cover image The Fountain of Age

The Fountain of Age

Betty Friedan. Simon & Schuster, $24.5 (671pp) ISBN 978-0-671-40027-9

Friedan's ( The Feminine Mystique ) wise, empowering book on aging should be read by everyone who equates growing old with being lonely, powerless, unattractive or dependent. She distills interviews with scores of women and men in middle or old age who lead dynamic, creative lives, having broken through the conventional expectation that aging inevitably means decline. She also makes accessible a wealth of findings from gerontologists, social scientists and psychologists. We learn, for example, that the ``empty nest syndrome'' hits many men more acutely than women, and that recent research contradicts the notion that the brain inevitably deteriorates physically with age. Friedan combines political savvy and empathetic insight in chapters on health care, retirement communities, the ``right to die'' movement, menopause, nursing homes (which she calls ``death sentences''), the search for intimacy and meaningful work, and how women and men age differently. This marvelous, inspiring book approaches aging as an adventure, and is itself one. First serial to Time and Good Housekeeping; BOMC alternate; QPB dual main selection. (Sept.)