The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America

by Thomas R. Cole

The Journey of Life is both a cultural history of aging and a contribution to public dialogues about the meaning and significance of later life. The core of the book shows how central texts and images of Northern middle-class culture, first in Europe and then in America, created and sustained specifically modern images of the life course between the Reformation and World War I. During this long period, secular, scientific, and individualist tendencies steadily eroded ancient and medieval understandings of aging as a mysterious part of the eternal order of things. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, however, postmodern images of life's journey offer a renewed awareness of the spiritual dimensions of later life and new opportunities for growth in an aging society.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Sociology, Psychology

298 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 1991

Reviews

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book in another I was reading in my quest to understand/get a handle on this thing called aging. This book was originally his dissertation so it is dense material, but well researched and documented. Why do you need to know the history? How is a 30-year old book about aging and history still relevant? Well, because how we as a society treat older people and how we view aging is rooted in this history - and much (all?) has not changed in that time. The original definition of senile was just a term signifying old age and then it morphed into a "medical" term for the inevitability debilitated condition of the aged. Oh, and of course, it only became a medical issue to be solved when men started to live longer and actually experience it.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent and well researched coverage of how American society's views on aging have been shaped by religious, social and economic trends from the Pilgrims to modern day.

[Matt Erickson]

I came across this book researching Activity theory for my Sociology of Aging course. From that point on, it became my bible for Western life course perspective of aging.