Recommended Reading December 2023

Dec 3

The Book About Getting Older (for people who don’t want to talk about it)
by Lucy Pollock

Now more than ever, we need to talk about getting older. Many of us are living to a very great age. But how do we give those we love, and eventually ourselves, long lives that are as happy and healthy as possible? Dr Lucy's book gives us answers to the questions we can voice - and those that we can't. A long life should be embraced and celebrated, but it's not all easy. Yet even the most challenging situation can be helped by the right conversation. How do we start? How do we ask whether it's worth taking seven different medicines? Is it normal to find you're falling out of love with someone, as they disappear into dementia? Should Dad be driving, and if not, who can stop him? What are the secrets of the best care homes? When does fierce independence become bad behavior? How do you navigate near-impossible discussions around resuscitation and intensity of treatments? And who decides what happens when we become ill? Serious, funny, kind, and knowledgeable, this readable book helps guide us through essential conversations about getting older that go straight to the heart of what matters most.