new longer lives. |
A Psychiatrist’s Guide to Successful Retirement and Aging: Coping with Change by H. Michael Zal Baby Boomers are getting older and retiring in staggering numbers. They are also living longer than previous generations, so retirement can span decades. In this book, a seasoned psychiatrist addresses some of the major concerns retirees have about their emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical well-being as they age during retirement. |
399 Games, Puzzles & Trivia Challenges Specially Designed to Keep Your Brain Young by Nancy Linde Based on the science that shows that people middle-aged or older who solve word games and brainteasers have a significant cognitive advantage over those who do not, 399 Games, Puzzles & Trivia Challenges is the illustrated game book specifically created to cross-train the brain. Here are 399 games to stretch, challenge, and push the reader, all of which stimulate the formation of neurons—literally, regrowing the brain. |
The Better Brain Solution: How to Reverse and Prevent Insulin Resistence of the Brain, Sharpen Cognitive Function and Avoid Memory Loss by Steven Masley Explains how diet and lifestyle can render the brain insulin resistant, leading to cognitive declines and memory loss, and identifies brain-bolstering foods and supplements while providing fifty easy-to-prepare recipes. |
Happiness is a Choice You Make: Lessons From a Year Among the Oldest Old by John Leland The award-winning New York Times reporter and author of Hip: The History presents a full-length account of his encounters with six of New York’s eldest inhabitants and the wisdom they imparted about aging, life quality and the art of living with resilience and joy. |
The End of Old Age: Living a Longer, More Purposeful Life by Marc Agronin The Harvard- and Yale-educated author of How We Age draws on his work with seniors of varying degrees of health to redefine aging as a developmental force for enhancing well-being, meaning and longevity, in a guide that outlines a model for aging that reinforces key life transitions and a diversified, resilient aging life quality. |
DVDs
I Know a Woman Like That (2009 documentary film) written and directed by Elaine Madsen; hosted by Virginia Madsen This critically acclaimed documentary provides a portrait of women aged 64-94 and the extraordinary lives they lead at a time when the world expects women of this generation to be reclining in rocking chairs. Award-winning performer Elaine Madsen (mother of actress Virginia Madsen) sits down with, among others, Eartha Kitt, Lauren Hutton and Rita Moreno to reflect on the many challenges they faced while pursuing their dreams. |
Silver Skies (2016 movie) written and directed by Rosemary Rodriguez Starring George Hamilton, the film chronicles a group of working-class residents whose lives turn upside down when their apartment complex threatens to be sold out from under them. Director Rosemary Rodriguez has assembled a high-profile cast to play some very complicated roles. With humor and compassion, she brings these old-timers to a place of fear, a little romance and deep caring for each other’s well being. The story is easily relatable, as the aging population confronts a downturn in health, money and self-esteem. |
The Way We Get By (2009 documentary film) written and directed by Aron Gaudet Beginning as a seemingly idiosyncratic story about troop greeters, a group of senior citizens who gather daily at a small airport to thank American soldiers departing and returning from Iraq, the film quickly turns into a moving, unsettling, and compassionate story about aging, loneliness, war, and mortality. Included are stories of heartbreak and redemption that remind viewers how this culture casts out elders, and too often soldiers. |
Going in Style (2017 movie) directed by Zach Braff Lifelong buddies Willie (Morgan Freeman), Joe (Michael Caine), and Al (Alan Arkin) decide to buck retirement and step off the straight and narrow for the first time in their lives when their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty. To pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money. |
Elsa & Fred (2014 movie) – directed by Michael Radford The story of two people who, at the end of the road, discover that it’s never too late to love. After losing his wife, Fred (Christopher Plummer) feels disturbed, confused and alone, so his daughter helps move him into a small apartment where he meets Elsa (Shirley MacLaine). From that moment on, everything changes. Elsa bursts into Fred’s life like a whirlwind, determined to teach him that the time he has left to live, be it more or less, is precious and that he should enjoy it as he pleases. |
Feel Grand with Jane Seymour (2014) – television series A thirteen episode television series hosted by actress, artist and health advocate Jane Seymour. Featuring some of the country’s top physicians providing insight on what one needs to know about aging, how to prevent illness, what to do if it does strike and most importantly, how to get the most out of what should be the grandest time of life. |
eMedia
Lovely, Still (eVideo) Lonely in life and love, Robert Malone (Martin Landau, 9, Ed Wood) braves precarious wintry snow on the walk from his job at the grocery store to his home only to discover a stranger (Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream) in his house. What begins as an awkward encounter quickly blossoms into what appears to be a new chance for romance and the elderly couple’s love affair takes us on a heartfelt and wonderful journey that reveals an unexpected twist. |
Up: How Positive Outlook can Transform our Health and Aging by Hilary Tindle, M.D., M.P.H. (eAudio) A practicing physician and NIH-funded researcher draws on her research and experience to show that our unique patterns of thinking and feeling about ourselves, others and the world may be the key to how well and how fast we age. This title is also available in Print. |
30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans by Karl Pillemer (eAudio) Pillemer interviewed more than 1,000 Americans over the age of 65 about issues like children, marriage, money, and careers, finding time and again their answers pointed to the same set of essential lessons. Here, he delivers the personal stories and challenges overcome that led to their hard-won knowledge and sage advice. This title is also available in Print. |
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