Ú|Íltfní knihovna Fss m Brn
4240752072
60 on Up
4240752072
Also by Lillian B. Rubin, Ph.D.
The Man with the Beautiful Voice: And More Stories from the Other Side of the Conch
Tangled Lives: Daughters, Mothers, and the Crucible of Aging
The Transcendent Child: Tales of Triumph Over the Past
Families on the Fault Line: America's Working Class Speaks about the Family, the Economy, Race, and Ethnicity
Erotic Wars: What Happened to the Sexual Revolution?
Quiet Rage: Bemie Goetz in a Time of Madness
fust Friends: The Rale of Friendship in Our Lives
Intimate Strangers: Men and Women Together
Women of a Certain Age: The Midlife Search for Self
Worlds of Pain: Life in the Working-Class Family
Busing & Backlash: White against White in an Urban School District
60 on Up
The Truth about Aging Twenty-first Century
Lillian B. Rubin, Ph.D.
Beacon Press Boston
.SARYK.OVA UNiVERZiT/* ?s!a'!m sacmlnich simii>
:;n2 on R R N 0 ^3-
Beacon Press 25 Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02106-2892 www.beacon.org
Beacon Press books
are published under the auspices of
the Unitarian Universal ist Association of Congregations,
© 2007 by Lillian B. Rubin All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America ti 10 09 08 87654321
This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the uncoated paper ANSI/N1SO specifications for permanence as revised in sou2.
Text design by Tag Savage
Composition hy Wiisted &. Taylor Publishing Services
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rubin, Lillian B.
60 on up : the truth about aging in the twenty-first centuty / Lillian Rubin, p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
isBN-13: 978-0-8070-2920-9 (pbk: acid-free paper)
t . Older people—Psychology. 2. Older people—Conduct of life.
3. Older people—Attitudes. 4. Aging. I. Title.
HQ1061.R83 2007
305.26-dc22 2OO7OI357O
An eatlier article featuring some of the themes in chapter 6 appeared in Dissent (fall 2006), 88-94.
For Mara and Hank
And for all those everywhere
who are struggling with this new stage of life.
Contents
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six
Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Through the Looking Glass i
Out of the Closet 7
Staying Younger While Getting Older
Does Age Count Anymore? 29
The Marriage of Self and Society 43
The Golden Years?
They've Gotta Be Kidding! 51
... And Now About Sex    7 r
The Shrinking Ties That Bind S5
Hey Folks, You're Spending My Inheritance 99
Taking Care of Morn and Dad     111
Oh My God, We're Old! r33
It's Better Than the Alternative, Isn't It? 147
One Last Word     165
Acknowledgments 173 Notes 175