Ways of Aging

Ways of Aging is an engaging collection of ten original essays on the experience of aging. Written and edited by social gerontologists, and focusing on everyday life, these essays draw from original case studies to feature diverse ways of growing and being older. Through in–depth interviews and first–person accounts, each essay gives a voice to the elderly, stressing the distinct and assorted identities that people develop as they grow older under different circumstances.

In straightforward and compelling prose, the authors feature the varied experiences of widows, African Americans, Native Americans, nursing home residents, gay and lesbian elders, and others. The essays provide vivid illustrations of both the complex differences of the aging experience and the surprising commonalities. The theme of a diverse, multifaceted aging experience links the various presentations.
Countering familiar stereotypes, Ways of Aging offers a unique perspective on the different pathways that may be taken through the later years.

Spis treści:
Contributors.
Introduction.
Beyond Stereotypes (Jaber F. Gubrium and James A. Holstein).
Part I: Persistence.
1. Narratives of Forgiveness in Old Age (Helen K. Black).
2. Elderhood in Contemporary Lakota Society (Joan Weibel–Oralndo).
3. Claiming Identity in a Nursing Home (Debora A. Paterniti).
Part II: Adaptation.
4. Three Childless Men′s Pathways into Old Age (Tanya Koropeckyi–Cox).
5. Constructing Community from Troubles (Christopher A. Faircloth).
6. Family Lives of Aging Black Americans (Colleen L. Johnson and Barbara M. Barer).
Part III: Change.
7. Aging and Change in a Religious Community (Sarah Matthews).
8. Identity Careers of Older Gay Men and Lesbians (Dana Rosenfeld).
9. Expectations and Experiences of Widowhood (Deborah Kestin van den Hoonaard).
Epilogue.
10. Positive Aging (Mary Gerge n and Kenneth J. Gergen).
Index.

Nota biograficzna:
Jaber F. Gubrium is Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is editor of the Journal of Aging Studies and the author or editor of 20 books, including Oldtimers and Alzheimer’s (1986), Speaking of Life (1993), and Living and Dying at Murray Manor (1997).
James A. Holstein is Professor of Sociology at Marquette University and the editor of Social Problems. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Court–Ordered Insanity (1993), Dispute Domains and Welfare Claims Reconsidering Social Constructionism (1993), and Social Problems in Everyday Life (1997).
The editors have previously collaborated on What is Family? (1990), Constructing the Life Course (1994), The Active Interview (1995), The New Language of Qualitative Method (1997), The Self We Live By (1999), and Aging and Everyday Life (Blackwell, 2000).

Okładka tylna:
Ways of Aging is an engaging collection of ten original essays on the experience of aging. Written and edited by social gerontologists, and focusing on everyday life, these essays draw from original case studies to feature diverse ways of growing and being older. Through in–depth interviews and first–person accounts, each essay gives a voice to the elderly, stressing the distinct and assorted identities that people develop as they grow older under different circumstances.

In straightforward and compelling prose, the authors feature the varied experiences of widows, African Americans, Native Americans, nursing home residents, gay and lesbian elders, and others. The essays provide vivid illustrations of both the complex differences of the aging experience and the surprising commonalities. The theme of a diverse, multifaceted aging experience links the various presentations.
Countering familiar stereotypes, Ways of Aging offers a unique perspective on the different pathways that may be taken through the later years.