March , 2011

Here are a few of our favorite books:

Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman, and Ronald S. Miller, From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older (Warner Books, 1995)—A book that we draw great inspiration and wisdom from; the “bible” of conscious aging.

Friedan, Betty, The Fountain of Age (Simon and Schuster, 1993)—As in her other books, Betty Friedan cuts to the heart of things, with a clear, wise, prophetic and positive story of the truth of growing older in our culture.

Rowe, John and Robert Kahn, Successful Aging (Pantheon Books, 1998)—An excellent book focused on recent research on the aging process, covering physical and mental health and the importance of community and being active in creating optimum health, joy and longevity.

Ram Dass, Still Here (Riverhead Books, 2000)—A wise and inspiring book from a person who has “been there” and is still here.

Byock, Ira, Dying Well: Peace and Possibilities at the End of Life (Riverhead, 1997)—A sensitively-written book that tells many stories of death and dying, both positive and negative, from the perspective of a hospice physician. Keep tissues handy.

Leider, Richard and David Shapiro, Something to Live For (Berrett-Koehler, 2008)—A small book with a big message (See also their earlier book, Claiming Your Place at the Fire (Berrett-Koehler, 2004)).

Remen, Rachel Naomi, My Grandfather’s Blessings (Riverhead Books, 2000)—A heartwarming book of short stories containing much wisdom. Also try Kitchen Table Wisdom.

Thomas, William, What are Old People For? How Elders Will Save the World (VanderWyk and Burnham, 2004)—Bill Thomas, MD, has written one of the best recent books on elders and their important place in society.

Websites on Conscious Aging

http://www.sage-ingguild.org (web site for the Sage-ing® Guild, an international organization focused on spreading the message of sage-ing/conscious aging

http://www.can-nm.org (Conscious Aging activities in New Mexico)

http://www.hrmoody.com (broad-based conscious aging information)

http://www.healthandage.com (health-focused web site)

Other Books on Aging and Eldering

Atchley, Robert, Spirituality and Aging (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009)

Carter, Jimmy, The Virtues of Aging (The Ballentine Publishing Group, 1998)

Chinen, Allan B., In the Ever After: Fairy Tales and the Second Half of Life (Chiron Pubs, 1990)

Chittister, Joan, The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully (BlueBridge, 2008)

Chopra, Deepak, Grow Younger, Live Longer (Harmony Books, 2001)

Cohen, Gene, The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life (Avon Books, 2000)

Dychtwald, Ken, and Daniel Kadlec, A New Purpose: Redefining Money, Family, Work, Retirement and Success (Harper, 2009)

Dychtwald, Ken, Age Power: How the 21^st Century Will Be Ruled by the New Old (Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1999)

Freedman, Marc, Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life (PublicAffairs, 2008)

Freedman, Marc, Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America (PublicAffairs, 1999)

Goleman, Daniel, Emotional Intelligence (Bantam Books, 1995)

Goleman, Daniel, Social Intelligence (Bantam Books, 2006)

Hillman, James, The Force of Character and the Lasting Life (Ballantine Books, 1999)

Lawrence-Lightfoot, Sara, The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk, and Adventure in the 25 Years After 50 (Sara Crichton Books, 2009)

Leder, Drew, Spiritual Passages (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1997)

Milstein, Mike, Resilient Aging: Making the Most of Your Older Years (iUniverse Inc., 2010)

Moody, Harry, The Five Stages of the Soul (Anchor Books, 1998)

Roszak, Theodore, America the Wise (Houghton Miflin, 1998)

Sheehy, Gail, New Passages: Mapping Your Life Across Time (Random House, 1995)

Stone, Marika and Howard, Too Young To Retire: 101 Ways to Start the Rest of Your Life (Plume, 2002)

Trafford, Abigail, My Time: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life (Basic Books, 2004)

Vaillant, George, Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life (Little, Brown and Co., 2002)

Weil, Andrew, Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guild to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being, (Knopf, 2005)

Other Books on Death and Dying

Albom, Mitch, Tuesdays With Morrie (Doubleday, 1997)

Callanan, Maggie and Patricia Kelley, Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs and Communications of the Dying, (Bantam Books, 1995)

Kushner, Harold, When Bad Things Happen to Good People (Avon Books, 1983)

Kubler-Ross, Elizabeth, On Death and Dying (Scribner Classics, 1997)

Levine, Stephen, A Year to Live: How to Live This Year As If It Were Your Last (Bell Tower, 1997)

Levine, Stephen, Who Dies? An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying (Anchor Books, 1982)

Nuland, Sherwin, How We Die (Alfred A. Knopf, 1993)

Rasberry, Salli, and Carole Rae Watanabe, The Art of Dying (Celestial Arts, 2001)

Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (Harper San Francisco, 1992)

Other Books and Resources on Cultural Issues of Interest to Elders

Diamond, Jared, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (Penguin Books, 2005)

Korten, David, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (Berrett-Koehler, 2006)

Ray, Paul, and Sherry Ruth Anderson, The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World (Harmony Books, 2000)

Yes! Magazine—A Journal of Positive Futures (quarterly)