Publisher Description

Growing Older Can Be a Time of Growing in Depth and Wisdom "My sense is that the whole journey beyond midlife is a mysterious blend of light and dark, wholeness and fragility. We have a chance beyond midlife to become the person we were truly meant to be. We can draw on everything we have experienced so far to contribute to the people around us and the wider world, and to find strength and resilience amid the challenges." ?from the Introduction Whether you are fifty-five or seventy-five, approaching retirement or age one hundred, growing older brings remarkable opportunities but often also wrenching difficulties. Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman, a pioneer in reinventing and revaluing aging, mines ancient Jewish wisdom for values, tools and precedents to frame new callings and beginnings, shifting family roles, and experiences of illness and death. For seekers of all faiths, for individuals and groups, for personal use and caregiving settings, Rabbi Friedman offers inspiration and guidance to help you make greater meaning and flourish amid the daunting challenges of aging.

Author Biography

Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman, MSW, MAJCS, BCC, is director of Hiddur: The Center for Aging and Judaism of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and editor of Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook from Traditional and Contemporary Sources (Jewish Lights).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Births Out of Brokenness: Growing Whole as We Grow Older

Part I
Facing Shatterings as We Grow Older
1. Seeking Wisdom: Transcending Destructive Ageism
2. One Big Hole: Confronting the Broken Heart
3. The Ultimate Shattering: Embracing Our Mortality
4. Finding Wholeness as Our Bodies Break Down
5. Wandering in the Wilderness: Caring for Our Fragile Dear Ones
6. Making Sense of Dementia's Brokenness

Part II
Searching for the Sparks: Beginning Again (and Again)
7. Softening to Reality: Finding Sweetness amid Suffering
8. A Time to Heal: Liberation through Forgiveness
9. Declaring Interdependence
10. Making Wise Choices about Medical Care at the Edge of Life
11. New Ways of Loving: Growing Up as We and Our Parents Age
12. Traveling Lighter: Winnowing "Stuff "
13. A Sanctuary in Time: Spending Our Precious Time Mindfully

Part III
Basking in the Light: Honing and Sharing Wisdom
14. Answering the Call: Saying "Here I Am" (Hineini)
15. Drawing from the Well: Developing a Blessing Practice

Afterword
Acknowledgments
Appendix
Using This Book: A Guide for Book Groups and Wisdom Circles
Notes
For Further Learning

Review

"[This] is much more than a book that provides practical guidance and insights.... It is also a work of rare understanding, sensitivity, patience and kindness on the limitations of the human condition that will reward old and young alike."
-Rabbi David Ellenson, chancellor emeritus, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

"[A] straightforward, clear-eyed, genuinely helpful guide for growing older.... Reading it is a pleasure and the message it delivers is potent medicine with a sweet aftertaste."
-Sylvia Boorstein, author, Happiness Is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life



"A spiritual gem, filled with wisdom, a complex blend of realism and hopefulness. I know I will read this book again-perhaps many times-and will share it with people I love."
-Rabbi Amy Eilberg, author, From Enemy to Friend: Jewish Wisdom and the Pursuit of Peace

"Fearless and truthful.... [It] looks without flinching at grief and all the 'shatterings' of later life yet ... finds joy and a realistic hope.... This is a book to reach for whenever you want inspiration, whenever you seek to live each day as it comes. Don't miss this book."
-Harry R. Moody, retired vice president, AARP; visiting professor, Creative Longevity and Wisdom Program, Fielding Graduate University

"How enlightening and compassionate this book is! This is the kind of wisdom we need in any religion, in any culture and in any age of life."
-Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico

"A great gift.... Gives us hope that we can have happiness and well-being almost independently of what's happening with our bodies. Thank you, Rabbi Friedman, from someone who is well beyond midlife!"
-Daniel Gottlieb, PhD, psychologist and family therapist; host, Voices in the Family WHYY FM; author, The Wisdom We're Born With: Restoring Our Faith in Ourselves

"Rabbi Friedman writes with remarkable tenderness and uncommon empathy about the gifts, challenges and epiphanies of aging.... Her book doesn't just offer blessings, it is itself a blessing."
-Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author, Getting Over Getting Older and Single Jewish Male Seeking Soulmate

"Important.... With wisdom, openness and curiosity, Rabbi Friedman illuminates a way for each of us to chart our own paths as we grow older."
-Rabbi Deborah Waxman, PhD, president, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

Long Description

Growing Older Can Be a Time of Growing in Depth and Wisdom "My sense is that the whole journey beyond midlife is a mysterious blend of light and dark, wholeness and fragility.... We have a chance beyond midlife to become the person we were truly meant to be. We can draw on everything we have experienced so far to contribute to the people around us and the wider world, and to find strength and resilience amid the challenges." --from the Introduction Whether you are fifty-five or seventy-five, approaching retirement or age one hundred, growing older brings remarkable opportunities but often also wrenching difficulties. Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman, a pioneer in reinventing and revaluing aging, mines ancient Jewish wisdom for values, tools and precedents to frame new callings and beginnings, shifting family roles, and experiences of illness and death. For seekers of all faiths, for individuals and groups, for personal use and caregiving settings, Rabbi Friedman offers inspiration and guidance to help you make greater meaning and flourish amid the daunting challenges of aging.

Review Quote

"[This] is much more than a book that provides practical guidance and insights.... It is also a work of rare understanding, sensitivity, patience and kindness on the limitations of the human condition that will reward old and young alike." --Rabbi David Ellenson, chancellor emeritus, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion "[A] straightforward, clear-eyed, genuinely helpful guide for growing older.... Reading it is a pleasure and the message it delivers is potent medicine with a sweet aftertaste." --Sylvia Boorstein, author, Happiness Is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life "A spiritual gem, filled with wisdom, a complex blend of realism and hopefulness. I know I will read this book again--perhaps many times--and will share it with people I love." --Rabbi Amy Eilberg, author, From Enemy to Friend: Jewish Wisdom and the Pursuit of Peace "Fearless and truthful.... [It] looks without flinching at grief and all the 'shatterings' of later life yet ... finds joy and a realistic hope.... This is a book to reach for whenever you want inspiration, whenever you seek to live each day as it comes. Don't miss this book." --Harry R. Moody, retired vice president, AARP; visiting professor, Creative Longevity and Wisdom Program, Fielding Graduate University "How enlightening and compassionate this book is! This is the kind of wisdom we need in any religion, in any culture and in any age of life." --Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico "A great gift.... Gives us hope that we can have happiness and well-being almost independently of what's happening with our bodies. Thank you, Rabbi Friedman, from someone who is well beyond midlife!" --Daniel Gottlieb, PhD, psychologist and family therapist; host, Voices in the Family WHYY FM; author, The Wisdom We're Born With: Restoring Our Faith in Ourselves "Rabbi Friedman writes with remarkable tenderness and uncommon empathy about the gifts, challenges and epiphanies of aging.... Her book doesn't just offer blessings, it is itself a blessing." --Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author, Getting Over Getting Older and Single Jewish Male Seeking Soulmate "Important.... With wisdom, openness and curiosity, Rabbi Friedman illuminates a way for each of us to chart our own paths as we grow older." --Rabbi Deborah Waxman, PhD, president, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

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