Aging By The Book: Books That Explore Illnesses and Disabilities By Katherine Schneider, Ph.D.

By Katherine Schneider, Ph.D.

Have you noticed, there’s almost always a book on the bestseller list about successful aging? The current favorite is Outlive by Peter Attia. It’s chock-full of good science-based advice about living longer and healthier. I’d like to focus on the half of us over 65 who have illnesses and disabilities, and what’s out there for us on living the good life, disabilities included. 

Take Joyspan by the gerontologist Kerry Burnight, for example. The author has the credentials, but also uses wisdom from her aging mother to highlight the lived experience. It’s not about the length of life, but more about what it takes to create wellbeing/contentment. Spoiler: it takes effort and focuses on resilience skills like adapting, growing, connecting, and giving. Ageless by Andrew Steele, A Delightful Little Book on Aging by Stephanie Raffelock, and Successful Aging by Daniel Levitin also offer inspirational stories about the inner work of aging. Crones Don’t Whine by Jean Shinoda Bolen talks about how to cultivate some of those resilience skills, as does Rules for Aging by Roger Rosenblatt.

Although written by two middle-aged women (both of whom have rheumatoid arthritis), Tend to Your Spirit: Mindful Living with Chronic Illness has much to offer for your aging journey. The authors, Julianne Lepp and Florence Caplow, offer survival stories from people with different chronic conditions and from diverse backgrounds. The book contains guided meditations, journal prompts, and reflection questions, quotes, poetry, and even playlists for readers as they journey through the seasons of living with chronic illnesses. This is the kind of book you’ll want to savor and return to often.  

If you’d rather read the musings of those who’ve aged well, I highly recommend No Time to Spare: Thinking about What Matters by Ursula Le Guin, The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister, The Inner Work of Age by Connie Zweig, Growing Old by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, and Nearing Ninety by Judith Viorst. Of course, The Wisdom of Morrie: Living and Aging Creatively and Joyfully by Morrie Schwartz and On the Brink of Everything by Parker Palmer are classics in this field.  

Memoirs abound. For example, in the area of living with Parkinson’s disease, you can sample celebs like Michael J. Fox on his Parkinson’s, to less notable folks with the same condition. Try Peter Dunlap-Shohl’s My Degeneration, Flying Lessons: On the Wings of Parkinson’s Disease, Annmarie O’Connor’s “Twitch: My life with Parkinson’s,” Mike Justak’s “Puck Farkinson’s”, Dee Gibson’s “Find Your Roar“, and Ruth Anne Drown’s “My Journey Continues“. 

If you’re tired of inspiration and want just plain good fiction that portrays seniors as complex characters, consider novels by Louise Penny, Kent Haruf, and Elizabeth Strout. Some, like Thursday Murder Club and its clones, are popular, but they’re a little too cute for me. Give me Miss Marple in an Agatha Christie mystery instead. 

For poetry, settle in a comfy chair with Coming to Age: Growing Older with Poetry, edited by Mary Ann Hoberman and Carolyn Hopley, or Till I End My Song: A Gathering of Last Poems, edited by Harold Bloom. Poetic musings from Vessels of Love or The Years of Ripening by Joyce Rupp will make you think and maybe smile. For pithy comments, try Any Last Words by Joseph Hayden. But if this is all getting too serious for you, maybe you’d like In Dog Years I’m Dead by Carol Lynn Pearson.  

You already know about the wonderful website “agebuzz,” but do you know about “Crow’s Feet”? The online journal Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age, published on the Medium platform, presents the work of hundreds of writers who are tapping into new creative energy and discovering the joys of life at any age. Since its start in 2019, Crows Feet has published thousands of articles by writers who are exploring how we can age gracefully. Their writing can be funny or serious, but it is always honest and from the heart. In addition to personal stories of finding meaning late in life, you’ll find essays about facing medical issues or caring for a partner or parent with dementia. There’s also a podcast interviewing remarkable agers.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.” May some of these books and authors help you find that beauty in yourself and others. 

Katherine Schneider, Ph.D. (blind from birth) is a retired clinical psychologist living in Eau Claire, WI, with her tenth Seeing Eye dog. She has served on several boards, including the Eau Claire County Board, the Governor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities, and the Benetech/Bookshare Board. In addition to numerous professional papers and articles, Katherine has published a memoir To the Left of Inspiration: Adventures in Living with Disabilities, a children’s book, Your Treasure Hunt: Disabilities and Finding Your Gold, and two books for seniors (half of whom will develop disabilities in later life), Occupying Aging: Delights, Disabilities and Daily Life, and Hope of the Crow: Tales of Occupying Aging. 

She originated the Schneider Family Book Awards for children’s books with disability content through the American Library Association and an award for superior journalism about disability issues through the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.

Locally, Katherine started the Access Eau Claire fund through the Eau Claire Community Foundation to help non-profit organizations work toward full inclusion of people with disabilities. She’s a passionate advocate for access for all to the good things of life, like chocolate, puzzles, and thrillers. Subscribe to her blog http://kathiecomments.wordpress.com for details.