YOUR HEALTH AFTER 60

by Sanders-Brown Research Center on Aging ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 26, 1979

Too much condescending ""we""-ness mars this interesting multi-authored attempt to address health problems common to older persons. One is told to have one's physician check out doctors in the Directory of Medical Specialists ""since the biography of the physicians listed is abbreviated."" (The abbreviations are listed in the Directory's front matter.) The chapter on hearing losses states that ""the potential for frustration is great and often shows an increase with advancing age."" (Have the authors forgotten children? Or their own temper in traffic?) The message conveyed is that old age is something to put up with, that declines are something ""you must learn to live with""--hardly the tone to take in this Gray Panther era. On the good side are the chapters on dental problems, on speech and language, and on the more familiar problems of joint disease, stroke, and low back pain (though little is said of new research or approaches in therapy). A timely chapter on physical exercise emphasizes carefully supervised programs of endurance exercise as a means of improving pulmonary or heart function; and the last chapter, ""Good Grief!,"" contains sage remarks on the value of giving vent to one's feelings. But the book is doubly handicapped: by assuming that the reader is barely literate, the editors have achieved easy-readability at the price of zest; by adhering to tried-and-true treatments, they have failed to create a sense of excitement or inspiration. The result is safe, conservative, and dull.

Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1979

Categories: NONFICTION