Getting Wise about Getting Old

A grey tsunami is sweeping the land, wreaking social and financial havoc in its wake. Sound familiar? This myth about aging, along with twenty-eight others, is the focus of Getting Wise about Getting Old, which paints a far more accurate and nuanced portrait of old age. In it, experts debunk myths and persistent stereotypes about aging on a broad array of social issues from retirement (seniors are low-performance workers) to housing (most older adults live in long-term care accommodation), and violence (senior women are not victims of sexual assault) to political participation (seniors are conservative and resistant to change) deconstructing and countering them with the latest findings. The work of two leading research groups in Quebec, the short and accessible chapters of this vitally important book contribute to a better understanding of the social challenges, as well as the advantages, of an aging society.