Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives

by Daniel J. Levitin

I began this book with a question for us to ask ourselves, one that gets to the heart of how we see the future of aging. What would it mean for all of us to think of the elderly as resource rather than burden and of aging as culmination rather than denouement? I have tried to show here that it would mean harnessing a human resource that is being underutilized. It would mean restoring dignity to a marginalized group of human beings just when they need it most. It would promote stronger family bonds and stronger bonds of friendship among us all. It would mean that important decisions in every domain, from personal matters to international agreements between nations, would be informed by experience and reason, along with the perspective that old age brings. And it might even mean a more compassionate world. We can have that future if we want it. We need to educate ourselves and our families about the advantages of aging—the wisdom, the bias toward positivity, the compassion that older adults exhibit. As individuals, as community members, as a society, it is in all of our best interests to help construct a culture that embraces the gifts of the elderly, weaving cross-generational interactions into the fabric of everyday experience. By learning from the science of the brain we can create a transformative understanding of the aging process, its human story, and in the process create a richer quality of life. This is the new truth about aging.