THE MYTH OF AGING

A Los Angeles-based psychotherapist offers a guide to improving one’s health and aging well.

Gilberg writes that he’s always sought to treat his patients holistically. Positive mental health requires being in touch with one’s physical well-being, and as a practicing psychiatrist for more than 50 years, the author is well placed to serve as a guide to that well-being. Specifically, his book serves as an attempt to allow readers to achieve the same quality of life that he helps his patients enjoy. The book focuses on practical advice, listed as a series of “prescriptions” for self-improvement and distributed among seven themes, including physical and mental fitness, coping with trauma, and romantic relationships. He tells those coping with loneliness to consider volunteer opportunities, warns older adults to be wary of antidepressants, and reminds all readers to respect others’ methods of grief over losing loved ones. Each part also includes anonymous patient anecdotes, such as a story of a parent coping with the death of their son, caused by an intoxicated driver. Gilberg didn’t tell the parent to deny or attempt to immediately “cure” any of his feelings; rather, he acknowledged that the pain that he was experiencing was what he needed to feel in that moment. At other points, Gilberg’s advice serves to shift the perspective of his imagined readers, for example by telling the parents and grandparents of LGBTQ+ children: “I understand how you feel. Now tell me how they feel.” The books’ prescriptions are well-reasoned, accessibly written, and don’t shy away from topics that some might find taboo, such as age-gap relationships. The cost of this breadth is that the book covers many of its 43 subjects too generally to offer acute or unexpected insights. It’s undeniable that finding community, taking care of one’s physical health, and considering others’ feelings are crucial components of general well-being, but such advice lacks enough nuance to have significant impact. Gilberg’s expertise is seen best in the anecdotes, and they should find a place at the core of his writing.

An accessible, if somewhat overly broad, health guide.