Customer Reviews

Love Stories of Later Life: A Narrative Approach to Understanding Romance

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is well worth buying, reading and keeping for further reference. It is a beautifully written, clearly expressed and accessible work on the positive aspects of growing older, recognising the possibilities for being a whole person at every age.
It is about love stories in later life, from seventies to well into the nineties, and is a well-researched work on how older people sustain continuing relationships or create new short or longer term relationships, both hetero-sexual or same sex, of love, romance, sex, infatuation. Amanda Barusch breaks through ageist stereotypes to reveal that emotions persist and maybe even increase as we get older, that sex is not only for the young, and that romance is there at all ages. She also helpfully provides academic insights into theorists such as Bowlby, Jung and Freud, and considers the concept of love throughout the centuries and cultures, beginning with ancient Greece, and ending with our own western industrialised societies.
This is a ground-breaking academic book, pushing past the myths of ageing, with theories supported by thorough research. Good for all social workers and others in gerontology, for adult children, and especially for those of us in our later years.

(The following review is posted on behalf of an acquaintance having trouble with her Amazon account)

Amanda Smith Barusch has written a book that celebrates the potential for love experiences in folks beyond 50. Now in my upper 70s and living my own new love story, I gleefully join the celebration! In this stunning piece of research, Ms. Barusch has redefined love and its ability to expand and reshape lives at any stage. She immediately convinces me that she is intrigued with people my age, and then proceeds to narrate con amore the joys and challenges, illusions and disillusionments of mature love. The language is uplifting; old stereotypes of aging are replaced with a bright new vocabulary that evokes hope and opportunity. "Love Stories of Later Life" is a melding of scholarship and lyricism, delightfully punctuated with wisdom ranging from Plato to Dr. Seuss and enlivened with photos of Ms. Barusch's subjects. Here is a work that has resonance for many audiences: I for one give it a standing ovation!

For single people over the age of 65, LOVE STORIES OF LATER LIFE is the book to read. Although Barusch writes this book for gerontologists, her audience includes readers over the age of 65. At the end of each chapter, Barusch includes comments that could be found on the Oprah Winfrey program. Barusch does a sensitive job in guiding elders who are seeking intimate partners.

The author includes narrative comments and survey research results then provides an analysis in each chapter. Although my description seems to follow an academic pattern, her writing is quite readable and useful for non-academics who desire intimate relationships.

This book is about possibilities---the possibility of long-lasting love at a time when our life span has doubled; the possibility of keeping love and romance alive when married for decades; and the possibility of finding love again after divorce or widowhood. But can love, romance, and passion flourish in the second half of our lives? Barusch answers with a resounding YES! And through her research she has demonstrated this to be true. That's good news for all of us over 50, whatever our status.

Very exciting real story for love at the later life. It is real. For those who are reaching a later age, this book give you very interesting real experience. Well done job by Amanda.