Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
If I Live to Be 100: Lessons from the Centenarians
by
Neenah Ellis
Neenah Ellis's New York Times bestselling If I Live to Be 100 takes us inside the world of the very old and invites us to learn from them the art of living well for an exceptionally long period of time. Their stories add up to a course in living, with lessons and inspiration for all of us.
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
March 23rd 2004
by Three Rivers Press
(first published September 24th 2002)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
580)
This is an interesting book by Neenah Ellis, in which she interviews centenarians for the NPR radio series "One Hundred Years of Stories." Neenah sought to find out more about American history by inquiring what these people witnessed in their lifetimes, but found that the interviews were not turning out as she had at first hoped. She found that the centenarians often seemed to have an agenda of their own, could not stay focused, or did not always want to give up all that they knew.
Neenah, in he...more
Neenah, in he...more
I guess you can see by my book list that there aren't many books that I just plain didn't like. This one got close. I started it in July and just got around to finishing it today, only because I wanted it out of my way. Unfinished books haunt me.
So anyway, I felt like Ellis was looking for some meaning in her own life instead of really taking a close look at the lives of the centenarians she interviewed. In other words, it was about her, not them, when I felt like the real story should have bee...more
So anyway, I felt like Ellis was looking for some meaning in her own life instead of really taking a close look at the lives of the centenarians she interviewed. In other words, it was about her, not them, when I felt like the real story should have bee...more
Ellis did an NPR series on the subject and wrote her book after it aired. The stories from the centenarians themselves were okay, but the writer's journey was more moving to me. What struck me the most was the research Ellis did on the connection she felt to her subjects. "I was feeling the emotional states of the centenarians, losing my own state and taking on theirs. And I am beginning to think that the centenarians know about this intuitively. They know how important the connection with other...more
I got this book for Christmas from my sister-in-law. It was a good, fast read. The author doesn't just put together a bunch of heartwarming Chicken Soup for the Soulish stories. She highlights the difficulties in undertaking such a project and she projects her own search for meaning into the interview process as well.
It appears that the website (ifilivetobe100.com) has not been updated in quite some time. Since the book was written seven years ago now, I wonder what happened to some of the cent...more
It appears that the website (ifilivetobe100.com) has not been updated in quite some time. Since the book was written seven years ago now, I wonder what happened to some of the cent...more
I got this from a fellow book club person. She really liked this book. She loaned it to me to read. I wasn't too sure I would like it when I started the book. But the more I read the more I wanted to know. The book is written of stories of people who are 100 or over in age. These people are amazing. Anna for instance still rows her little boat every morning. This is my favorite story in the book. The author asks...
"Anna, what do people have to look forward to, being a hundred years old?"
"Well,...more
"Anna, what do people have to look forward to, being a hundred years old?"
"Well,...more
Perhaps I set this book up to fail me. I suppose I was hoping for some great insight regarding life bestowed by the centenarians interviewed for the book but none ever surfaced. The book was almost as much about the author as it was about those she interviewed.
If there were any 'nuggets' to take away, I suppose they would be:
- Don't hate
- Be with other people
On the last point, the author spent some time discussing the concept of 'limbic resonance'. It's said that the limbic system allows mammals...more
If there were any 'nuggets' to take away, I suppose they would be:
- Don't hate
- Be with other people
On the last point, the author spent some time discussing the concept of 'limbic resonance'. It's said that the limbic system allows mammals...more
A gift from my dear friend Bonnie, who inscribed it "Forget the bus, go for the gusto!" And some of these centenarians are somewhat convincing. If one lives a long life in good health, a long life is worth living, seems to be what I came away with. Ellis does not interview centenarians with dementia; what would be the point, I think is her theory. And the ones who were found for her in news reports or referred by people are all the remarkable people with curiousity and a zest for life. The stori...more
Like the author of this book, I always have assumed I would live to be 100. I didn't even have a word for it when I was younger. (I once, infamously now, thought 100-year-olds were centurians, not centenarians. Made sense to me.) This collection of interview stories is a companion to the NPR series and reveals, in nearly equal parts, as much about the interviewer as the 100+ year old people she interviews. Overall, I was delighted and saddened, as you might expect with these kinds of stories. I...more
I kept hoping to find some magic advice for how one gets to be 100+ but instead learned of how they're adapting to being living miracles. Some of the people she interviewed remembered the San Franciso earthquake and the sinking of the Titanic. The one thing I took away from her interviews was to stay active and engaged in life. It's one of those books that you can leave beside your bed and read a bit before bed and feel a biding light of hope when you awaken.
I guess I was expecting more than this book could deliver. Written by NPR's Neenah Ellis, this book retells Neenah's experience as she interviewed centenerians for her NPR show: 100 Years of Stories. I was expecting it to more inspirational, but this were average Joe people living their life one day at a time, mostly enjoying it. "Everyone needs love" was the theme running through this book, but somehow the stories never really gel-ed for me.
