Living Agelessly: A Book About Healthy Aging

Living a lifestyle we love in spite of advancing age--isn't that the dream of almost everyone from midlife and beyond? Facilitating that dream is the purpose of Living Agelessly by Linda Altoonian. While there are numerous references out there about exercise, diet, medical care and other issues of healthy aging, this the first example I've seen that tackles most of the major issues in a single book. Being that complete and thorough comes with a price. The book feels very dense. Reading it is almost like reading a reference book. Except for the letters from her readers which begin each chapter, the book lacks personal stories or anecdotes, which is one of the ingredients that make self-help books more palatable for me, and, I suspect, for many others. On a more positive note, Altoonian is fond of bulleted lists, making the information much easier to scan than if it had been written in paragraph form. She is also generous with lists of other resources.

The book consists of three sections. The first, "Recipe for Health and Fitness," concerns healthy aging. The second, "Getting Ready for a Fabulous Retirement," is concerned with travel, volunteering and grandparenting. The third, "Take Charge of Your Life," describes proactive strategies for avoiding problems later in life. It will be helpful to those members of the Sandwich Generation who are taking care of aging parents, as well as to those approaching old age themselves.

I was most interested in the section on grandparenting, and Altoonian has some great ideas. I especially like her ideas for traveling with grandchildren. She suggests drawing up travel plans in the form of a treasure map, giving the grands travel journals and giving each a treasure box for their souvenirs. She also has lists of games to play in the car. I can't wait to introduce my grandchildren to Bury-the-Cows!