Freedman explores the possibility of enriching the lives of our older generations by allowing them to utilize their wisdom/living experience/resources to usher in the younger generation.

Jam-packed with anecdotes and data about the elderly and their potential, the book actually focuses more on those golden years, citing examples of communities all over the world that are working to maximize the human capital of all of its inhabitants.

Freedman is asking a fantastic question: You’re retired at around, say, 65. You expect to live a few more decades, right? Would one really expect to just linger that whole time, waiting for the cold embrace of death? Most at least perform some level of what the author is suggesting (I know my mother spends a considerable amount of time watching grandchildren and teaching them), and still there are some that yearn to leave a legacy more lengthy than what they have going for them.

A book seemingly forged from decades of hard-learned lessons, pearls of imparted wisdom, and bittersweet reminders, Freedman here is communicating that we up the ante on a campaign that will real near-incalculable benefits. JFK was for it and everybody likes him, right?


Many thanks to NetGalley, Perseus Books, and PublicAffairs for the advance read.

An interesting read about an interesting (and often overlooked topic). I enjoyed the first part of the book and reading about different experiments and projects to connect generations. Towards the end, it was highly repetitive and relied greatly on experience/stories from the two musicians. Overall, I enjoyed looking into this subject and it did make me think about death and relationships in a communal way.

This non-fiction book looks at contributions of seniors to our communities and the necessity to connect through service in our later years. There are some heartwarming anecdotes throughout this book, but the title, blurb and introduction get to the meat and there didn't feel like there was much more to it under the surface. It came up a little short for me.