BOOK REVIEW: Old Isn't A Dirty Word

Ms. Jacoby has the subtlety of being hit by a two-by-four between the eyes. Much like the presentation in her other work "The Age of American Unreason," that's a good thing. Clearly, the liberal atheist has no qualms about arguing from her secular vantage point. Again, this is a good thing. Ms. Jacoby correctly surmises that the overwhelming majority of Americans are in denial about the severe physical and mental infirmities that come with old age. Advertising and politics portray our "Golden Years" in a very unrealistic light. Junk thought and false hope are our diet. Heck, most healthy Americans want it to continue being our diet. The author should be commended for trying to burst many of these silly, harmful bubbles.

Ms. Jacoby covers important topics such as Alzheimer's; women dealing with outliving men; baby boomer's denial and efforts to not get old; myths about how we used to respect our elders in this country; greedy geezers, saving and planning for retirement; Social Security and Medicare crises; physician-assisted suicide; the morality of extending life; and (my personal favorite) she debunks the myth about old age bringing about wisdom.

Despite the author sprinkling a few sarcastic bon-mots through her work, the book is one informative but depressing little sucker. Speaking as a 51-year-old man, happily married to a woman who is the same age and still in relatively good health, the book forced me to  acknowledge a facet of life most of us would like to either ignore or sugarcoat the likely loss of independence. Hopefully, it will make you more aware of what's ahead and empathetic to the trails and tribulations of being old.

(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing book reviews under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review. #285)