25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The 'Cheerful' Side of Aging, December 22, 2001
This review is from: The Fountain of Age (Paperback)
Betty Friedan wrote The Fountain of Age as a journey to redefine age, and to demystify the age mystique. Each chapter stands alone as an essay, exploring the many tribulations of old age. She allows us to follow her on this journey, which she starts at the age of 60 with her own fears and denial of aging, and ends with the celebration of age.
One of the main themes that run through this book is that age is perceived only as a decline or deterioration from youth. This assumption has become so pervasive throughout the professional community and society, that Friedan finds older people believing it to be true, having all bought into the decline model of aging. She writes each chapter challenging this assumption, pointing out the injustice along with the solution, usually through social-political change. This is reflected in such chapters as `Denial and the "problem" of age', `The Retirement Paradox', and `A Paradigm Shift from "Cure"'.
In the `Denial and "Problem" of Age', one of the things Friedan finds is that media consistently leaves out any appearance of older individuals on television and in advertisements saying "The blackout of images of women and men visibly over sixty-five, engaged in any vital or productive adult activity, and their replacement by the "problem" of age, is our society's very definition of age." She goes on to say, "Clearly the image of age has become so terrifying to Americans that they do not want to see any reminder of their own aging." She realizes the image of age was viewed as one of decline and deterioration, a mystique, not of desirability, but of trepidation. Growing old has almost become unspeakable, which stems from our obsession with youth.
Friedan takes on the ageist ideology of corporate America in the chapter `The Retirement Paradox', saying at sixty-five or even before, older workers are forced into retirement, If not by law, then by social expectation, when many still want to work, and still have one-third of their lives still to live and be productive. Declaring this a great injustice to older workers, Friedan believes we don't have to continue to be structured in terms of lifespan of the past, suggesting that companies who are smart enough to adjust to the increasing population of older workers will be able to harvest enormous talent.
In `A Paradigm Shift from "Cure"', Friedan believes the assumption of age being likened to sickness or debility keeps the medical community and even the elderly themselves from dealing with the symptoms of legitimate illnesses. The role of functional assessment is important in treating the elderly, saying, "A new version of the old-fashioned family doctor, trained to treat the whole person, is what is needed." She goes on to say "Doctors and nurses must go beyond medicine's two traditional goals: " to cure disease and to prevent disease." Their goal now has to be to preserve and improve the quality of life for the older person." For Friedan, the paradigm shift is one from the passive medical model of care of the elderly to actually controlling their own age.
Friedan undertakes issues that haven't truly been addressed before, so as a gerontologist this book is important to me. She opens our eyes to the social implications the decline model holds for our elderly, and the paradigm shift that needs to take place if we are going to look at the abilities and qualities that may develop or emerge in men and women in later life, and contemplate new possibilities for their use.
Going beyond, or the transcendence of age is how Friedan concludes her journey. Given the new possibilities old age holds, she believes the elderly have to be pioneers of a new kind of age. She found these people all across the country, applauding old age instead of dreading it. She sees old age as an opportunity for a new beginning, a new horizon, to do the things you never had the chance to do before. These people were continuing to evolve and grow into their new age. Those who originally were searching for the fountain of youth, found the fountain of age instead.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an encyclopedia of aging with the readability of a novel, August 4, 1998
By A Customer
Everything you wanted to know about aging but didn't know to ask. Encyclopedic in scope, every conceivable issue surrounding age, personal or political, is covered. The book stemmed from Friedan's personal journey in facing her own aging and therefore covers well the personal and introspective issues that may be left out of a book devoted to the "problems" of aging. The overall theme is one of aging as a necessary and to-be-relished stage of life, with its own tasks, rather than being simply the end of life. There is much repetition of material from one section of the book to the next, which is sometimes distracting. However, each section and each chapter is a stand-alone essay, giving the work a value as a reference. Awesome. Inspiring.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not too popular a book, July 31, 2000
This review is from: The Fountain of Age (Paperback)
The fact that there is only 1 customer review on this tome of a book does not diminish its importance. It simply validates what the author is saying about people denying they're getting older. My zen book comforts me: For the ignorant, old age is winter; For the learned, it is harvest. Since this book was published Friedan has written yet another book, an autobiography. I am impressed with her vigor and intelligence.
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