AFTER MIDDLE AGE: A Physician's Guide to Growing Old and Staying Healthy

A staid, medically-based guide, aimed at persons over 50. Wyatt, a psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, and researcher in brain-tissue transplantation (the National Institutes of Mental Health), has his professional eye out for what can go wrong and how medical treatment can fix it. He begins by offering a basic philosophy on successful aging: first, keep on working; second, ""appearances count""--be neat and dignified for a positive self-image; third, be assertive (especially with medical professionals); and fourth, obey basic health shoulds and shouldn'ts. Next come hints on independent living (financial planning, preventive medicine), nutritional habits, and, somewhat oddly, foreign travel (""many people as they become older find they have more time and money for foreign travel""). The bulk of the guide is then given over to a system-by-system discussion of problems that may arise with aging. Wyatt can be clumsy--on the psychological issue of fear of sleep: ""You might be concerned for the seriously ill. . ."" And solutions for physical problems dwell strictly on the medical possibilities. Women, at least, can turn to Jane Porcino's Growing Older, Getting Better or the Older Woman's Health Guide, from the Older Woman's Health Project, for both a wider view of the issues and more practical, peer advice on solving problems.