Your indispensable guide to taking charge of the second half of your life.
From Dr. Rosanne M. Leipzig, a top doctor with more than 35 years of experience caring for older people, Honest Aging is an indispensable guide to the second half of life, describing what to expect physically, psychologically, functionally, and emotionally as you age.
Leipzig, an expert in evidence-based geriatrics, highlights how 80-year-olds differ from 60-year-olds and why knowing this is important for your health. With candor, humor, and empathy, this book will provide you with the knowledge and practical advice to optimize aging. The book
• helps you recognize age-related changes in your body and mind and understand whats typical with aging and whats not;
• offers guidance for common health concerns, including problems with memory, energy, mood, sleep, incontinence, mobility and falls, hearing and vision, aches and pains, gastrointestinal problems, weight, and sex;
• shares advice on how to make decisions about health care, driving, and where to live;
• includes helpful checklists and lists of medications to prepare for doctor and hospital visits;
• recommends the best technology options, such as mobility devices, emergency device systems, and more;
• counters common myths about aging; and
• offers resources for additional information, self-help, and support.
Enriched by illustrations, patient stories, and deep dives into science and the latest research, Honest Aging gives you the tools to take control of your health and well-being as you age.
Rosanne M. Leipzig, MD, PhD (NEW YORK, NY), is the Gerald and May Ellen Ritter Professor and Vice Chair Emeritus for the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is the editor-in-chief of the monthly newsletter Focus on Healthy Aging and coeditor of the fourth edition of Geriatric Medicine
Preface
Part I: Aging 101
Chapter 1. Its Only Aging, Get a Grip!
Chapter 2. Whats Normal Aging? Or, 80 Isnt 60
Chapter 3. Better Living through Chemistry?
Chapter 4. More or Less: Whats Right for You When It Comes to Health Care
Chapter 5. An Ounce of Prevention
Part II: What Really Matters As You Grow Older
Chapter 6. Mind Matters
Chapter 7. Energy Cycles
Chapter 8. Ups and Downs
Chapter 9. Balancing Acts
Chapter 10. Sleep Cycles
Chapter 11. Urine Trouble
Chapter 12. All Eyes and Ears
Chapter 13. Aches and Pains
Chapter 14. Gut Feelings
Chapter 15. Weighing In
Chapter 16. Sex Talk
Part III: Difficult Decisions
Chapter 17. Making Difficult Decisions
Chapter 18. To Move or Not to Move
Chapter 19. Do I Need to Stop Driving?
Chapter 20. Who Will Speak for Me?
Appendixes
1. Personal Emergency Response Systems
2. Assistive Devices
3. Getting Ready to Meet with Your Doctor
Index
Your indispensable guide to taking charge of the second half of your life.
Dr. Rosanne Leipzig has been an integral part of the fine work done at the Martha Stewart Centers for Living and the nationally recognized Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. Her new handbook on aging is full of clear, practical advice that will make the second half of your life safer, more productive, and more enjoyable. It is essential reading for anyone who is growing older or whose loved ones are growing older—in other words, for all of us!
— Martha Stewart
This book is excellent, and I would recommend it to my patients. It includes all of the things related to aging in one place.
— Ciandra Dsouza, MD, MPH, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Building on her lifetime of rich experience and leadership in the field of geriatrics, Rosanne M. Leipzig synthesizes decades of insights into an indispensable guide to ones latter years. Among many valuable contributions, the book is notable in its attention to the diversity of the aging experience, including those who find themselves coming out later in life. As a non-profit executive in the aging space, as an LGBTQ+ community activist, and perhaps most importantly as a human being who recently turned sixty, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a resource that wisely, frankly, and sensitively approaches the realities and uncertainties of getting older.
— Michael Adams, SAGE, Advocacy and Services for LGBTQ+ Elders
Among the many books devoted to helping all of us to understand the aging process, Dr. Leipzigs Honest Aging sets a new standard. Her writing is crisp and readable for all of us who wish to understand these important years of our own lives as well as help us in engaging and working with older adults. I give her my highest praise. I wish I had written this book!
— William J. Hall, MD, MACP, Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Geriatrics. Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Aging exists in the shadows of the future. It holds promises of fulfillment and possible harvesting of professional and personal gardens. But it also portends failing health, burdensome medical interventions and prospects of debility. How can we successfully navigate the pathways of hope given the challenges to be encountered? This wonderful book highlights what to expect as we age and provides the intellectual and emotional framework for future positive and frightening events.
— Nancy Neveloff Dubler, LL.B., Consultant for Ethics, NYC Health + Hospitals; Professor Emerita, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center
