Simple Lessons for a Better Life: Unexpected Inspiration from Inside the Nursing Home

Clinical psychologist Dodgen (Nicotine Dependence) shares some of the wisdom he%E2%80%99s learned while treating elderly patients, primarily in nursing homes. Each chapter presents a brief story, usually centered around his patients and accompanied by helpful explanations and suggested exercises. Dodgen%E2%80%99s lessons are diverse, discussing power of social community and religious practice and the importance of regular, low-impact exercise as both a solution to physical ill health and a coping mechanism in itself. But these solutions tend to be diffuse and poorly organized, and the stories that bolster them are thinly drawn. Dodgen%E2%80%99s book offers frequently good advice, yet its ultimate goal is unclear: Is it to live a better life for yourself? To care for your aging relatives with more sympathy? To learn how to accept aging gracefully? None of these approaches is covered sufficiently, no matter how sympathetic and sensible his lessons are. Agent: Joyce Hart, Hartline Literary Agency. (May)