Written and edited by social gerontologists, and focusing on everyday experiences, these essays draw from original case studies to look at the diverse ways of growing and being older.
- Collects ten original essays on the aging experience, written by prominent social gerontologists.
- Highlights diverse ways of growing and being older.
- Offers detailed portraits of a broad range of experiences, including those of the homeless, the retirement community, sexual nonconformists, and the disabled.
- Addresses stereotypes of the aging process and provides diverse examples of individual experiences.
Contributors vii
Introduction 1
Beyond Stereotypes 3
Jaber F. Gubrium and James A. Holstein
Part I Persistence 11
1 Narratives of Forgiveness in Old Age 13
Helen K. Black
2 Elderhood in Contemporary Lakota Society 36
Joan Weibel-Orlando
3 Claiming Identity in a Nursing Home 58
Debora A. Patemiti
Part II Adaptation 75
4 Three Childless Men’s Pathways into Old Age 77
Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox
5 Constructing Community from Troubles 96
Christopher A. Faircloth
6 Family Lives of Aging Black Americans 111
Colleen L. Johnson and Barbara M. Barer
Part Ill Change 133
7 Aging and Change in a Religious Community 135
Sarah Matthews
8 Il³¥