continued . . .
BOOKS ON AGING
Elderhood,
by Louise Aronson
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.
How to Do Nothing,
by Jenny Odell
This thrilling critique
of the forces vying
for our attention re-
defines what we
think of as
productivity, shows
us a new way to connect with our
environment and reveals all that
we’ve been too distracted to see about
ourselves and our world.
Dementia
Reimagined,
by Tia Powell
The cultural and
medical history of
dementia and
Alzheimer's disease
by a leading
psychiatrist and bioethicist who urges
us to turn our focus from cure to care.
The Digital Doctor,
by Robert Wachter
While modern
medicine produces
miracles, it also
delivers care that is
too often unsafe,
unreliable,
unsatisfying, and impossibly
expensive. For the past few decades,
technology has been touted as the
cure for all of healthcare's ills.
The Disease
Delusion,
by Jeffrey S. Bland
For decades, Dr.
Jeffrey Bland has
been on the cutting
edge of Functional
Medicine, which
seeks to pinpoint and prevent the
cause of illness, rather than treat its
symptoms. Managing chronic diseases
accounts for three quarters of our
total healthcare costs.
Deep Medicine,
by Eric Topol
How AI will empower
physicians and
revolutionize patient
care. Medicine has
become inhuman, to
disastrous effect.
The doctor-patient relationship--the
heart of medicine--is broken: doctors
are too distracted and overwhelmed
to truly connect with their patients,
and medical errors and misdiagnoses
abound.
Blueprint,
by Robert Plomin
One of the world's
top behavioral
geneticists argues
that we need a
radical rethink about
what makes us who
we are. The blueprint
for our individuality lies in the 1% of
DNA that differs between people.
Wellbeing,
by Mark Vernon
Argues that positive
psychology has
overlooked and
sidelined the ancient
wisdom on
wellbeing, notably
from the Greek
philosophers. Now is the time to pay
it proper attention. Shows,
surprisingly, that wellbeing is not
found in a focus on pleasure, or even
the pursuit of happiness itself.
12 Rules for Life,
by Jordan B. Peterson
What does everyone
in the modern world
need to know?
Renowned
psychologist’s
answer to this most
difficult of questions uniquely
combines the hard-won truths of
ancient tradition with the stunning
revelations of cutting-edge scientific
research.
Unretirement,
by Chris Farrell
The old idea of
“retirement”- a word
that means
withdrawal,
describing a time
when people gave up
productive employment and shrank
their activities-was a short-lived
historical anomaly. Humans have
always found meaning and motivation
in work and community.
“The reading of all
good books is like
a conversation
with the finest
minds of past
centuries.”
-Rene Descartes
Waking Up,
by Sam Harris
For the millions of
Americans who want
spirituality without
religion, this book is
a guide to
meditation as a
rational spiritual
practice informed by neuroscience
and psychology.
Dancing with the
Gods,
by Kent Nerburn
From struggles with
money and the
bitterness of
rejection, to spiritual
questions of
inspiration and
authenticity, offers insight, solace and
courage to help young artists on the
winding road to artistic fulfilment.
Sapiens,
by Yuval Noah Harari
Spans the whole of
human history, from
the very first
humans to walk the
earth to the radical –
and sometimes
devastating –
breakthroughs of the Cognitive,
Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions.
Draws on insights from biology,
anthropology, paleontology and
economics.
Philosophy for Life,
by Jules Evans
Evans explains how
ancient philosophy
saved his life, and
how we can all use it
to become happier,
wiser and more
resilient. Jules
imagines a dream school, which
includes 12 of the greatest and most
colorful thinkers the world has ever
known. Each of these ancient
philosophers teaches a technique we
can use to transform our selves.
The Best Within Us,
by Alan Waterman
Assembles a panel of
distinguished
scholars whose work
has been central to
understanding
positive aspects of
psychological functioning. Together,
the chapters explore the many ways
in which the philosophic concept of
eudaimonia is being employed in
psychology.
The 100-Year Life,
by Lynda Gratton and
Andrew Scott
Many of us have
been raised on the
traditional notion of
a three-stage
approach to our
working lives: education, followed by
work and then retirement. But this
well-established pathway is already
beginning to collapse. Life expectancy
is rising, final-salary pensions are
vanishing, and increasing numbers of
people are juggling multiple careers.
When Bad Things
Happen to Good
People,
by Harold S. Kushner
Kushner shares his
wisdom as a rabbi, a
parent, a reader, and
a human being. A classic that offers
clear thinking and consolation in
times of sorrow.
Factfulness,
by Hans Rosling
It turns out that the
world, for all its
imperfections, is in a
much better state
than we might think.
That doesn’t mean
there aren’t real concerns. But when
we worry about everything all the
time instead of embracing a
worldview based on facts, we can lose
our ability to focus on the things that
threaten us most.
Braving the
Wilderness,
by Brene Brown
Brown argues that
we're experiencing a
spiritual crisis of
disconnection and
introduces four
practices of true belonging that
challenge everything we believe
about ourselves and each other. She
writes, "True belonging requires us to
believe in and belong to ourselves so
fully that we can find sacredness
both in being a part of something
and in standing alone when
necessary.”
Aging Thoughtfully,
by Martha C.
Nussbaum
Here are ideas about
when to retire, how
to refashion social
security to help the
elderly poor, how to
learn from King Lear -- who did not
retire successfully -- and whether to
enjoy or criticize anti-aging cosmetic
procedures. Some of the concerns are
practical: philanthropic decisions,
relations with one's children and
grandchildren, the purchase of
annuities, and how to provide for care
in old age.
The River of
Consciousness,
by Oliver Sacks
One of two books
Sacks was working
on up to his death,
and it reveals his
ability to make unexpected
connections, his sheer joy in
knowledge, and his unceasing,
timeless project to understand what
makes us human.
Big Magic,
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Discusses the
attitudes,
approaches, and
habits we need in
order to live our
most creative lives.
Balancing between soulful spirituality
and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert
encourages us to uncover the “strange
jewels” that are hidden within each of
us.