I love the concept of this book and really enjoyed getting to know the elderly people in it. I, however, found I did not like the tone of the author. At times she was condescending or instead of focusing on the centenarian' stories would delve into her own musings of her life. I appreciate that she was attempting to apply the knowledge to her own experiences, but I didn't really like her personality. It is definitely still worth reading.
Based on her NPR radio series about Centenarians. I really enjoyed reading about the current lives of these people. Some were deteriorating while others were very full of life and active.
I plan on living till I am one hundred with my husband so it was nice to see it in action.
I didn't really learn any profound wisdom, and I didn't really like what the author had to add to it but preferred the stories of the cenenarians themselves. It just helps to remember what life used to be like. The sweetn...more
I plan on living till I am one hundred with my husband so it was nice to see it in action.
I didn't really learn any profound wisdom, and I didn't really like what the author had to add to it but preferred the stories of the cenenarians themselves. It just helps to remember what life used to be like. The sweetn...more
This book could have been much better. Half the story was the author/ interviewer, commenting on the things she should have done, the questions she should have asked, ways she could have conducted her interviews more professionally.
How annoying... Why should I read something that the author herself knows is poorly done. Finally, I so totally agreed that I quit reading.
How annoying... Why should I read something that the author herself knows is poorly done. Finally, I so totally agreed that I quit reading.
This is a very lovely book of interviews of folks 100 years old or older. It doesn't ask how did they live so long but is a brief look at their lives. It's well done and also gives a breif view of Neenah Ellis the interviewer's feelings about and motivations for doing the interviews. It's good night time reading as you can read it one story at a time before falling asleep.
Compelling (I'm on my second reading) but quirky short summaries of interviews with Centenarians. Coming from a family of long lived people I've often thought about how people experience their day to day lives as they age. There aren't many treatments of the topic and some of these folks are fascinating: like a glimpse into the future.
This was written as an American History project gathering stories from many centenarian's. The surprise is in what they feel is the reason they have lived so long and how they feel reaching this wise old age. I will definitely be checking into this book again when I enter my next decade!
Short chapters, quick read. More like a 3+. Author interviews 20-some centenarians. While each of their stories is unique, all of them have some sort of passion that keeps them going. They live in the present, and value their connections to others. Something to think about for all of us.
Living to 100 makes a celebrity out of even the most ordinary person. People are infatuated with longevity. If I'm lucky enough to be 100, I don't know that I'll be very happy. Friends are gone, loved ones are gone. It's only the very independent people who are happy at 100.
I got this book eager to hear the stories of the centenarians and their experiences from 100+ years of life. There was some of that, but also a lot of the author's own introspective commentary, which I found irritating.
Interesting look at those who have lived a long life and have lots of insight to offer. Quality of life differs vastly for each person, but all have something valuable to contribute to the book.
Be sure and read this book to the end because she comes back to some of the people she interviews in the beginning of the book and tells you what happened in their lives after she interviewed them.
I LOVED the idea behind this book and the interviews. But as a journalist, I felt like the author was almost too much of the story. Still, I cried, I laughed, I felt moved. It's an easy, quick read.
Was expecting way more from this book due to the hype. But was oddly disappointed. I love NPR and the real life stories and interviews. But the book was nothing like that.
I really enjoyed the diversity of the centenarians that Ellis was able to speak with. She had originally intended to ask them their secret to a long life and similar ideas but she came to the conclusion of what was really important in life and Ellis plans to apply that to her own. Incredibly interesting, wish there was a next installment with new centenarians!
I was hoping for a bit of more insight into the characters. It was an easy read but I didn't really feel like the author explored her subject enough.
Sep 13, 2008
Marissa
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who would like a better understand of their grandparents or great grand parents
I work in a Assisted Living home, so this book touched a different note with me than it would with most readers.
If you have a heart for the elderly or enjoy listening to story of the past and pure wisdom, this is a good book for to read.
The book is separated into small chapters, each being about a different centenarian. Some stories where better than others, some inspiring, some sad.
The book really takes you into the mind of someone who is in their last stages of a long life. I thought the wr...more
If you have a heart for the elderly or enjoy listening to story of the past and pure wisdom, this is a good book for to read.
The book is separated into small chapters, each being about a different centenarian. Some stories where better than others, some inspiring, some sad.
The book really takes you into the mind of someone who is in their last stages of a long life. I thought the wr...more
This book was a real treat. Reading the stories of Centurians and how they have lived their lives for a hundred or more years. Some are just amazing!
Great insight into how people survive old age and enjoy each day as t hey do it. Book is broken up into interviews with these folks.
Interesting book, personal experience as one interacts with centenarians. Quick read on human experience, worth the time .
Entertaining, Inspirational and Enlightening. What more could you ask from a book? I love to give this as a birthday gift.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Mar 07, 2013 04:41am