What do you think?
Rate this book
What's Worth Knowing
Colorful and enlightening vignettes about life by everyday people in their seventies, eighties, and nineties.
When social worker Wendy Lustbader was asked to take down the histories of residents in a retirement community, she discovered that "the man with Alzheimer's in room 410" was actually ninety-six-year-old Ole Harlen, a former concert pianist. "The woman who people-watches in the lobby" was really Lila Lane, who eloped to Tijuana with her sweetheart at age sixteen, and who at age seventy-five bemoaned the fact that she could no longer wear high heels.
Lustbader gathered these stories and more into What's Worth Knowing , a compilation of unforgettable first-person testimonials on love, truth, grief, faith, and fulfillment by people in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Israel Grosskoff, for example, describes learning about trust while hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Giuseppe Maestriami passes on child-rearing lessons he discovered through growing prize-winning tomatoes. And Arsene St. Amand talks about the importance of making time for love-which he found for the first time only six months before his death.
In What's Worth Knowing , readers can spend time with Ole, Lila, Israel, Giuseppe, and Arsene-and a hundred others, whose wisdom matters all the more because of the way they've acquired it.
When social worker Wendy Lustbader was asked to take down the histories of residents in a retirement community, she discovered that "the man with Alzheimer's in room 410" was actually ninety-six-year-old Ole Harlen, a former concert pianist. "The woman who people-watches in the lobby" was really Lila Lane, who eloped to Tijuana with her sweetheart at age sixteen, and who at age seventy-five bemoaned the fact that she could no longer wear high heels.
Lustbader gathered these stories and more into What's Worth Knowing , a compilation of unforgettable first-person testimonials on love, truth, grief, faith, and fulfillment by people in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Israel Grosskoff, for example, describes learning about trust while hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Giuseppe Maestriami passes on child-rearing lessons he discovered through growing prize-winning tomatoes. And Arsene St. Amand talks about the importance of making time for love-which he found for the first time only six months before his death.
In What's Worth Knowing , readers can spend time with Ole, Lila, Israel, Giuseppe, and Arsene-and a hundred others, whose wisdom matters all the more because of the way they've acquired it.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 20, 2015
I'm not old but I'm getting there. (We all are.) I'm 59 and I find it interesting that my nephews and niece (and I'm close to all of them) have never asked what my life experience has taught me or asked for help with anything. I'm not insulted. I know they have the Internet and what not that I didn't have growing up. But just the same, when I was younger I used to ask my parents and aunts and uncles about all kinds of stuff. (I still do but I only have one aunt left.)
And that is what What's Worth Knowing is like. Like you asked your favorite aunts and uncles about what they learned in their long lifetimes that was really important, what was a game changer.
There's no cutting edge psychology school wisdom here. No ids and individuation. Just heartfelt wisdom from people that have garnered it by living it.
The book is set up by categories (On Time, On Spirituality etc.) but all the categories are loaded with wisdom.
Just a sampler:
And:
Reading this book is like getting grounded by real earth-wisdom. Wisdom shared by people who really know and really care.
I always liked the saying: 'Share with me your experience, not your opinion.'
No opinions in What's Worth Knowing just hard won wisdom. Shared from the heart.
And that is what What's Worth Knowing is like. Like you asked your favorite aunts and uncles about what they learned in their long lifetimes that was really important, what was a game changer.
There's no cutting edge psychology school wisdom here. No ids and individuation. Just heartfelt wisdom from people that have garnered it by living it.
The book is set up by categories (On Time, On Spirituality etc.) but all the categories are loaded with wisdom.
Just a sampler:
You remember things like that—people who were good to you.
I think the machines are in charge now and the people are slaves.
Young people think someplace else is always better, but they're wrong.
Dishonest situations give you a lot of stress in life. I've had very little stress because I leaned so early to tell the truth.
For a long time, I tried everything under the sun, except working hard. I was sure I would be the guy to outsmart the system, to get something for nothing.
I found out that nothing is what you get for nothing. After a while, I started asking people how they got to where they were. "Hard work." That's what each one said, one after the other.
