The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life

The Measure of Our Age is a book by M.T. Connolly that explores the challenges of aging, including caregiving, scams, and isolation, and offers strategies for navigating them. It exposes a reality that has been hidden and offers reasons for hope.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 03 August 2023
Publisher: PublicAffairs,U.S.

As the population continues to age, the challenges associated with longevity become increasingly prevalent across different racial, economic, and gender groups. While many individuals provide unpaid care to older relatives, this comes at a significant cost to their own well-being, including time, money, employment opportunities, and physical and mental health. Unfortunately, scammers also target older adults, preying on their vulnerability and financial resources.
Institutions designed to protect older individuals, such as nursing homes and guardianship, often fail to fulfill their intended purpose and instead can cause harm. Epidemics of isolation and loneliness further exacerbate the risks faced by older people, making them more susceptible to various forms of harm, including physical abuse, financial exploitation, and depression.
In her book, The Measure of Our Age, elder justice expert and MacArthur genius grant recipient, M.T. Connolly, delves into the systems that are supposed to safeguard us as we age. Through a combination of first-person accounts, personal experiences, and investigative reporting, she exposes a reality that has been hidden for far too long and sometimes even deliberately covered up. However, Connolly's research also highlights opportunities for hope that are within everyone's reach.
Connolly's strategies and action plans for navigating the various challenges of aging will appeal to a wide range of readers, including adult children caring for aging parents, policymakers seeking to make positive changes, and individuals who hope to live long and healthy lives. This book offers a transformative perspective on aging, challenging our assumptions and inspiring us to take action to improve the quality of life for older individuals and our communities as a whole.

Weight: 602g
Dimension: 161 x 243 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781541702721