JOYOUS LONGEVITY

Othmer presents an alphabetical guide to the many joys and challenges of getting older.

In the face of an aging population and increasing anxiety about old-age years, the author here offers a collection of thoughts, inspirations, and encouragements arranged around an alphabetical structure (from “Awake” to “Zen”). Othmer’s advice isn’t concerned with practicalities like navigating health or finances; rather, she concentrates on the emotional and behavioral sides of getting older, always with the aim of helping readers age “intentionally with wisdom, grace, and fun.” Each of the book’s brief chapters takes its alphabetical cue, ruminates for a bit on the topic, and ends by offering some suggestions as to how readers might pursue the cue further on their own. Noting that “N” is for “Nature,” Othmer discusses the Japanese concept of shinrin-yoku (“forestbathing”) and encourages readers to get in touch with the wild world: “Being in nature for two or three hours a week is proven to boost mental health, reducing the stress hormone cortisol,” she writes. Warning against the personal isolation that can be so damaging to the elderly, she consistently emphasizes the need for community (“S is for Socializing”). “Cooking, eating, and cleaning up together, sharing ideas, learning from each other, teasing, and relying on each other,” the author asserts, creates a “forcefield of care” that takes some of the sting out of being older. On every page of this slim volume, Othmer is encouraging and optimistic, highlighting the joys and opportunities of getting older and always reminding her readers (whether they’re getting older themselves or know someone who is) that they can change their own attitudes. “Make joy your habit,” she urges. “It is your good fortune to be alive on this day.”

A bright-minded and very winning call to look on the bright side of aging.