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In the Arms of Elders: A Parable of Wise Leadership and Community Building 1st Edition

by William H. Thomas (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 17 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-1889242101
ISBN-10: 1889242101
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Vanderwyk & Burnham; 1 edition (July 25, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1889242101
  • ISBN-13: 978-1889242101
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsa meaningful and instructive book!!!
By Renee on July 28, 2008
Format: Paperback
I was deeply impacted by this book. Many people will only read it at face value for it's commentary on aging. However, as a young adult, I found the book instructive and meaningful to me personally. It taught me about who I want to be, how I want to grow old, and what I want to contribute to this world. This book represents a kind of "unification theory" of the natural stages of life. The fact that it is a super easy and quick read leaves no excuses for not reading this book!
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5.0 out of 5 starsFighting the Three Plagues of Elders
By Marlys M. Styne on August 9, 2008
Format: Paperback
As a lover of fiction, including some science fiction and fantasy, I was pleased to discover this book. In our world where, to quote Dr. Thomas, "The truth is all wrapped up in rules, regulations, dollar signs, and self-pity," where "the modern obsession with finding and proclaiming the difference between what is real and what is imagined conceals as much as it reveals," fables and parables may not be generally appreciated, but they have a lot to teach us.

In this parable, a stormy shipwreck takes a professional couple, geriatrician and gerontologist, to a strange, unknown island called Kallimos. In this primitive, idyllic society, the elders are the leaders; all the scientific knowledge that the shipwrecked couple bring from the "Other World" is useless there. All their ideas about society and community roles are overturned as they learn how the Kallimos community comes together to protect the elders from the three plagues: loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. The elders are thus freed to pass on their experience, wisdom, and knowledge of life to the community.

I was fascinated by this story. It is simple on the surface, but the book has much to say about the care and treatment of elders.
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5.0 out of 5 starsEnthusiastically recommended.
By Midwest Book Review on November 5, 2006
Format: Paperback
Written by medical doctor and internationally recognized authority on longevity William H. Thomas, In The Arms of Elders: A Parable of Wise Leadership and Community Building is part memoir, part parable, and part fictional novel about a marooned young couple who become part of a new society organized through elders, then who must apply the wisdom they have gleaned to find their own place in life when they go home once more. A contemplative narrative about the ups and downs of life, and the leadership that comes tempered from experience, In the Arms of Elders is absorbing from cover to cover. Enthusiastically recommended.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Place for Age in Society
By Ida on February 1, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
The author, Bill Thomas, is a geriatrician with a unique perspective on human life. I found the non-fiction aspect of the book somewhat off-putting but stuck with it as I liked his book 'What Are Old People For.' At the end when he brings his narrative full circle I felt my understanding had amplified and this is book is valuable to me.
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5.0 out of 5 starschange the face of elderly care
By Reader Views on February 12, 2007
Format: Paperback
Reviewed by Joe Graham for Reader Views (1/07)

Most of us have visited nursing homes and have been sad and depressed at the frail, unhappy people that we have seen there. We feel bad for the people who are in the home whether they are friends or family and we hope that a similar fate will not be part of our future. Thomas, in "In the Arms of Elders," attempts to change the way we think about the elderly with what he calls "A Parable of Wise Leadership and Community Building."

The book tells the fictional story of a young couple, medical professionals, Bill and Jude who think they have all the answers about how to deal with the elderly. On a vacation, they are shipwrecked on a mysterious island named Kallimos, and they are forced to rethink the way they think about the elderly. With wise council and stories, two of the elder residents of the island, Hannah and Haleigh help Bill and Jude adjust to life on Kallimos.

In her first lesson, Hannah teaches them that the three plagues of the elderly are loneliness, helplessness and boredom. Does that sound very much like the atmosphere of most nursing homes? Then Hannah goes on to teach them that "Elders exist because they show us how to make a community. As we give to them, they give to us their wisdom, their experience, their affection. When we come together to meet their needs, we learn how to live as human beings."

After a year on the island, Bill and Jude are washed back into their life in the Other World and at this point the parable ends and Thomas talks about the changes that can and should be made in nursing homes. With his wife, he has created a different kind of world for people living in nursing homes called The Eden Alternative.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsA New insight into an old way of living
By Angel of the Springs on June 24, 2009
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book until the end. I won't spoil that for you but it may open your eyes to view some of our society's pre-conceived notions of our aged as terribly wrong. Read it and think. It is well worth your time. I wanted it to be real. President Obama would like the premise as well I think.
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5.0 out of 5 starsHannah
By Julianne R. Wander on April 21, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This is an amazing book that everyone should read because we all need to reconize the true value of the elderly. They are not old and useless and each of us, whatever age, can learn so much about what they need and how we need them.
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5.0 out of 5 starsgreat book
By karen kirk on February 22, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Book is excellent, arrived early & in good shape. Recommended reading for anyone that cares for or loves an elderly person.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Awesome.

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clean and neat!

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Had to get this for my class on taking care of the elderly. It is well written and makes valid points, but it was just too heavy handed for my taste. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Patricia Griffin
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5.0 out of 5 starsTold in parables, this book caused me to realize ...

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Published 19 months ago by Ken Resch
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Published 20 months ago by cathy
5.0 out of 5 starsElders Unite

A parable that shows the powerful contrast between the wisdom of the Elder and the mere knowledge of an adult who has just-gotten-older in this, our very own intellectual... Read more

Published 23 months ago by Harvey W. Austin
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat Book

Everyone should read this book. It truly gives a picture of what our society COULD look like should we choose to honor elderhood.

Published on August 26, 2013 by Amy Smyth
5.0 out of 5 starsThere is no place like home

Another great book by Dr. Thomas with insight and understanding of where elder care should be!

Published on November 30, 2008 by Norman Kirschbaum

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