‘There is nothing older than not wanting to grow old. Our world presents us with a disastrous image of old age. We are afraid of dying badly, of ending our lives alone, unloved, perhaps dependent or suffering from dementia… Instead of confronting this fear, we ward it off by clinging to our youth, in a rather pathetic state of denial. In so doing, we run the risk of missing out on what I call “the work of growing old” – that is to say, cultivating a positive awareness of ageing.’ These are the first words by Marie de Hennezel, psychologist, psychotherapist and special adviser to the French Government on palliative care, in the preface to her 2008 book with the wonderful title, The Warmth of the Heart Prevents your Body from Rusting. It was de Hennezel’s book which first inspired me to think about approaches to ageing. Contained within the above quote is the key idea that growing old is something that one needs to work at; there is a job to be done to improve our experience of our own ageing process, and part of that job is to develop a more positive attitude towards ageing. To me, at that time, this was revolutionary. Her central notion that we can have more control over our ageing process than we might otherwise think, is still far from being a mainstream idea. I hope that this book will go a little way to help you recognise this important truth about ageing. The prospect for people over 60 has never looked as promising as it does now! On average, men and women at retirement age can expect to live for a further 20 years, and for most of that time they
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
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