Growing Old

Notes on Aging with Something Like Grace

By: Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Narrated by: Sara Sheckells

From the revered author of the bestselling The Hidden Life of Dogs, a witty, engaging, life-affirming account of the joy, strength, and wisdom that comes with age.

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing the natural world, chronicling the customs of pre-contact hunter-gatherers and the secret lives of deer and dogs. In this book, the capstone of her long career, Thomas, now eighty-eight, turns her keen eye to her own life. The result is an account of growing old that is at once funny and charming and intimate and profound, both a memoir and a life-affirming map all of us may follow to embrace our later years with grace and dignity.

A charmingly intimate account and a broad look at the social and historical traditions related to aging, Growing Old explores a wide range of issues connected with growing older, from stereotypes of the elderly as burdensome to the methods of burial humans have used throughout history to how to deal with a concerned neighbor who assumes you’re buying cat food to eat for dinner.

Written with the wit of Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck and the lyrical beauty and serene wisdom of When Breath Becomes Air, Growing Old is an expansive and deeply personal paean to the beauty and the brevity of life that offers understanding for everyone, regardless of age.

Not Very Informative or Engaging

The book is divided into two parts: the first part is about the physical changes of aging, and the second part is about the emotional and spiritual changes of aging. The first part of the book is informative, but it is also quite dry. Thomas goes into great detail about the physical changes that happen to our bodies as we age, and she does so in a way that is not particularly engaging. The second part of the book is more interesting, but it is also more abstract. Thomas talks about the emotional and spiritual challenges of aging, and she offers some advice on how to cope with these challenges. However, her advice is often vague and platitudinous. Overall, I found Growing Old to be a mediocre book. It is informative, but it is not particularly engaging or insightful. If you are looking for a book about aging, I would recommend something else.

Reinforces people's fears of getting old and dying

The factual material in this book is likely sourced appropriately since this author has written peer reviewed books previously. My complaint is her opinions, which she shares way too often, are of no help. Thomas reinforced the general publics viewpoint on old age, dying, and death. She offers no new insights since her opinions are haggard. Don't waste your time on this. Just an old woman squawking about her beliefs that aren't very helpful.

Narrator is hard to listen to

The narrator’s timbre, phrasing and uneven reading pace are difficult to listen to. I would need to purchase the book.