Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old?

The Path of Purposeful Aging

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Pub Date Jul 13 2021 | Archive Date Aug 07 2021

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Description

Grow old on purpose. This book invites readers to navigate a purposeful path from adulthood to elderhood with choice, curiosity, and courage.

Everyone is getting old; not everyone is growing old. But the path of purposeful aging is accessible to all—and it’s fundamental to health, happiness, and longevity.
 
With a focus on growing whole through developing a sense of purpose in later life, Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old? celebrates the experience of aging with inspiring stories, real-world practices, and provocative questions. Framed by a long conversation between two old friends, the book reconceives aging as a liberating experience that enables us to become more authentically the person we always meant to be with each passing year.
 
In their bestseller Repacking Your Bags, Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro defined the good life as “living in the place you belong, with people you love, doing the right work, on purpose.” This book builds on that definition to offer a purposeful path for living well while aging well.
 
Grow old on purpose. This book invites readers to navigate a purposeful path from adulthood to elderhood with choice, curiosity, and courage.

Everyone is getting old; not everyone is growing old. But...

Advance Praise

“In a culture that offers little guidance for growing old, but excels at pushing elders aside, here’s a book that will help us age into the fullness of life. I’ve been reading Richard Leider and Dave Shapiro with gratitude for years, and once again they’ve offered grounded guidance for the fourth quarter of life. Life is always a gift beyond measure, and there’s only one way to keep a gift alive: pass it along in growth and service as long as we have the chance. We who have reached old age are among the lucky ones, and this book will help us turn our good fortune into an asset for the world. I’m still a young man (81), but this book goes into my backpack as I journey on.”

—Parker J. Palmer, author of On the Brink of Everything, Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, and Healing the Heart of Democracy


"If we're lucky, we grow old. If we're wise, we grow whole. This powerful book is a poignant reminder that life is a crescendo. The plot thickens as life quickens toward the end. Richard and David help us make sense of this quickening to assure our life's path is purposeful." —Chip Conley, bestselling author and founder of the Modern Elder Academy


“The books by Richard Leider and David Shapiro gave me a road map to find my life's passions and purpose. With this book, they lead an exploration into powerful and meaningful aging with fresh perspectives from inspiring people. Enjoy!”

— Cathy Wurzer, author and Emmy award-winning public radio & television journalist


“This excellent book gets to the heart of what I believe is the heart of healthy aging well: purpose matters. It is a manifesto on how to age well. Please read and share.” —Dan Buettner, National Geographic Explorer, New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zones

“In a culture that offers little guidance for growing old, but excels at pushing elders aside, here’s a book that will help us age into the fullness of life. I’ve been reading Richard Leider and Dave...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781523092451
PRICE $19.95 (USD)
PAGES 192

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Featured Reviews

Richard J. Leider and David Shapiro’s “Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old?” is absolutely one of the best books on the subject of aging well. As a therapist, I will recommend it to all my older clients!

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Richard J. Leider and David Shapiro’s “Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old?” is absolutely one of the best books on the subject of aging well. As a therapist, I will recommend it to all my older clients!

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This is an encouraging book written by two older men about how to imagine our elder years in ways that give us purpose and happiness. It doesn't address all of the issues that very old age can carry, but it does a good job of helping you dream up a positive new path in your later years.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

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Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro address 'The Path of Purposeful Aging', growing from adulthood to elderhood.

They tell us that 'the societal story of aging is stuck in a script from our grandparents' or great-grandparents' era', with elders often viewed as a drain on society.

The authors reject that narrative, encouraging elders to live a purposeful rather than a default life by being intentional about place, people, life work and/or purpose.

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