If you want to do something badly enough, you do it. You set other things aside and you make it a priority. You stop giving your life away to obligations.
...how many times are you sure of something and then it turns out you were dead wrong?
And:
We've finally realized that none of us really knows what we're doing. We just do the best we can.
Reading this book is like getting grounded by real earth-wisdom. Wisdom shared by people who really know and really care.
I always liked the saying: 'Share with me your experience, not your opinion.'
No opinions in What's Worth Knowing just hard won wisdom. Shared from the heart.
March 31, 2022
Lovely book.
January 31, 2016
This is such a great book! It was given to me by a co-worker many years ago. It is filled with wisdom. Amazing photographs, age is beautiful. I read from it often and am moved each time. Makes a wondeful gift! Surprise a friend with a copy!
April 3, 2020
A lovely simple book that highlights over and again what's truly important in life. An easy read, but full of wisdom and profound truth.
October 28, 2025
Everyone on planet Earth should read this book!
Everyone of us will grow old, get sick, loose our good looks, our friends, our family members, our physical abilities (some will lose more, others maybe not at all) - we'll have regrets and someday, we will die. That's what keeps us grounded as human beings, regardless of status, wealth or notoriety. However, this book is NOT all doom and gloom. There are positive quotes in here too - it's just a matter of perspective from the reader as to how they view their own lives and circumstances. Younger people can learn A LOT from the older folks.
Everyone of us will grow old, get sick, loose our good looks, our friends, our family members, our physical abilities (some will lose more, others maybe not at all) - we'll have regrets and someday, we will die. That's what keeps us grounded as human beings, regardless of status, wealth or notoriety. However, this book is NOT all doom and gloom. There are positive quotes in here too - it's just a matter of perspective from the reader as to how they view their own lives and circumstances. Younger people can learn A LOT from the older folks.
November 28, 2023
This was a heartwarming book that I really enjoyed reading with lots of solid advice. My only reason for detracting a star is that I found it bothersome that it's not actually these people's direct quotes. It's more just how she remembers whatever topic it was that they talked about. I totally get that some editing may be necessary and whatnot and she seems to have taken the task of making it sound like them as much as possible quite seriously, but at the end of the day it's not their voices.
December 6, 2020
This was a sweet book of memories from old people. It started by a nurse being tasked with getting a bit of personal history to be able to put in elderly patient’s charts so the doctors and healthcare workers could have more connection with their patients.
November 20, 2023
Was hoping the brief remarks by the people in the book would be more in depth and meaningful then what was presented here. The title is a bit misleading in that there's not a whole lot of "worth knowing" insights in here that are "end of life" extraordinary. A quick read though.
December 27, 2017
Ah! The wisdom of old age! Can’t be beat!
January 22, 2026
A collection of thoughts, words of wisdom, and vignettes from older citizens from around the world.
April 21, 2012
This book mainly consists of those pithy aphorisms we've all heard which originated from many people's hard-earned wisdom - learned through decades of experience. This is valuable, because I feel that it's helpful to periodically be reminded of the basics. However, I think the book's real strength lies in the individuals' stories; they call attention to the loneliness and beauty of the elderly who simply want someone to listen to and value them.
September 21, 2014
It was an easy read, that's for sure.
While I enjoyed the pithy nature of the different accounts of wisdom from the seniors the author interviewed for this book, a part of me wished that they were accounts of greater depth. The photos were delightful and the format made it possible to read a only couple of pages on a busy day and still gain something of value.
While I enjoyed the pithy nature of the different accounts of wisdom from the seniors the author interviewed for this book, a part of me wished that they were accounts of greater depth. The photos were delightful and the format made it possible to read a only couple of pages on a busy day and still gain something of value.
August 31, 2008
Wonderful easy read. Different people share what they have found worth knowing.
October 3, 2016
Life lessons from the perspective of the elderly. Giving a copy to each of my kids for Christmas.
May 24, 2007
Senior citizens tell us what's worth knowing.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews