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GROWING OLD: A Hand-book for You and Your Aging Parent by

GROWING OLD: A Hand-book for You and Your Aging Parent

By

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 1984
Publisher: Viking

Practical advice on psychological, physical, and social matters--awkwardly addressed to children of the elderly, rather than the elderly themselves. Psychiatrist Tomb (Univ. of Utah) has strong sympathies for adult children, ""squeezed between the demands of their own children and the expanding needs of their parents""; he expects them to handle all the problems that are likely to arise. Here he first covers the normal events of aging: changing relationships within families (the psychiatrist is much in evidence), as well as physical, psychological, and social changes. (Sanctimoniously: ""Death is a consequence of life. One of your parents can expect to be left alone."") Then come the myriad problems of aging. Loss of a loved one, and mental confusion/senility are major concerns. There are tips on ""Fostering Good Health"" (""Your parent should stop smoking"") and pointers on common physical problems system-by-system. And finally Tomb looks at the ""Daily Realities"" of housing, finances, and so on--still with an eye to how children can handle the aging parent's affairs. After pages and pages of ""your parent should"" and ""encourage your parent,"" readers will long for a more straightforward guide addressed to the subjects themselves. Women, at least, can turn instead to Jane Porcino's Growing Older, Getting Better.