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This two-chapter book part, devoted to life’s last stage, highlights how we develop and change as we move through senior citizenhood (the sixties and beyond). Chapter 13 covers issues relevant to both the young-old and old-old years. Chapter 14 emphasizes concerns that become pressing priorities in advanced old age.
Chapter 13–Later Life: Cognitive and Socioemotional Development begins with an overview of the historic twenty-first-century age boom, then looks at how memory changes as we age. During this discussion, you will not only learn a wealth of information about memory and aging, but also get insights into how to improve memory at any age. Then, we turn to the emotional side of life. I’ll outline a creative theory and research spelling out why old age might be the best life stage, and then offer tips for living meaningfully at this pinnacle age. The second half of this chapter tackles those major later-life transitions: retirement and widowhood.
Chapter 14–The Physical Challenges of Old Age begins by describing the aging process and how it progresses into disease and disability. Then, I’ll explore late-life sensory and motor changes and offer a detailed look at that most feared old-age illness: Alzheimer’s disease. At the end of this chapter, you will learn about the living arrangements and health-care options available to people when old-age frailties strike. This chapter will open your eyes to the challenges of age-related disabilities and, hopefully, sensitize you to the need to change the wider world to promote an ideal older adult–environment fit.