Reviews

"Important and inspiring.... Anyone troubled by fears of aging, of disease, of deteriorating faculties -- or anyone who is trapped in a futile denial of mortality -- will find solace in Friedan's monumental exposure of the 'mystique of aging, ' and will perhaps share her sense of liberation in meeting the challenge of the 'third age.'...Encouraging as well as provocative, "The Fountain of Age" is a groundbreaking book to be read slowly and pondered deeply." -- "Detroit News"

"With her usual methodical research and forthright insights, author and feminist Betty Friedan brilliantly challenges the unspeakable.... Friedan dissects the cliches of senility and impairment to reveal a multitude of joys and options that actually exist in the continuum of life she calls the 'Third Age.'" -- "Chicago Tribune"

Friedan's ( The Feminine Mystique ) wise, empowering book on aging should be read by everyone who equates growing old with being lonely, powerless, unattractive or dependent. She distills interviews with scores of women and men in middle or old age who lead dynamic, creative lives, having broken through the conventional expectation that aging inevitably means decline. She also makes accessible a wealth of findings from gerontologists, social scientists and psychologists. We learn, for example, that the ``empty nest syndrome'' hits many men more acutely than women, and that recent research contradicts the notion that the brain inevitably deteriorates physically with age. Friedan combines political savvy and empathetic insight in chapters on health care, retirement communities, the ``right to die'' movement, menopause, nursing homes (which she calls ``death sentences''), the search for intimacy and meaningful work, and how women and men age differently. This marvelous, inspiring book approaches aging as an adventure, and is itself one. First serial to Time and Good Housekeeping; BOMC alternate; QPB dual main selection. (Sept.)

"Important and inspiring.... Anyone troubled by fears of aging, of disease, of deteriorating faculties -- or anyone who is trapped in a futile denial of mortality -- will find solace in Friedan's monumental exposure of the 'mystique of aging, ' and will perhaps share her sense of liberation in meeting the challenge of the 'third age.'...Encouraging as well as provocative, "The Fountain of Age" is a groundbreaking book to be read slowly and pondered deeply."

-- "Detroit News"

"With her usual methodical research and forthright insights, author and feminist Betty Friedan brilliantly challenges the unspeakable.... Friedan dissects the cliches of senility and impairment to reveal a multitude of joys and options that actually exist in the continuum of life she calls the 'Third Age.'"

-- "Chicago Tribune"